Search Results for: sarah pekkanen

What do you get when you bring a group of old friends together on a tropical island for a dream vacation, years after the college experiences that first bonded them? In Sarah Pekkanen’s new novel The Best of Us, the answer is a little complicated. Sure there are plenty of laughs and moments of reminiscing, but underneath the surface, the week might also bring out the not-so-best in all of them, as well.

Back in college, Tina, Allie, and Savannah were dormmates, and they befriended Dwight, the geeky, socially awkward guy on campus. Though their personalities might not all seem to go together from an outsider’s perspective, they each brought something unique to their group friendship, and they all have fond memories of their days at the University of Virginia. In honor of Dwight’s thirty-fifth birthday, his new wife Pauline is calling them and their spouses all together for a week in a Jamaican paradise, hoping to provide the best gift possible to her husband– the happiness that comes from being surrounded by friends.

Of course, the stories have to be filled in for each player in this cast of characters. Tina, mom to four young children, can’t even imagine an all-expenses-paid trip to Jamaica in the context of her daily exhaustion. It’s only through Allie’s encouragement that she even considers the idea, and since Allie has always been the one to think about others’ feelings and needs, she helps her manage the logistics and gets them both on board. Savannah doesn’t think twice about the invitation- a vacation is just what she needs since she’s discovered her husband’s infidelity, and what better place than Jamaica to show off her hot body and maybe find someone to help her forget all about the cheating?

Though Pauline doesn’t know her husband’s college pals very well, she feels she needs to do something grand for Dwight. They haven’t been married very long, and Pauline hasn’t been completely forthright with him about her past. The effects of the secrets she carries are already causing some strain to their relationship.

The perspectives of the four women dominate the storytelling here, while Dwight and the other husbands fill in the supporting cast. Though it’s somewhat formulaic to throw together a group of four female friends, (or four couples), and have them each represent one particular stereotyped version of a woman (or relationship), it can sometimes be done well. That’s the case with The Best of Us, and I think I can say it’s my favorite of Pekkanen’s yet. She writes the female characters with depth, and though they’re not always completely likable, their mistakes (even the bigger ones!) make them human. This novel nicely portrays some common issues in women’s lives and marriages, and the setting of a tropical getaway removes each character enough from her everyday life to provide a chance to reflect, perhaps err a bit, and then work hard to get back on track.

Dawn would willingly join any group of folks for an all-expenses-paid trip to Jamaica. Since that’s not terribly likely, she’ll sit back and read by the poolside this summer while her children scream her name, again and again. She’ll probably even blog about it at my thoughts exactly.

Marriage makes for a common topic among female protagonist-driven fiction, and as a reader, I know that I am attracted to stories with which I can relate, so I find myself frequently opting for novels that depict the many ways a relationship can develop. In Sarah Pekkanen’s soon to be releasing novel, Skipping a Beat, a marriage that has become based more on image and money than on an actual loving connection is turned on its head.

Julia and Michael Dunhill are among Washington, D.C.’s corporate elite, living a lavish life of privilege built on the success of a business Michael built from the ground up back when they were newlyweds and floundering in debt. Their West Virginia childhoods never could have prepared them for this new life of luxury, and Julia herself never expected to eventually drift away from her childhood sweetheart, the man who entered her life as a boy defending her in a moment of danger.

Yet here they are. Julia finds the comfort she needs in her possessions and her one dear friend, yet everything changes on the day that Michael dies. It changes after four minutes and eight seconds, because Michael is shocked back to life, and he’s not the same man. Suddenly, Michael wants to make a complete life change, and he wants nothing more than for Julia to be with him while he does it. His actions force Julia to face her personal history with both Michael and her family, and she has many choices to make… and forgiveness isn’t an easy option.

Pekkanen’s writing style in giving voice to Julia’s character incorporates frequent use of foreshadowing, and Julia offers small “teaser” bits of info throughout the book. As a result, I found myself anticipating some events and disclosures, yet still completely surprised by others. The characters are wholly believable, and they continue to blossom as the novel progresses. The depiction of marriage here is highly nuanced and understandable, regardless of one’s own experiences.

Money may not buy happiness, but it undoubtedly changes people, and the representation of a seemingly happy marriage shows the lack of connection that results from an ambitious and time consuming career and a loss of the relationship that was first developed. In Skipping a Beat, readers will find themselves pulled in by this intelligent, engaging and emotional story. Pre-orders are being accepted by Amazon now, and the novel will be released on 2/22.

Dawn and her family may reside in the Washington, D.C. area, but you won’t see their names appearing in the society pages any time soon, but you can find them as the stars of her blog, my thoughts exactly.

For some reason, I’ve always been fascinated with sibling relationships, especially those of twins. Could all those widely spread stories be true? Are there twins out there who can finish one another’s sentences and physically feel the pain experienced by the other? Well, if you asked that of Lindsey, one half of the Rose twin sisters at the center of Sarah Pekkanen’s debut novel The Opposite of Me, I’m fairly certain that she would simply laugh in your face.

Lindsey and Alex, fraternal twins, hardly have a close sisterly bond. In fact, the distance in their relationship is made of much more than the simple miles between Lindsey’s life in New York City and Alex’s in Washington, D.C. Told from Lindsey’s perspective, there are significantly different roles that she and her sister have played their entire lives- one that left smart and capable Lindsey consistently in the shadow of the stunningly beautiful Alex. Lindsey has embodied her role by becoming so successful in her career at an elite advertising agency that she is poised to become a twenty-nine year old vice president.

What happens, then, when every aspect of life that has come to define her suddenly changes? Unable to share her new reality when she takes up temporary residence with her parents in suburban Maryland, Lindsey takes to hiding the truth while she attempts to build a new life, focused on professional success, of course. Naturally, complications pop up, and a series of events leads Lindsey to question how she has always defined herself… and perhaps her sister, as well.

In all honesty, I found the second half of Pekkanen’s novel to be much more appealing than the first half, perhaps because it took a little while for me to truly understand Lindsey. The depth of her character becomes revealed as her life changes drastically on the career and personal fronts, and as a result, she appears more believable and likable, in my opinion. I thought this novel was very well-written “chick lit,” not subscribing to the more fluffy aspects of that label, while certainly still appealing to female readers. Emotional exploration into sibling relationship marks the core of The Opposite of Me, but there is much more self-discovery happening here as well. An often amusing and endearing novel!

Dawn has often wondered what life would have been like with a twin… chances are there would be a sister site to her blog, my thoughts exactly.