I'm sorry - normally I only write reviews of books I've enjoyed and found useful, but this book was such a disappointment, I have to put my two stars worth in.

The concept is great - I really like the notion of being reincarnated and knowing as a new person what you know now. The idea of coming back in the body of a young junkie, and then helping her out (since you're body is definitely dead, anyway), is also interesting.

But after the introduction, this book didn't go where it could have. There are underdeveloped characters, side plots that don't go very far before fizzling off and a bit of incest that is, but isn't.

This is Laurel Doud's first novel, and this reads like a first novel with a mediocre editor. If you think you'll like it, borrow it from a friend or from the library.

But do look for her second novel - she's got what it takes, she just isn't quite there yet.

That is the premise to this unique book that took me completely by surprise; it was a quick read and a brilliant story. A 39 year old woman, and mother of two, screams out "wait" as she is about to check out of the world as she knows it. When she opens her eyes it's a year later and she is in the body of a 22-year-old addict named Thisby, who has just overdosed.

Katherine's journey begins as she tries to sort through her new life. She has a brother and sister who she has yet to meet, as well as a personality like a banshee with a nasty reputation to uphold, or so it is believed. Her new family is intellectual and named after literary figures. The author plays a game with Shakespearian quotes that is simply brilliant.

As her life progresses in this body of Thisby's, she learns more about her real self and what she needs. There are parts of her own childhood that she still needs to face. It is an extraordinary coming of age story written from an entirely different perspective. Once I started it I couldn't put it down. Kelsana 11/14/01

I picked up This Body merely because it was by a local author and I was curious. Much to my surprise, it turned out to be one of the best books I've read in years. The characters are likeable, the story is involving, and the heroine is someone I would like to know. Dumped suddenly and unceremoniously into the middle of Thisby's life, Katharine is faced with difficult choices, heart-rending dilemmas, and fascinating opportunities. On the surface, this is the story of how she feels her way along a path beset with unpredictable pitfalls as she comes to an uneasy accomodation with her new family, her new identity, and the addiction she inherited along with her new body. And on that level alone, it is an inventive and entertaining read. But on a more fundamental level, This Body is the story of a woman who gets a unique and priceless opportunity to view herself quite literally through someone else's eyes. Katharine, who never got the chance to be a child, comes together with Thisby, who never got the chance to be an adult, and together they find a wholeness that neither was able to achieve alone. Along the way the book delivers tragedy, loss, hope, humor, warmth, scandal, insight, and the simple voyeuristic fun of getting a peek into someone else's life and family. This Body is a book that will keep you highly entertained while you read it, and will keep you thinking long after you've finished it.