The Unsinkable Greta James, Jennifer E. Smith

I really liked this book. Funny, it was my second consecutive (but unbeknownst to me) book about Alaska. My first by Jennifer E. Smith.

As an avid cruiser, I completely related to every step of this book, with a son who lives in Juneau, Alaska and actually works with cruise lines as part of his job, I could really relate to that part of the book.

Greta is a musician, a damn good one who, the week following her mother’s sudden passing, held a breakdown on stage that led to several months of not performing. She takes the cruise in the place of her mother, sharing space with her dad and two of their couple friends. While aboard ship, Greta meets Ben, a profession and author, who is separated from his wife. The two, of course, pair up and have some fun, but that is just a subplot, and I was glad for it.

The meat of the story is the strained relationship between Greta and her father; she has always had her head in the clouds, according to him, and he wanted her to be more grounded and focused on stability. The two never really stop butting heads and there is a point where I felt like their struggle was getting lost in the weeds a bit. However, just as I was about to roll my eyes with too much unresolved parent-child drama, Ms. Smith brings the storyline back around to a manageable feel.

The ending, without giving anything away, is predictably tidy, for the most part. I actually liked that not everything worked out - Ms. Smith kept it real.

A really easy, super fast read - one that I looked forward to every time I picked it up. I very much recommend reading, The Unsinkable Greta James.