Something Blue

Written by Emily Giffin

Goodreads Synopsis: Darcy Rhone has always been able to rely on a few things: her beauty and charm. Her fiance, Dex. Her lifelong best friend, Rachel. She never needed anything else. Or so she thinks until Dex calls off their dream wedding and she uncovers the ultimate betrayal. Blaming everyone but herself, Darcy flees to London and attempts to re-create her glamorous life on a new continent. But to her dismay, she discovers that her tried-and-true tricks no longer apply--and that her luck has finally expired. It is only then that she can begin her journey toward redemption, forgiveness, and true love.

My Confession: I've said many times over that Something Borrowed  is one of my favorite books of all time. (I even have the movie on DVD now and watch it a little too often.) Because I stood so firmly behind Rachel and Dex, despite their indiscretion, I avoided reading this sequel. Frankly, I really disliked Darcy and didn't care what happened to her after the final page of Borrowed. I assumed (and was correct in doing so) that Rachel and Dex wouldn't make much of an appearance in this book, and I didn't think there was a way that Giffin could make Darcy a likable character.

I'm happy to say that I was wrong.

When I finally caved and picked this book up, and I was pleased to find the last few events of the prequel (mainly, Darcy discovering the affair between Dex and Rachel as well as how her own affair with Marcus began) told from Darcy's perspective. It made any doubts I'd had about Rachel exaggerating her best friend's personality a moot point. Darcy was, clearly and simply, a bitch. And Giffin pulls no punches making that known. Darcy is selfish, lazy, self-absorbed,, and childish. She really doesn't see her relationship with Rachel--or Dex, or Marcus!--clearly. She wants to be the center of attention at all times, no matter who she's with or what they want. It's why, ultimately, her relationship with Marcus fails and she moves to London. She lives with good-natured FOR (friend of Rachel) Ethan, who takes Darcy in despite a barely-concealed disdain.

I really enjoyed the development of their relationship and how Ethan's goodness seems to rub off on Darcy. Alone and pregnant in a foreign country, she comes as close to rock bottom as she ever has in her charmed life. And that's when she turns something of a corner. I don't know when exactly it happened, but I went from suffering through Darcy's innermost thoughts and skewed perspective to genuinely being interested in what was happening in this story. It was a subtle shift, but I can appreciate the way it happened. We're not hit over the head with some huge, momentous "change" in Darcy's behavior or attitude. The change comes through the reader, who realizes with a slow wonder that they do in fact care about what happens to Darcy. Just as our opinion about a particular person can change, so can a person.

Recommendation: I really wish there had been more Rachel/Dex action--I still found myself very interested in how their relationship progressed and evolved (even though, at the end, we do find out what has happened with them). I'm still on Team Rachel, but I don't hate Darcy anymore. The adage of "people can change" borderlines on cliche, but I really respect how Giffin managed to craft this novel without turning Darcy into a fake or unbelievable character. There was something innately genuine about Something Blue. That's why it's worth reading.

Rating: 4.5/5

338 pages, published by St. Martin's Griffin (June 1, 2005)

Wither

Written by Lauren DeStefano

Goodreads Synopsis: What if you knew exactly when you would die? 
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb--males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape--to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding and anecdote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

My Confession: I loved this story for perhaps one main reason: its humanity. Dystopian stories oftentimes focus so strongly on the elements of darkness mixed with fantasy that they forget to mold characters that are still human. Just because people live in a post-apocalyptic world doesn't mean they're robots; in fact, it should be strictly the opposite. What's so chilling and eerie about Wither is that because the characters are crafted so well (they could be my own friends, from their personalities to their actions), you feel that this predicted world could be our future. It was downright bizarre to read about the twenty-first century as the "past world," and even though we're never told exactly when this story takes place, the technological and chemical advances that our society makes today creates a scarily possible prediction. It's the scientific obsession with curing all human ailments and the obsessive quest for perfection that manifests a genetic disorder, cursing the "perfect" first generation with terminally damaged children. Hunger Games meets 1984. And it's a startlingly awesome combination.

