Book Review: Emily Giffin's Where We Belong

I have a love/hate relationship with nearly every Emily Giffin novel. Partially because her characters really come to life for you within her book (making it easy for you to either really really like them or not...) and partially because she seems to really dwell on the subjects of infidelity and lying, neither which are my cup of tea. That being said though, no matter the content I just can't seem to put her books down! And Where We Belong is no exception. Best book to date by this author who brings to life the real drama of awkward situations.

Marian and Kirby meet face to face for the first time after 18 years, unraveling an adoption story and an entire web of secrets. This novel trends back and forth between the two and their stories, and as only Emily Giffin does so well, everything comes full circle with a few surprising twists along the way.

I really enjoyed this book, and read through it in only a few short days. It was the type of story that made me sad to put away, because you feel like you actually get to know and like the characters. As with most of her books, they bring a wave of nostalgia as I read her scenes depicting Manhattan (my stomping grounds for a couple years post-college).

I'm giving this book a five star rating because of how readable it is. I enjoyed it and I couldn't put it down. That being said, I can see this book not sitting well with two very distinct groups of people: those who are in Marian's shoes and have given a baby up for adoption, and those who are in Kirby's shoes, desperately in search of some sort of belonging because they were adopted. While the story is really nice, I imagine that compared to a lot of the true adoption/birth family stories that it's a lot of fluff. Unfortunately.

I do appreciate that Giffin painted a portrait of pro-life in this novel. I really hope that she has another book that continues with these characters. I'm dying to know what happens with Marian, Conrad, and Kirby! You hear that Emily Giffin? There had better be a sequel!

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