If you found Where’d You Go, Bernadette entertaining, you will probably enjoy Semple’s newest novel.  Like Bernadette, it takes place in Seattle, has a female protagonist who is smart and funny but doesn’t fit in, is married to a wonderful man, and has a young child(this time it’s a son) who is wise and insightful beyond his years. Eleanor Flood Wallace is married to a successful hand surgeon, and before moving to Seattle, she was part of a team that created a hugely successful animated television show.  However, Eleanor is not pleased with herself; mainly because she is estranged from her sister who she was exceptionally close to.

Semple writes with the same witty, ironic prose, but in some parts Eleanor speaks in first person and in others she doesn’t.  For me, this was a distraction and a literary flaw.  I also felt that in some ways Today Will Be Different is too similar to Bernadette.  Semple is a good writer; she needs to stretch more.