Do you think it’s possible to like a book more because you’ve seen the movie first? I know movies are never as good as the books on which they’re based, but I find if I watch the movie FIRST then I like both. In the case of Something Borrowed, by Emily Giffin, I think having Kate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin in my head made the story come more alive. I saw the movie years ago and finally got around to reading it. I was in the mood for something a little lighter and more consuming than the literary fiction I’ve been reading, and this really fit the bill.
Summary:
Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hardworking attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid-of-honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always done the right thing and played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship. But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy’s fiancé, Dex—and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same about her. As the September wedding date nears, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren’t always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself.
Review:
Dudes, I read this in one day! Started with a few hours on my deck, then later as my hubs watched the Alabama game (Roll Tide!) and then into the wee hours of the night. The last time I read a whole book in a day was, like, Animal Farm? Because it was like 100 pages? Griffin’s writing style and formatting (hello short chapters. I must get better at writing short chapters), kept me saying “one more chapter, okay just one more chapter,” until I finally just gave in and stayed up until 1:30 in the morning to finish.
It’s hard to pinpoint what I loved about it. Of course I rooted for Rachel, and identified with her feelings of inadequacy that come from having “that friend” who seems to have a charmed life and the world by the balls. But Darcy was also just so fun to “watch,” especially as I was imagining Kate Hudson the whole time.
I did feel like it was a little long in the middle (if I had to read “we made love” one more time it would put me off sex indefinitely), but again I did read it in like 8 hours. Having more of a Darcy-like personality myself (always being straightforward about what I want, I mean, not the whole competitive, lying, conceited part), I got so frustrated with Rachel for letting things drag on. I wish I had seen just a teeny bit more of Darcy’s good side just to make the dilemma a bit more high stakes.
Despite that, the pacing was really good, the characters vivid, and the story realistic enough while still being the perfect escape. Four and a half stars.
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Kaela Coble 