AN OTHERWISE PERFECT PLAN
A Novel of Mystery, Love, and of Chocolate
That Defies Description

by Ken Schafer

Narrated by: Renee Cannon

Production by: Moon Jumper Press

Review by Rox Burkey

Endearing!

Ken Schafer creates An Otherwise Perfect Plan, an endearing story of 16-year-old Gwen’s journey to locate her father. Her single mother raised Gwen, and her career goals changed. They have lived in various sub-housing apartments in Boston. The current location is a cramped apartment often visited by rats with her cat Buddha. She treasures her best friend, Peter, a neighbor who attends the same high school. Gwen's mom works two low-paying jobs, and Gwen's job is to finish high school. When Gwen’s English teacher requested each student to write about the earliest meaningful time with their father, Gwen tried to get the teacher to understand she didn’t know her father, but the teacher was unrelenting.

Telling the story in first person, Gwen shows her rollercoaster emotions as she tries to find her father following disjointed clues and hoping her mother can take advantage of the full-ride Yale scholarship. Typical of many YA novels, it follows a stream of consciousness. The descriptions of Gwen’s school, her apartment, and places along her journey are revealed with snappy dialogue, humor, and tumultuous emotional outbursts from a coming-of-age teen. The woven threads of this story deliver a unique mystery as Gwen travels to an unexpected but satisfying conclusion.

The talented narrator, Renee Cannon, breathes life into each of the characters who support Gwen along her journey. The distinctive voices are delivered from beginning to end with outstanding tempo, tonality, expressions, giggles, gasps, and pregnant pauses. The stunning rendition will make listeners laugh, shake their heads, cry, sigh, and beg for Renee Cannon to narrate the sequel. There were no issues with the quality of the performance or final product.

Fans of YA will enjoy this creative chapter of Gwen’s life of love, challenges, and regrets. Teens may universally have different situations in their lives, yet they will find relatable issues of family, friends, school, love, and convictions found in the story. An Otherwise Perfect Plan may deserve the next chapter in the evolving Gwen with a sequel and, as a bonus, the paper she presented to her English teacher.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-biased, honest review.