The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch

Cursed to never be first, Imogen Finch feels stuck in mediocrity. When her mother sees signs and portents, she pronounces that Imogen will never come in first. After years of struggling to win any contest, to be the best, and to become another person’s person, Imogen finally determines that she doesn’t want any of it. She moves back home to care for her odd but loveable mother and takes up several jobs to support her family. Fresh from a recent breakup, she is also reunited with her childhood friend and secret crush. He vows to break what he considers to be Imogen’s self-fulfilling prophesies by helping her compete in a marathon of contests. This romantic comedy is filled with the requisite meet-cute, missteps, and misunderstandings. The unusual situation and quirky characters make for a fun foray. Narrator Rebecca Gibel does an excellent job of reading Imogen as an appealing protagonist with a sharp wit and a snarky voice. Despite Gibel’s insightful main-character performance, however, her secondary characters are sometimes hard to distinguish between.