Something Blue

A few weeks ago while I was struggling through the remainder of "Wicked" my friend recommended Emily Giffin to me; so picked up her first book "Something Borrowed". I pretty much hated that book and basically forced myself to read it, (hey it was a nice break from "Wicked"). It's from this girl Rachel's perspective who ends up sleeping with her best friend's fiancé and continues to justify it for about 300 pages. I don't mind characters with moral dilemmas but this was a bit extreme. I couldn't identify with any of the characters. I didn't care much for the best friend Darcy as she was self absorbed and as far as I was concerned didn't deserve her fiancé or her best friend. This doesn't mean that I sided with Rachel though, I can't imagine losing your morals to the point that you would sleep with your best friend's fiancé.


What I didn't understand most about "Something Borrowed" was why Rachel remained friends with this girl from high school that she didn't seem to like. You don't have to play games after high school. You grow up and hang around the people you like. Popularity doesn't matter anymore. This book just seemed like it was a high school concern in thirty-something world. It didn't fit.

My friend who lent it to me said that she liked the second one better; "Something Blue". So I figured I would give it a try. This book is written from Darcy's perspective; the best friend that was cheated on. Basically how she is dealing with the break up and her new life without her best friend, or fiancé. Darcy later experiences self reflection and realizes just how self absorbed she is. This is nice but it takes about 200 pages to get to that point in the novel.

Even though parts of this novel annoyed me I have to say that I quite enjoyed the book, maybe because Darcy really got it in the beginning from her new boyfriend Marcus and a few friends. I was happy when her life "fell apart" as she referred to it. I also liked it when her friend Ethan gave told her off near the end. I was happy when Darcy turned her life around and realized what mattered the most.

I think that I liked this book the most because Darcy understands what true friendship is about and the value of true love, and family. Values that weren't present at all in the first novel. Also I may just liked it because the first one was so bad that it shined in comparison. Or maybe I was desperate for entertainment as I read it over two nights where I suffered from prenatal insomnia.

If you are thinking about reading this book you have the read "Something Borrowed" first or else you will miss the whole picture.
Anyway I was wondering how "Something Borrowed" made it to the best sellers list. Emily Giffin's books aren't fabulous they are a mindless read that requires little effort from the reader. Would I recommend this book? Probably not, but if you are looking for a shallow book for the beach this is it.

A book that I really enjoyed years ago was "Where the Heart Is" by Billie Letts. It's an Oprah book club book. That's one I would recommend. It has morals and yes I will add "heart" something that didn’t come into play in Giffin’s book until the last 10 pages.