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Although Jenna and Fran are sisters, they are pretty different from each other. In my opinion, they are perfect for guiding us through this story. They are both are lost, both suppress their emotions, and both try to find a place in their lives. Fran is a woman with a strong personality who has been suppressing her emotions and distancing herself from other people for years. Jenna is a lost young woman trying to find her true self and understand who she is. The picture is completed by Kate, the wife of the man behind the retreat, who we suspect from the very beginning of evil intentions. But is it true? Jenna’s mother is set on blaming Tom for her daughter’s death. She sends her daughter, Fran, to the retreat that Tom organized (or rather his wife, Kate).
Last Holiday is clearly not an Oscar worthy film but it is an enjoyable one and one that's hard to hate. The premise is pretty depressing yet optimistic at the same time. Georgia is a hardworking, quiet and hopeful girl. In the beginning of the movie, she lives a dull existence until she hits her head and finds out she is going to die in two weeks. After this, she decides to live life to the fullest. She doesn't want to be scared of the world anymore. For her final two weeks, she decides to fly to a fancy hotel in Prague she has always dream of going to. This raises the question if you need to have a lot of money to really live life to the fullest. It seems a little too much for me but everyone would want to spend their last two weeks differently. For those expecting a movie like the original, forget it. The original had an effective twist at the end and it was more social commentary than escapist humor. This version is more escapist humor but that doesn't mean it's a bad movie just not as effective as the original. I think people who haven’t read much in this genre might still enjoy this, and feel free to make up your own mind, but I know I’m not alone on this one, with several of my reviewer friends panning it. I did however finish it because I wanted to know what happened and whether I was right about the mystery (I was), and I did like the ending. 2.5 rounded down for the present tense. Note: do not let this put you off from reading “Sleep” or “Strangers” by this author, both are fantastic reads. We see both Jenna and Fran's storylines throughout the book. Plus, there are plenty of unlikeable characters. Were they unlikeable because they had something to hide? An agenda perhaps? The unlikeable characters served as suspects for me. The plot kept me guessing and formulating an idea about what could have happened to Jenna. But at the end of the day, I thought the book simmered when it could have sizzled. I found I had to suspend some disbelief while reading this. Unlikely scenarios and dangerous situations might have scared off some, but Fran is determined to learn the truth at any cost.As the book developed I felt I fully understood the characters of those three central ladies and of Tom who is the key link to them all. There are several peripheral characters that we learn just a little about and which may cause some confusion; if in doubt jot down their names. Out of the three main characters I thought Fran’s story was most interesting. She started as a cold person who obviously hadn’t received much love growing up. She wasn’t into cuddles, saying I love you or sharing how she felt emotionally but I did like her candid nature. I also thought she was quite clued up and had great investigative skills, her and Caroline made a great pair and often made me giggle at their conversations. By the end of the story I felt she had learnt a lot about herself, she remained her true candid self but she was warmer and more open to uncomfortable situations. C. L. TAYLOR delivers an engaging, suspenseful, unpredictable, and slower paced mystery here that is told from three different perspectives and two timeframes. I do love unreliable and unlikeable characters, but for some reason I didn’t particularly enjoy any of these characters or felt a connection towards any of them. So that definitely had an impact on why this one was just an okay read for me. The sessions led by Tom are ridiculous, he plays at being a psychologist while being an untrained lay person who just got out of prison. Queen Latifah plays Georgia Byrd, a woman on her "Last Holiday" in this 2006 film also starring Timothy Hutton, Gerard Depardieu, L.L. Cool J, Alicia Witt, and Giancarlo Esposito. Georgia works in the cookware department of a big department store chain. She's incredibly popular with customers, and at home, she keeps a "possibilities" scrapbook with recipes she's cooked copying her idol, Emeril Lagasse, photos of exotic places, and a photo of her married to her dream man (Cool J) who works with her. But her dream of a restaurant, marriage, a family - she's too shy to really go after them. Then she learns that she only has three weeks to live. She cashes in all of her retirement menu and sets off for Prague. There, she entrances everyone she meets and is unafraid to say what she thinks or take chances. Her popularity and attitudes rankle the owner of the store where she worked (Hutton) who is suspicious of her.
