Jennifer P. (jenners) reviewed on 5/25/2010 + 121 more book reviews

Settings where it took place or characters you met:

* Setting: Philadelphia suburbs, modern day

* Cornelia Brown just moved to a new neighborhood (her hottie husband Teo is a oncologist at a nearby Philadelphia hospital) and finding it challenging to make female friends. Her prickly neighbor Piper Truitt doesn't exactly help; she is the Queen Bee of the neighborhood and finds Cornelia appalling. But when Cornelia meets Lakea single mother and waitress at a local restaurantthey become instant friends ... but Lake seems to have two sides to her that Cornelia has difficulty reconciling.

* Dev Tremain is Lake's only son, and their devotion to each other knows no bounds. So when Dev's intelligence gets him in trouble at his California high school, Lake packs them up and moves to the Philadelphia suburbs so Dev can attend a school for gifted students. But Dev is suspicious of Lake's motives and begins to think the move might have something to do with his father (who his mother refuses to discuss). So Dev begins his own search for his father, which takes some unexpected turns. Along the way, he experiences the joys and confusion of first love when he meets Clare (a special friend of Cornelia and Teo) who has had her own parental problems.

4 Things you liked and/or disliked about it:

* I liked how de los Santos gives Piper her own full and rich story line that makes this initially unlikable character a fully realized and complex woman. Like Cornelia, I came to love Piper, and I found her story very affecting and emotional. (Tissue Alert! Piper is dealing with the loss of her best friend Elizabeth to breast cancer and the breakdown of her marriage. More than once I got a bit teary reading this story line so you've been warned.)

* I liked how Dev is this whip smart kid who thinks about Darwin in his spare time but is just another bumbling, awkward teenager when he meets Clare and begins to have feelings for her. I thought de los Santos did a wonderful job of capturing those awkward, exhilarating and painful feelings that come with first love.

* I liked de los Santos's writing. The chapters alternate between Cornelia, Dev and Piper, and I thought de los Santos captured each character's unique voice. I especially enjoyed Cornelia and would totally be friends with her.

* I liked how the cover of the book doesn't make sense until the very end of the book. I first picked this book up because of the attractive cover, but then let it sit for awhile. Throughout the book, I was bothered that the cover seemed to have NOTHING to do with the story, so I was pleased (and impressed) when the cover made perfect sense when I was done.

5 Stars or less for your rating?

I'm giving the book 4 stars. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it wholeheartedly. Marisa de los Santos is a talented writer (this is only her second book), and I appreciate how she wasn't afraid to complicate things for her characters and give them lives that were complex and troubled (just like real life). It is such a pleasure when you "discover" a new author who excites you and makes you want more. (In fact, de los Santos reminds me quite a bit of one of my other favorite writers Lolly Winston ... who hasn't written nearly enough books in my opinion. If you haven't read them, I highly recommend Winston's books Good Grief and Happiness Sold Separately.)

My only complaint is that I didn't realize Belong to Me was a follow-up to de los Santos's first book, Love Walked In (which I believe deals with how Cornelia and Clare meet). I would have preferred to read them in order (although it doesn't affect your understanding or enjoyment of this book). I will definitely be reading Love Walked In and will make a spot for Marisa de los Santos's next book when it comes out.

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