Something Blue

Something Blue is Emily Giffin's sequel to Something Borrowed. In the first book, Rachel and Darcy's 25-year friendship goes awry, told from the point of view of Rachel--- the good girl, the smart student, the dutiful daughter, the supportive friend. Darcy lives the life that Rachel can only dream about--- she gets everything she sets her sights on seemingly just by being gorgeous. When Rachel has an affair with her friend's perfect fiance, no one was more surprised than Darcy.

In Something Blue, Darcy narrates what happens after she discovers that Rachel has stolen her fiance. She finds out that she's pregnant with her ex-fiance's best man, her parents are outraged that she dumped her fiance for a godawful boy and she feels that her life is spiraling out of control. In a last ditch effort to recover her charmed life, she packs her bags, flies to London and makes her childhood friend, Ethan, put her up during her vacation, confident that she will find a gorgeous, wealthy, refined English gentleman who will fall madly in love with her and save her from all her worries. Miles away from home, jobless, pregnant, with no friends and a very uncertain future, Darcy picks up the pieces and rebuilds her life, discovering what true friendship and true love are all about.

The novel is poignant as well as funny, and the reader can't help but fall in love with Darcy--- despite her flaws and maybe because of them. She's the girl that the estrogen-driven population loves to hate, but her character is so genuine, her emotions so authentic, that to empathize is the only recourse. I'm now a Darcy fan more than Rachel's. Maybe because the story of a good-girl-gone-bad does not appeal to me as much as that of a bad-girl-turning-over-a-new-leaf. Also, I think it's the theory that every person is inherently good, and bearing witness to Darcy's triumphs no matter how trivial, that inspire and invite us to put our faith in people even when they don't seem worthy. Maybe it's sappy, but I prefer to call it hopeful and inspiring. Giffin makes us see that the perfect life of Darcy is not as charmed as we are inclined to believe, and that Darcy, like any person in real life, can change. Something Blue is a surprisingly insightful, fun read.