Josie finds herself on a relentless mission to begin her next step in life. She is 38, a first grade teacher, and no husband or kiddos in the picture. She feels her time ticking but can't seem to find Mr. Right. This is probably because she let him get away many years ago on that dark night she tries to forget every minute of every day. So how convenient when she finds out that his daughter will be in her classroom this year and his beautiful wife will be her parent volunteer. Just perfect. Josie does have her best friend Gabe by her side and to kick her butt when she needs it, as well as a wonderful family along with her sister Meredith. Okay, maybe not a wonderful family, since their whole world came crashing down when Daniel, her brother died. One tragic car accident took his life and therefore molded the rest of her and her families' lives forever. As sad as it was, Josie doesn't like to think about it, especially since she has a secret that only her and Gabe know about the night her brother died and this is one secret nobody can ever know. So Josie does what she can to avoid that night and memories of her brother at all costs. This happens to drive her sister Meredith nuts and continues to add to the forever growing wedge between them.
Meredith can't seem to see the good in her sister. Everything she does is for herself and this is something Meredith cannot understand. After all, Meredith is living in the house her parents used to own because she knows this will make them happy, and she even married her deceased brothers best friend which she is beginning to think was more for him or her tie to her brother then for true love. Meredith begins to realize she needs more to her life and brings this up to her husband Nolan, but also gives him the notion that maybe she never really loved him the way she should have. All of this is too much to handle so Nolan, in an attempt to save his marriage, makes Mere go to New York for a few weeks to find out what she really wants. As hard as it was to leave, Meredith leaves Nolan and their beautiful little girl in Atlanta to figure out her life. She ends up getting more than she bargained for when her sister joins her and finally tells Meredith a secret she's been keeping since the night their brother died.
In thinking back to all of Emily Giffin's books thus far, I'd say my favorite was Something Borrowed and my least favorite was The One and Only. This one would definitely fall in the top four of the eight. It was a good story about the bonds of family and how devastating the long term affects can be in losing a sibling. It also portrays a true portrait of two very different sisters and how much they love one another even though they consistently clash. Lastly, Emily gives another view into marriage and shows us a side of marriage that isn't cheating, but isn't full of passion, it's a marriage where two who loved the idea of what being together meant to them that they never paid attention to the fact they really weren't in love. After reading many of Giffin's books, I am starting to worry about her own marriage since this is the 4th one where a woman doubts her feelings for her husband. I hope Mr. Giffin doesn't read these.
If you are looking for a love story, this is not it. Nonetheless, it was well written and keeps you interested. I also liked the tie-in this story had with Love the One You're With as she overlapped characters from that book with this. I liked when she did this before with Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof. So until her next book is out, I am off to read the latest from another loved author. Stay tuned!
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