Where We Belong By Emily Giffin Book Review

One of the things I love the most about books and reading/listening is that they are able to transport you into another time and into someone else’s life, even though that life is fictional. You are able to forget about what is going on in your life and move into a compelling story, even for just a short while. That is how I felt listening to this audiobook from Emily Giffn.

WHERE WE BELONG By Emily Giffin
Read by Orlagh Cassidy
Unabridged | ISBN-13: 978-1-4272-2127-8| 9 CDs | 10 hours
On Sale 07/24/2012
Published simultaneously with the print edition from St. Martin’s Press

WHERE WE BELONG

By Emily Giffin

New York Times bestselling author of five novels including Something Borrowed, which was made into a major motion picture!

Read by Orlagh Cassidy

FROM THE AUTHOR OF FIVE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING NOVELS COMES THE UNFORGETTABLE STORY OF ONE POWERFUL SECRET, ITS EFFECT ON TWO FAMILIES, AND THE LIFE-ALTERING JOURNEY THAT FOLLOWS

Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six-year-old television producer living her dream in New York City. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door… only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had locked away forever.

From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s meticulously constructed world will be shaken to its core, resurrecting memories of a passionate young love affair that threatens everything that has come to define her. For the precocious and headstrong Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to reevaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light.

As Marian and Kirby embark on a quest to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves. A place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever.

Narrated by the very talented Orlagh Cassidy, Kirby, Marian, and the rest of Giffin’s characters are given voices so real and so compelling that the listener is immediately transported into the novel itself and taken along on the whirlwind adventure that steadily builds, gathering momentum and coming to an exciting and fulfilling conclusion!

My Thoughts:
Sometimes when you read a book it takes a few chapters to get into the characters and really respond and interact with them. Not so with this book. The story grabs you immediately. The author tells this story from two different sides – first from the birth mother’s side and then also from the 18 year old’s view. Choosing to write in such a manner is difficult yet what an amazing feat as it brings you right into the story and holds you there all the way through.

Kirby, the child, is a typical teenager with self imposed angst and issues and a deep desire to find her birth mother and learn as much as she can, just because she can. Marion the mom, has secrets, several secrets that threaten to change her life as she knows it and that is very hard for her to admit. Making a choice that will change other peoples lives is not something you can take lightly.

As the story evolves, both of the women have choices to make that will forever change their lives and the lives of their families and others involved. Through the pain and the acceptance, life will go on and in many ways be better for the decisions made. Is the ending happy? I guess you could say so, but for this story it certainly was the right ending, yet leaving a door open for more.

I loved listening to this story. I would find myself sitting at my desk, completely ignoring my work while listening, enthralled by this book. Then, all of a sudden, I realize that several hours had passed. The author is an excellent story teller and while I have never had the pleasure of reading her other works, I definitely picking up some of her other books. I just love how she crafts her stories.

Disclaimer: Chris  has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.