Sister Wives: No, not the TLC show. The element of forced polygamous marriages proved an interesting and pivotal plot point. I just loved how well-formed these characters were. Rhine's sister wives are anything but predictable, and the bond the three form as the story goes on defies the easy plot twist of love triangles and unrelenting jealousy. The husband, Linden, is extremely multi-faceted, and I enjoyed reading how his character developed. The way this story pulled away his layers leaves the reader with a character we want to hate, but somehow can't. The supporting cast, from Rhine's "makeup team" to the charming servant Gabriel, mirror the human predicament of complacency. No matter where you go, no matter who you meet, there will always be people who will never see a situation for as bad as it truly is. On the flip side, there will also always be people who refuse to give up fighting for something better. And I just love how this book puts both ideals into action and allows the true humanity of life (no matter the century) to shine through.

Recommendation: Wither is the first in a trilogy, but if I didn't already know it was a part of a series, the ending wouldn't have clued me in. I'm glad that the author didn't end this book on a supermassive cliffhanger just for the sake of doing so. Most writers, when they're setting up for a series, purposely end a book prematurely or at a really pivotal moment to ensure that readers will come back for the second book. Wither doesn't feel the need to do that. Yes, there's more to the story. Yes, most of my questions were answered, and yes, I'd be pretty satisfied if it all ended on that last page. But DeStefano left plenty of wiggle room in this story. She mastered the art of solving some problems while creating others. And that leaves the door open just enough. Series or no series, this stands on its own merit while trusting that Rhine's narrative is more than enough to bring readers back. And it is.

Rating: 4.5/5

358 pages, published by Simon & Schuster (March 22, 2011)

Sisterhood Everlasting

Written by Ann Brashares

Goodreads Synopsis: From #1 New York Times Bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.
Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn't take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can't seem to shed her old restlessness.
Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever--but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

My Confession: I couldn't pick this book up fast enough. First of all, I didn't know for months that it even existed. After reading Forever in Blue, the final book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, I thought these characters were done. I'd seen the movies, lamented their abbreviation of three-books-into-one method, and made peace with the characters I'd grown up reading. I'd accepted their ending. I was okay with where they were. It made sense to me. I moved on.

And then this book happened.

I wasn't ready for what I was about to read in these pages. All I knew was that I wanted to read about Carmen, Bridget, Lena, and Tibby one more time. I loved these girls. I, myself, am one of four friends who've managed to stay close after high school. I could identify with Lena's shyness, Bridget's occasional depression, Tibby's need to create something bigger than herself, and Carmen's compassion and maternal desire to keep everyone together. I was excited knowing that this book would take place ten years after the fourth book, putting all four women close to their thirtieth birthdays. I'm hedging on 22, so I can't say that I can relate completely, but I expected them to have stayed mostly the same. Characters so deeply ingrained in the hearts and minds of girls everywhere couldn't have changed much, right?

Wrong: I was so wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. There were moments where I felt like I didn't know these girls at all. Bridget was still restless? I couldn't believe that at almost 30, she was still poised to throw away her life with Eric (who she spent the entire series chasing, losing, loving, gaining, and taking for granted) to become the "wild child" she'd been at 16. For some reason, my tolerance for her antics reached a breaking point. I know it sounds cliche, but during her part of the narrative, I shook the book and wanted to yell grow the eff up! numerous times. Even worse, Carmen, the girl I probably related to the most throughout the series, was utterly unrecognizable. Now a big-shot actress, she's engaged to a decade-older, bald, cold-fish man who's everything the hopelessly romantic Carmen who fell in love with Win would never have given a second look. She's forced her voluptuous Latin body into a size 0, talks down to her mother, seems burdened by her newly-widowed father, and acts like a selfish, self-centered beeyotch. I hated her. And then I hated myself for hating her. She'd been my favorite. But, in this book, I didn't know her.

The only one who stayed the same was Lena. Lena, Lena, Lena. Still lamenting over never getting together with Kostos, which is, of course, her fault. She continually ignored his numerous overtures until, understandably, Kostos threw in the towel. But never fear! This star-crossed couple isn't finished. It was mildly satisfying to watch Lena grow something resembling a spine, and Kostos is as gentle and giving as he always was. But while the other two girls seemed forcibly altered, it was Lena who could have used the aging. She was still trapped in her nineteen-year-old mentality. Her insecurity, like it does in the previous books, gets old very quickly.

And then there's Tibby, the whole reason I cried continuously throughout this book. I won't tell you why--it's too big a spoiler. [If you want to know what happens but don't want to pick up the book, contact me and we can chat.] I was angry at Ann for changing the dynamic between the friends this drastically, in this particular way. I'm not sure that it was necessary. I felt a certain detachment from this book that I hadn't felt from the previous four. Maybe it was because I wish many of the events in the book hadn't occurred  or more importantly, that they hadn't occurred to these four people. I loved them too much. I was too attached. I wanted their futures bright, happy, open. This book wasn't where I pictured them ending up.

