Journal Entry 1 by indygo88 from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Saturday, October 01, 2011

"What if saying hello to an old friend meant saying good-bye to life as you know it?

It’s been six years since Pen Calloway watched her best friends walk out of her life. And through the birth of her daughter, the death of her father, and the vicissitudes of single motherhood, she has never stopped missing them.

Pen, Cat, and Will met on their first day of college and formed what seemed like a magical and lifelong bond, only to see their friendship break apart amid the realities of adulthood. When, after years of silence, Cat—the bewitching, charismatic center of their group—e-mails Pen and Will with an urgent request to meet at their college reunion, they can’t refuse. But instead of a happy reconciliation, what awaits is a collision of past and present that sends Pen and Will, with Pen’s five-year-old daughter and Cat’s hostile husband in tow, on a journey across the world.

With her trademark wit, vivid prose, and gift for creating authentic, captivating characters, Marisa de los Santos returns with an emotionally resonant novel about our deepest human connections. As Pen and Will struggle to uncover the truth about Cat, they find more than they bargained for: startling truths about who they were before and who they are now. They must confront the reasons their friendship fell apart and discover how—and if—it can ever fall back together."

Another lucky "win" from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
 

Journal Entry 2 by indygo88 at Lafayette, Indiana USA on Monday, October 17, 2011

I was pleasantly surprised by de los Santos' previous two novels, and so was rather anxious to see what this third novel had in store. Whereas her previous two had some recurring characters, this was a brand new storyline with new characters. I'm torn because I feel like I want to compare this one with the others (better or worse), but ultimately I'm rating this one a 4-star, as I did the previous two. This is basically the story of 3 people (one male, two female) who become best friends during college, then drift apart following a somewhat mysterious/questionable episode, which is gradually unfolded to the reader. My favorite thing about de los Santo's writing is her characterizations. Although her characters have their flaws, they're very likeable -- often to the point of making me want to know them as a real person & sometimes forgetting that they're not. And in that respect, this novel did not disappoint. I absolutely adored the banter between the two major characters, Pen & Will. If I had to single out what I didn't like about this novel, it would be that sometimes the prose was a bit confusing & almost awkward at times, making me have to go back and re-read a paragraph or two. Though she writes well, sometimes de los Santos is too wordy, and the sentences are a bit lengthier than necessary.

I'm not sure if this is a stand-alone novel or if there are in plans in store for a pseudo series, but I'd look forward to following the future adventures of Penn, Will, & Cat. 

Journal Entry 3 by indygo88 at Lafayette, Indiana USA on Saturday, November 05, 2011

Released 6 mos ago (11/5/2011 UTC) at Lafayette, Indiana USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending off to PBS member. Enjoy! :')

You have found a BookCrossing book! Please take a brief moment to journal your thoughts upon reading this book. Then, if you'd like, re-release the book (to a friend, a stranger, or back out into the wild). That way you can track its travels & its readers throughout the world!