Day: February 18, 2021

Four women, college friends, reunite for what is supposed to be a “catch up/reconnect” weekend. But it doesn’t go exactly as planned. In fact, the phrase “you can’t go home again” crossed my mind more than once while reading this book.

Regardless, the women all have mixed feelings about the weekend for various reasons. They also have secrets that they are hiding from their dearest friends.

Not only one secret, though. There are layers of secrets going back to their time in college. Will they be revealed over the weekend? Will they stay hidden? How will each of the women be impacted?

The author did a good job of clearly defining each of the women and their personalities, but also clearly marked their place within the group. Elise is the mother hen, striving for perfection, wanting everything to be just right. Ivy is the wild child, offbeat and temperamental. Libby is the soother, the one who tries to make sure everyone is okay, smoothing ruffled feathers.

And Ada, well…to be honest, Ada seemed like a misfit to me. She was the hardest for me to relate to, and maybe that’s why I didn’t get a really good feel for her character? Then again, she isn’t sure who she even is anymore, so maybe her confusion colored my perception?

Each of the women have their own set of personal adult worries that they are reluctant to share with people they purport to be good friends with. This was accurate to me, because old friendships, no matter how strong, can often waver over time and distance.

The characters were all fully realized, and I didn’t feel like anyone was a caricature, in spite of the obvious roles they played to each other. It was also interesting to see how their own perceptions of self were viewed by the others.

While I appreciated the insight that came with inner monologues and personal thoughts, I did think that some of the passages involving inner musings went on for too long. I found this to be true particularly with Ada but also to a point with the other ladies.

I’m sure the author did this to make each of the women more relatable to readers who might identify with them, but I wanted more to play out in the interaction between the women. I guess it needed to be the balancing act so the reader had both sides of an issue – how the individual felt and how those feelings manifested in behaviors.

What I found by the end, and I think each of the women realized as well, is that while you may not be able to “go home again” and recapture the friendships of youth, sometimes those friendships can grow and branch out in more beneficial ways over time.

Ultimately, it was an intriguing look at female dynamics and how difficult it is for women to trust even their closest friends with their deepest secrets. I would recommend this book.

Author Bio:

A teacher as well as a writer, Emily Cavanagh lives with her husband, two daughters, and an Australian Shepherd on Martha’s Vineyard Island. Her work has been published in Red Rock Review, Grain Magazine, Transfer, and Martha’s Vineyard Arts and Ideas. Read more about Emily’s work and life at www.emilycavanaghauthor.com.