The most incredible thing about this movie is the fact that it's a remake. There are two types of remakes, the faithful and the altered, and Last Holiday is the best altered remake ever. The original was made in 1950 and starred Alec Guinness. With no humor, a tragic romance, and an extremely depressing story, it was a terrible film. Fifty-six years later, the character George Byrd was changed to Georgia Byrd, and Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman wrote a delightful script! Here are our three POVs: middle aged Fran is still haunted from her sister’s memory who has been missing for two years. She attended to wellness retreat in Gozo but so many things went dangerously wrong! Thanks to the pressure and guilt tripping of her miserable parents who lost rest of their sanities after sudden disappearance of their young daughter, Fran attends to the same retreat because the same health guru couple Tom and Kate reopen the place after Tom has been set free from two years long prison time.Cally’s bloody smashed it again. Boy, can that woman write suspense. It’s a proper ‘keep reading even though you know something bad is coming’ book. Pure escapism, brilliant world-building & utterly compelling.’– Helen Fields
Fran Fitzgerald's sister Jenna disappeared during the retreat on Gozo and was thought to have committed suicide there. Now Fran's mother has pushed Fran into going to the retreat in Wales to find out what really happened in Gozo. Registering under a false name, she discovers three of the other participants were also at the Gozo retreat, but understandably no one wants to talk about it. Now, Tom is out of jail and his wife Kate, who does all the admin and marketing for the retreats, has organised the first retreat since the disastrous one of three years ago. Tom is not keen but Kate is adamant they need the money. This time it will be held in Wales. Jenna’s mother, a strange and very annoying woman, bullies her much older other daughter to attend and see what she can learn about Jenna’s disappearance. Already I am thinking - why would the mother send another daughter into potential danger? If she’s so keen why doesn’t she go herself? From the million copy internationally bestselling author, comes a thrilling, suspenseful tale that will leave you breathless. When Fran arrives, she learns that several other guests who had attended the retreat that Jenna was on, are in attendance as well.manages and organizes the retreats. Her husband Tom is the guru but she's the woman behind the man and she knows how to pull the strings. Her Last Holiday by CL Taylor reminded me a little of Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers, although this is more of a thriller. It does however feature a wellness retreat run by an interesting duo, and plays host to some quirky guests. A sensational novel!' GILLIAN MCALLISTER You come to SoulShrink to be healed. You don't expect to die. Fans of Taylor's writing will be happy to know she has a new novel coming soon - Her Last Holiday is about a woman named Fran who's determined to get to the bottom of her sister's disappearance, whatever it takes.
ABOUT 'HER LAST HOLIDAY': Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat in Gozo that went terribly wrong. EXCERPT: As Caroline continues to rant, Fran stares at her in awe. It's been a while since she met someone with such fervour and passion, such a powerful drive to vanquish injustice and reveal the truth. It's really quite inspiring, despite Caroline's dubious taste in knitwear. One of my favourite lines: " 'There's no need to cause a fuss.' A fuss? I found out my dad's not my dad and she acts like I found a hair in my soup?" The story begins with a great dynamic and later in the story the tone and pace changes with many red herrings and secrets. I think to enjoy this story one hundred per cent you have to realise it's fiction so it doesn’t have to be believable!!!Jessica Reaves of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film three out of four stars and described Queen Latifah as "soft, bold and very funny, infusing this otherwise predictable movie with a contagious charm." She added, "While this is not exactly a profound film, and the message is hardly new, it's testament to this movie's joyous energy that it doesn't matter in the least. We may know exactly where we're going, but the journey is so much fun, all but the most peevish audience members will find it impossible to complain." [6]
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