The New Book Review

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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Lyndsay Digneo Reviews New Chicklit Book

Title – Something Borrowed
Author – Emily Giffin
Author’s Website – http://www.emilygiffin.com
Genre - Chicklit
ISBN-10: 031232118X
ISBN-13: 978-0312321185

Reviewed by Lyndsay Digneo for Simply Lindsay
Reviewer Website (Blog) – http://simplylyndsay.blogspot.com/


Despite a lot of positive reviews, I was slightly hesitant to read Emily Giffin's first novel, Something Borrowed. The whole premise of the book, the main character sleeps with her best friend's fiancé, isn't exactly the storyline I usually go for. However, with the movie being released on May 6th and a lot of great recommendations from friends, I decided to take the plunge and read it. I'm so glad I did. Unlike other novels with an affair at its core, Giffin did a stellar job of turning the tables and made the reader sympathetic to the cheater.

Meet Rachel and Darcy. They've been best friends for years. Rachel is the perpetual good girl, who's worked hard for everything she has in life, and Darcy, well, she's that girl you know and sometimes scratch your head in wonder about how everything in her life has always fallen into place. However, on the eve of her 30th birthday, Rachel finds herself in bed with Darcy's fiancé. While she resigns herself to thinking it was a one-time, drunken mistake, the fling soon becomes a full blown affair. To make matters worse, as if it could get worse, Rachel is not only Darcy's best friend she is her maid of honor.

As the story follows Rachel, Darcy, and Dex, that's Darcy's fiancé, and their friends through the summer, the lines of right and wrong get blurred. As easy as it is to say cheating is wrong, Giffin makes a subtle but strong case that there are "no moral absolutes."

At 29, I'm about the same age as Rachel and Darcy. I found myself relating to them and laughing along side of them throughout the entire book. One of my favorite scenes of the entire book was the night of Darcy's bachelorette party. Darcy spent the night at Rachel's apartment as Darcy wanted to relive the days of childhood sleepovers. If you ever had a best friend that was like a sister to you, you'll relate and feel bond between Rachel and Darcy. They truly have a history filled with good memories, and that's what makes Rachel's situation all the more intriguing and difficult.

The focal point of the novel is a heavy one, but the story itself is another segment of growing up. We grow up learning right from wrong, but the truth of the matter is "the world is not that black-and-white." Sometimes it takes us until we're 29 going on 30 to fully learn the lesson and realize that there are always tough decisions to make. And of course when it comes to matters of the heart, sometimes, we learn that a man should never be something borrowed.


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