This was such a GREAT book !! I first met Cornelia & Teo in Marisa de los Santos first book, Love Walked In. Belong To Me picks up a few years later. After 9/11.
Cornelia & Teo have been married for a few years & are relocating to the Philly suburbs from New York City. The story follows Cornelia as she tries to settle in the suburban life. Much like settling into a new school, settling into a new neighborhood has the same stresses.
Finding new friends. Being accepted by the people in the neighborhood. Will they like me? Etc... Cornelia meets Piper the Viper, who says such inappropriate things, it is shocking. She also meets Lake & her son, Dev. Lake is also new to the area & they find companionship while trying to make their way in the area.
Belong to Me is told from several different viewpoints. Of course, from Cornelia's viewpoint. But also from the viewpoint of one of her neighbor's, Piper. And also from the viewpoint of Dev, Lake's teenage son. You also get to catch up with characters that you have met before, in Love Walked In, Clare, & Toby & the rest of the family.
This is a book that gives you a glimpse in the lives of people you see everyday in the grocery store. Their appearances do not tell the whole story. You see the perfectly glossed suburban housewife, what you don't see is that her best friend is wasting away with terminal cancer. You see the bohemian, "earthy" woman with the drop dead gorgeous husband, what you don't see is the heartbreak of fertility issues. You see the typical teenage boy, what you don't see is the anguish the teen feels of having a father that abandoned him & his mother.
All these stories are brought together & told in a fabulous tale that is called Belong to Me. This is one of those stories that you don't want to see end. One of those stories that can go on forever.
I love books like that! =)
Belong to Me is the new Barnes & Noble Recommends book. It hit's the shelves today. This is a great book for book clubs. There is so much to discuss, so many different aspects of the story that can generate hours of conversations. Read it & let me know what you think!!
I don't know that I'll read this one, doesn't sound like my kind of story. But I am currently reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves right now, so I have to point out that in your last paragraph where you say it "hit's shelves today" there should not be an apostrophe in hits. Sorry, couldn't help myself! :-)
LOL -- I thought you were a science teacher, not an English teacher!! :P
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