REVIEW: The Re-Write by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
In this lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers rom-com, two exes are faced with one deadline. Will they make it to the end?
Temi and Wale meet in London. They flirt, date, meet each other’s friends.
Then they break up. And Wale goes on a reality dating show.
Instead of giving in to heartbreak, Temi throws herself into her dream: writing. She’s within touching distance of a book deal that would solve all her problems. But publishers keep passing on her novel and bills still have to be paid. So, when the opportunity to ghost-write a celebrity memoir arises, Temi accepts.
And, of course, the celebrity turns out to be Wale…
Will Temi and Wale repeat the patterns of their past? Or can they write a whole new story?
CW/TW – attempted sexual assault, racism
Dear Ms. Blackburn,
Three years ago I enjoyed your debut novel “Yinka, Where is Your Husband?” and have been waiting for your next one. I was psyched at the idea of this book, enjoyed parts of it, but have issues with some of the rest.
There are a lot of friends and family who are in the book. However most of these people are fairly stock characters and we learn little about them beyond what is needed from them to propel the plot. Temi has a ride or die best friend and parents who love and care for her but who are mostly otherwise absent. Wale has two friends – one from childhood and one more recently acquired. For the longest time, it’s the recent friendship that baffles me as it’s obvious to all that the guy is a sleeze. There is a reason, but for Wale to seemingly ignore the fact that the guy is just one huge, waving, red flag wasn’t a good look for him.
The roadblocks for the romantic relationship are pretty standard and I saw them coming very early. But the way these are set up make sense rather than being pulled from nowhere.
Temi is a writer who is good at what she does – if she’s passionate about what she’s writing. After putting her heart, soul – and for one book – her pain into them and writing (what she thinks are) great books, it makes sense that when she tries to bang out a quick rough draft of a story for a deadline, it’s a mess. She might not have wanted to take on ghostwriting Wale’s memoir but once she does, she takes it seriously and is very knowledgeable and thorough about how to do it. I liked seeing the effort and craft behind the finished products.
The book is told entirely from Temi’s point of view, and she reads very much like a person in her early twenties which is actually good as Temi is twenty-two. I’m an older reader and there are a lot of Gen Z social media, pop culture references, and events that sailed over my head. But that’s on me. A reader who knows this stuff would probably enjoy this part of the story more than I did. But also this is going to date this book very quickly especially given the speed with which social media changes these days.
Two notable plot points are the reality show that Wale took part in and the public notoriety that now follows him. Wale tells Temi all about how what was filmed actually happened but also how the film was spliced and diced to get the drama that the show producers wanted. Now he gets to live with having been portrayed as a player and heartbreaker. Post show mental health therapy is required for the participants (which I hope is a thing IRL) but Temi can see how being recognized in public affects Wale.
But Wale is determined to take this publicity and use it to his advantage in helping others which is something he’s always done. In doing her research for the memoir, Temi speaks to those who have benefited from Wale’s passion to aid others as he was helped when he needed it. I love this part of his personality. However because of his past, he can be quick to judge.
At first, Temi and Wale’s past breakup is a problem for me. We’re shown a reason but honestly it’s so nothing that Wale’s over-the-top response left a bad taste in my mouth and it’s only later that we see that Wale has a legitimate reason for his feelings. So when a relationship plot grenade had its pin pulled, I braced myself.
A major annoyance for me is that Temi lies, even just by omission, numerous times and is the one who made the grenade, pulled the pin, and then tossed it. Sure she has her personal reasons but manages, as she usually does, to talk herself out doing anything to avert the potential fallout. She’ll fix it, she’ll make sure that it doesn’t end up exploding, she’ll explain everything to Wale and things will be fine. Except she doesn’t. She doesn’t tell Wale, even just to warn him that “Something may happen but she’ll clean it up.” So of course events fall out in the worst possible way. I couldn’t blame Wale for being furious.
Oh, Temi, Temi. Temi also breaks down sobbing so many times in the book that I could see it coming and began saying out loud, “She’s gonna start crying, isn’t she? Yep.” I know I sound harsh but this could be a drinking game. Temi lies about a lot of things to family and friends but also to her agent and a publicist. When the truth comes out, Temi cries and apologizes (a lot) but, after what she did, frankly gets off far more easily than she ought to.
One thing about the book that I loved is the Black cultural representation. Both Temi and Wale are children of Nigerian immigrants with other characters having Senegalese, Congolese, and Jamaican heritage. Clothes (yay, that [from the first novel] Yinka’s bestie Nana and her Ghanaian inspired fashions are in the book) and food (I intend to try madesu) are present as well as generational differences in attitudes and actions. One reason Wale wants to publish his memoir is to show younger Black men that it’s okay to show emotions and feelings in public.
So some things really worked well for me but Temi, the first-person POV heroine, annoyed me with her lies and intentions to fix things which of course she didn’t even if she thought she had reasons. The social media overload just hammered home that I’m getting old. I will definitely look for future books but this one just didn’t land as well for me as the first one though my reasons may not be as much of a deterrent for other readers. C
~Jayne
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