In Andrea J. Stein’s novel Typecast, protagonist Callie Dressler is living a happy and simple life. After living for a short time in Manhattan working at a posh private school, Callie is now residing in her childhood home (her parents moved to Florida for warmer climes). Callie loves her job as a pre-school teacher, and is completely devoted to her young students. She’s a creative type who loves to paint and has a handful of great friends. As for her love life? Well, let’s just say Callie is in a bit of a dry spell.
Callie is suddenly thrown for a loop when she finds out her old college boyfriend, Ethan, has written a screenplay for a movie called “Rerouting.” At it appears to have been inspired by Callie breaking up with Ethan soon after graduation. Callie and Ethan met during their freshman year in college. It wasn’t long before these two became a true blue couple, very much in love. After graduation, they were both supposed to move out west to San Francisco, but at the last minute, Callie changed her mind and broke up with Ethan…over the phone. Ouch.
Finding out about Ethan’s upcoming movie, Callie goes into a wee bit of a tailspin. She gets more and more curious about what Ethan is up to (is he married? engaged?) and she needs to know more about this movie. She watches the the “Rerouting” trailer more than once and gets acquainted with its stars Nick Sykes, who is apparently playing the Ethan character, and Sarina Apple whose character may have been inspired by Callie herself.
All of this causes Callie to question the decisions she’s made in her life, especially when it comes to breaking up with Ethan. Should she have joined Ethan in San Francisco or is her college romance with Ethan left best in the past?
And now there is about to be more upending in Callie’s life. Nina, Callie’s older sister, along with her husband, Michael, and their little girl, Zoe, are moving in with Callie while their house is being remodeled. Callie is used to her peace and quiet, and now she has to deal with three other people underfoot, and Nina is pregnant with her second child. Michael is a workaholic, Nina is a bit of a know-it-all, and though Callie loves being an aunt to Zoe, having a pre-schooler around has its challenges.
Speaking of challenges, Callie has to deal with a difficult student named Liam and her best friend at work, Tess, is egging her on to get out there and date. Callie does try to date via a dating app but her dates aren’t exactly successful. Then there is Ben, the man who is helping Nina and Michael, remodel their house. Callie finds herself very attracted to Ben, and he seems to like her. But is Ben just being nice or could Callie have something real with him?
But throughout Typecast, Callie focuses on Ethan and what happened and what could have been. And it isn’t long before she and Ethan connect. Do they rekindle their college romance or are things best left in the past?
Typecast could have easily been a light-hearted chick lit read, but there is a lot more depth below the surface. It plays on the universal theme of “woulda, shoulda, coulda” when it comes to our past, especially when it comes to our romantic history. Callie is a character that is very relatable and likable. And I appreciated how Stein ignored the usual chick lit trope of having the main character working in a “glamourous” vocation like fashion, media, or PR. Having worked in education, I know teachers live interesting lives.
Another interesting twist, is how Typecast is written. In the modern day, Callie is written in third person. When the book goes back in time to Callie’s college years and her relationship with Ethan, the book was written in first person. I thought this was a clever touch.
If you’re looking for a enjoyable and engaging read, with characters that are fully actualized and realistic, I totally recommend Typecast. Andrea J. Stein is a writer to watch. I hope she has more books for us in store.
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