Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publish Date: April 16, 2013
Pages: 384
Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-0312554184

Marian Caldwell, New York producer of a hit show, thinks that her life is just about perfect. Great boyfriend, great career, and beautiful East Side apartment. And then one day, the past stands before her in the form of Kirby, her biggest secret, an unplanned child she gave up for adoption 18 years ago.  As the perfect life Marian created starts to shatter, she gets to know her daughter, and confronts her past, which she has pushed away for years.

My Thoughts
The back story of Marian's past and what lead to Kirby is woven in with the story and Marian and Kirby getting to know each other and try to figure out where they fit into each other lives and really where they want to go with their own lives now.

The chapters alternate in voices from Marian to Kirby's, with sections woven in of Marian at 18. The information is given to the reader as we need it and the characters remember, having the reader piece the present and past together and see how they relate to each other.

Finally, the novel addresses the important question of Kirby’s birth father, Conrad Knight. Marion lied to Conrad about her pregnancy; and while he is delighted to meet Kirby, who shares his talent and passion for music, he is rightfully angry with Marion, who never told him about the existence of his only child.

The interplay of the families involved - Marion and her mother and father and Peter Standish, Kirby and her mother, father, and sister, and Conrad Knight - is highly entertaining and realistic. And Marion’s transformation by her decision to tell Conrad the truth leaves room for yet another novel about these lovable and interesting families.

The book got better and better progressively and the highlight was probably when Marian saw Kirby and Conrad together in the bar, playing the drums like it was all meant to be. That was probably the turning point of Marian's character development and it's from there that we start to see the subtle shift in her priorities and her needs.

A compelling read, this book is an improvement on her other novels Heart of the Matter, Love the One You're With and Baby Proof, but perhaps doesn't live up to the first two in the series, Something Borrowed and Something Blue. Still, the plot moves along fairly quickly and all in all, it's a fast read.

My Rating: «««

Buy it Now!

The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.