[Review] Where We Belong - Emily Giffin

Title of Book : Where We Belong
Author : Emily Giffin
Publisher : St. Martin's Paperbacks

Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six-year-old television producer living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and picture-perfect relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had locked away forever.From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s meticulously constructed world will be shaken to its core, resurrecting memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her. For the precocious and headstrong Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to reevaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light.As Marian and Kirby embark on a quest to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves. A place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever.

I’m definitely adding Emily Giffin as my favorite author. Where We Belong is the third book written by her that I read and I like her writing in this book. I was curious about how she would represent teenagers. The last book written by her that I read doesn’t have teens on it. Reading Where We Belong, I’d say she does well with Kirby.

Where We Belong is narrated by Marian and Kirby. They have their own chapters telling the story from their point of view. Most of Marian’s chapters recite Marian’s past with her first love, Conrad Knight. She told us how her life is connected with Kirby’s. I like those chapters. Marian is a successful woman in a big city with (almost) flawless life. After Kirby knocked on her door, she recalled her past and began rethinking if the life she was leading is the one she wanted. So she narrates those chapters in a way a person ponders about her/his whole life. It’s a little sad though.

Marian and Kirby are a good combination. They don’t outshine each other, but they complement each other. Kirby has her own principles, even though at the beginning she was looking for her true self and sometimes does what she wants to do. Marian is surely not a saint. She has her own flaws. She tends to care too much about people’s opinion and sometimes doubts herself. But nobody’s perfect, and that’s what makes me like these two.

I like Giffin’s choice of title too. Simple, yet straight to the main point. The ending is satisfying. It gives enough conclusions for both Marian and Kirby.

Where We Belong is good for its mother-daughter relationship and family issues. It is a nice read for those who like contemporary romance adult novel. Especially for those who’s a bit tired of cheesy romance story.