Shelley Stone is the CEO of a major tech firm, a startup that is creating the Conch, an earpiece that constantly offers the user helpful tips and reminders. She’s a workaholic as well as a wife and mother of 2, and she’s constantly on the move to keep up with her own ambitions.

But as busy as she is, as chaotic as her life is, she’s happy. This is the life she wanted, the one she planned for herself after she was struck by lightning as a young adult and given a second chance at life. And now that she has it all together, it starts to slowly unravel on her.

A chance meeting with her younger self leaves Shelley stunned and uncertain. But as she keeps moving forward and figuring out what’s happening, she finds her way back to the self she’d been burying under constant movement and chaos.

The Glitch by Elisabeth Cohen is a witty satire of our tech culture and the busyness that tends to run our days. With smart writing and sassy characters, Cohen has created a world where anything seems possible.

I was really excited to read this book, as I love a good humorous novel, and this idea has so much potential. But it felt to me like it lost its way somewhere in the middle. Once Shelley meets her younger doppelganger, I couldn’t tell what was coming next. Was this about time travel? Was it turning into sci-fi, with parallel dimensions melting into each other? What was going on? Once Shelley figures it out and heads toward the resolution, it starts making sense again. But that middle? It made it difficult for me to stay on board until the end. I did, but barely.

Is The Glitch worth reading? Absolutely. There are a lot of likable things going on here. But I can’t say that I love it as much as I wanted to.

Galleys for The Glitch were provided by Doubleday through NetGalley, with many thanks.