Marisa de los Santos

I think this book will be percolating in my head for a long time. Belong To Me is beautifully written, and is one of the best approaches I've seen to a multi-perspective story. Especially in the early chapters, de los Santos gives such keenly insightful glimpses into how women relate to each other and see themselves, and how guardedly they dip their toes into trust and friendship that it's almost uncomfortable to read. In the end, though, her reflections on family and love and the sometimes show more serendipitous-seeming miracle of how people come to belong to us (and vice versa) were very moving. Also, it's just a great story! show less

At eighteen, Ginny "Zinny" Beale is a lighthearted, fun, brave girl with a close group of friends and brother with whom she can unite against their uptight mother. But one night changes all of that. Someone sets the town's high school on fire and in the aftermath, the father of Ginny's best friend, Gray, is dead. The townspeople look for someone to blame--leaving most of it on a troubled teen--but Ginny learns some news that changes her entire world. She tells no one, but the secret alters show more her life and leaves her an outcast among her friends and family. Over the next twenty years, Ginny transitions, settling down, returning to her hometown and marrying Harris, a professor. They have a daughter, Avery, and Ginny cares for her mother, who is dying. But when scandal rocks the town again--this time focused on Harris--Ginny has to make some choices. It's time to confront the past and the secret she's kept buried all this time.

"In one night, one night, I lost all of them."

I adore Marisa de los Santos and her writing, though this wasn't my favorite of her books. Still, she's just so good at capturing the little moments in life: nailing down the feelings and emotions of her characters. Ginny, Avery, and others spring to life in this one. The story swings between past and present, with older excerpts often told from Ginny's diary entries. It takes a while to learn Ginny's big secret, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine: I'm not always a fan of dragging out a secret.

This is a poignant and sad read, delving into marriage, love, and parenthood. My favorite character was fifteen-year-old Avery, who is hit hard by the incident involving her father, Harris. In many ways, I was far more invested in Avery's growth than Ginny's--I liked Ginny, but I couldn't quite find myself fully wanting to root for her. Although the juxtaposition between young Zinny and present-day Ginny was quite well-done.

Did you stop being your old selves? Did they fall away? Were you always only the self you were in the present?

The book explores how one secret can so change a person and the ripple effect it has on many lives. Ms. de los Santos examines her characters very closely via her writing, and I will always love picking up her books and getting an intimate look at her cast of players. In the end, this is a touching and well-written novel, even if I couldn't always find myself fully engaged in Ginny's world. 3.75 stars, rounded to 4 here.

I received a copy of this novel from William Morrow in return for an unbiased review. show less

I just finished reading Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos. This, to me, was one of those books I just did not want to end. I want to know what happens in the characters’ lives going forward. I want to be their friend; to be entwined in their lives.

This is the story of Will, Pen, and Cat and the friendship they formed early in their college days. They were the Three Musketeers; the St. Elmo’s Fire friends, whose friendship essentially went separate ways until several years after show more their graduation. Cat has disappeared, and Will and Pen reunite in order to find her and solve the mystery of her life since their split. Pen is heartsick over the death of her father; Will is stoic over the loss (but not to death) of his own father; Cat’s mystery surrounds the death of her father. The path of discovery is through each other.

The tale is told mostly from Pen’s point-of-view, but occasionally shifts to third person Will. Cat’s story is told from their memories of her. I found the characters well rounded and well developed, and their relationships to each other folded almost agonizingly slowly – I wanted to skip ahead to satisfy my curiosity! Their backstories unwind and fill in the blanks, leaving the reader to see that even book characters do have flaws in their personalities, and the road to love is not always paved with gold or is always smooth sailing. Although filled with much banter and humorous moments, to me, the best part was the prose and moments of self-discovery Pen experienced.[b:Falling Together|10380686|Falling Together|Marisa de los Santos|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327949843s/10380686.jpg|15284208] show less

Marisa de los Santos' writing is so magical to me. Not everyone will appreciate or notice it, but those who care about words will, because her brand of magic is the kind where the right word is used at the exact right time, over and over again. And Cornelia continues to be one of my favorite literary characters ever because she is both relatable in a kindred spirit kind of way, while also embodying the traits I most admire (I myself am more of an Ollie). Without the writing this book show more wouldn't stand out from the many other dual-timeline novels out there, but with it it shines brighter than the others. Sorry for the corny pun. show less