REVIEWS+

Falling Together

by Marisa de los Santos
Morrow. Oct. 2011. 386p. ISBN 9780061670879. $25.99. F
COPY ISBN
Situated in the supportive grid of women's fiction (if leaning strongly toward romance), de los Santos explores the many guises of friendship and love in this tender and bittersweet story of growing into one's life. Pen, Cat, and Will meet in college and bond instantly over Cat (who had an epileptic seizure in the women's room). Inseparable friends, they remain close until Cat's boyfriend, and her decision to marry him, breaks them apart. Years later, Pen is raising her daughter Augusta on her own after a disastrous affair, and Will is writing children's books and working his way through the lingering traumas of childhood. They reconnect at their college reunion and discover that Cat once again creates a pivot for their lives. De los Santos has many strengths to recommend her: her blend of lyrical description and strong dialog, focus on interior spaces well described (be they a mood, landscape, or room), fully drawn characters, and an emotional investment in her characters and their stories. Readers who enjoy the connection forged through the ties of family and friendships should find much to savor in de los Santos's comforting, leisurely paced novel. — Neal Wyatt, "RA Crossroads" Booksmack! 9/1/11
Pen, Will, and Cat become friends in college but have that inevitable falling out. Not so long after graduation, single-mom Pen gets a frantic email plea from Will, begging her to come to a class reunion. There, the three friends meet, greet, and go on a life-changing journey. Okay, you've heard the plot before, but books by de los Santos are big best sellers, and won the American Library Association Reading List Award for Women's Fiction. With a 250,000-copy first printing and a reading group guide.
Following Love Walked In and Belong to Me, de los Santos's third novel embraces the draw of college friendships. Catalina, Will, and Pen (short for Penelope) meet on a drama-filled night their freshman year and from that moment are completely inseparable, a solid trio whose bonds seem unbreakable. But something serious does come between them, and after college the friends stop speaking to one another. Yet each one feels the others' absence deeply. Until one day when Pen and Will receive a curt email from Cat: "Please come to the ten-year reunion, I need you." It's a mystery that neither Pen nor Will can ignore. What they find at the reunion is unexpected. This novel is partly a deep look into a friendship and what strengthened it as well as what ruined it, and partly a mystery that sends Pen and Will halfway around the world to the Philippines. The story unfolds in pieces—why the friendships fell apart and what reunites the friends in ways they would not have thought possible are slowly unveiled. While the characters are lovely and the writing is heartfelt, the pacing can be slow.
VERDICT The author's fans will enjoy this nostalgic mystery with romantic elements. [See Prepub Alert, 4/18/11.]—Beth Gibbs, Davidson, NC
Reviewed by Beth Gibbs , Sep 01, 2011
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?