Recommendation: I won't be able to stop you from picking this book up if you've read the previous four and are just itching to read more. That's what led me to this purchase. It's what led me to crack the cover even though I had a feeling of trepidation. Just let me warn you: if you're looking for the girls you grew up with, you won't find them here. Not really. There are glimpses, cracked windows into the adults that could be the Sisterhood all grown up. The story is dark, the plot a vacuum that leaves you feeling drained, sad, and tired. It wasn't the future I wanted for them. In some ways, a few ends were tied up nicely. But there's a hole--a big, gigantic one--that forms in this book, and it's never filled. I ended up feeling a disconnect from this book entirely, and it felt like a stand-alone novel with characters who only happened to be named Bridget, Lena, Tibby, and Carmen. Read it if you can't stop yourself. Stop yourself if you're happy with the ending that Forever in Blue leaves you with. That's how I'd rather remember those girls: giddy, fun, close, and ready for the future.

Rating: 2.5/5

368 pages, published by Random House (June 14, 2011)

This is Where I Leave You

Written by Jonathan Tropper


Goodreads Synopsis: The death of Judd Foxman's father marks the first time that the entire Foxman family--including Judd's mother, brothers, and sister--have been together in years. Conspicuously absent: Judd's wife, Jen, whose fourteen-month affair with Judd's radio-shock-jock boss has recently become painfully public.
Simultaneously mourning the death of his father and the demise of his marriage, Judd joins the rest of the Foxmans as they reluctantly submit to their patriarch's dying request: to spend the seven days following the funeral together. In the same house. Like a family.
As the week quickly spins out of control, longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed, and old passions reawakened. For Judd, it's a weeklong attempt to make sense of the mess his life has become while trying in vain not to get sucked into the regressive battles of his madly dysfunctional family. All of which would be hard enough without the bomb Jen dropped the day Judd's father died:  she's pregnant. 


My Confession: I was first drawn to this book because of the cover. It's not just colorful--it's textured. I'm all for tactile stimulation (which is perhaps why I'll never warm up completely to ebooks), so the sensation of this book in my hands felt about as authentically literary as you can get. Before I even read the summary on the back, I was sold. And once I cracked the pages, I was hooked. Tropper has one of the most fantastic literary voices I've ever read. He's witty, sardonic, self-deprecating, wry, and intuitive, and because of this, he draws us in to his multi-faceted character and the complicated, tangled mess that is his life. After the first page, I was invested. That kind of writing takes incredible skill.


Sitting Shiva: This book, structurally, takes place over seven days, but we're treated to Judd's romantic, scholastic, and familial history throughout the novel. We're thrown so deeply into his head that we feel his fears, his desires. His betrayals are our betrayals, his depression our own. I don't think this story could have been as moving without the first-person narration. Seeing the other characters through the filter of Judd's memories and experiences paints a fulfilling picture. In other words, I didn't need to know their side of the story; I knew and trusted my narrator enough to take his descriptions at face value. Again, a very difficult feat that Tropper does easily. Judd is such an incredibly flawed character, and his family is positively certifiable. What goes down during those seven days (and the past thirty-something years that lead up to the family sitting Shiva) proves the point that relationships, love, and--most importantly, memories--are imperfect. As Judd tries to work through the quicksand of despair that seems to come at him from all angles, he's forced to confront decades-long resentment and guilt. Most importantly, the reader is left with the notion that silence, and a lack of trust in those closest to you, never bodes well. Silence is not golden.


My Recommendation: Every single character in this novel is flawed. Every single one seems to have a secret, a battle, a cross to bear in some way. The way they're tied together makes for one insanely intricate novel. However, the pieces click together impossibly well, and the reader feels just as connected to those characters as Judd does. In fact, in the middle of this read, I felt like I had to physically pull myself out of Judd's skin when I'd put the book down--and I'm a girl. For the first time, I felt like I could relate to and understand a male narrator who, while a bit more dramatic, had worries, fears and doubts not unlike my own. My family is a lot less dysfunctional, but every family has problems somewhere. This is Where I Leave You doesn't bother to romanticize the kinds of relationships most people simultaneously treasure and long for. And that's precisely what makes it so special.


Rating: 4.8/5


339 pages, published by Dutton Adult (Aug. 6, 2009)