Rachel Blum and Andy Landis are eight years old when they meet late one night in an ER waiting room. Born with a congenital heart defect, Rachel is a veteran of hospitals, and she’s intrigued by the boy who shows up all alone with a broken arm. He tells her his name. She tells him a story. After Andy’s taken back to the emergency room and Rachel’s sent back to her bed, they think they’ll never see each other again.
Rachel, the beloved, popular, and protected daughter of two doting parents, grows up wanting for nothing in a fancy Florida suburb. Andy grows up poor in Philadelphia with a single mom and a rare talent that will let him become one of the best runners of his generation.
Over the course of three decades, through high school and college, marriages and divorces, from the pinnacles of victory and the heartbreak of defeat, Andy and Rachel will find each other again and again, until they are finally given a chance to decide whether love can surmount difference and distance and if they’ve been running toward each other all along.
With honesty, wit, and clear-eyed observations about men and women, love and fate, and the truth about happy endings, Jennifer Weiner delivers two of her most memorable characters, and a love story you’ll never forget.
I must admit, this was my first Jennifer Weiner book and I can also admit that it will not be my last. I have been on a little bit of a “chick lit” phase right now and I am really enjoying books that have characters a little closer to my age. This book was so unique and really has you questioning if fate really does rule you. Spanning over decades, this was the ultimate love story full of so many realistic bumps in the road. After a chance meeting in the hospital at the age of 8 Rachel and Andy’s story intersects at different points in their lives but it never really seems to be the right time. Their love story was beautiful and true and the struggles they face will break your heart for them. The writing was poetic and real and the story is something that will stick with you. Will there ever be the right time for them, I honestly didn’t know. All I knew is that in my heart of hearts I wanted them to survive. This was a book I took my time with. I didn’t want to rush it; I wanted to savor every last word. When it was time to say goodbye, I wasn’t quite ready, I selfishly could of read a couple more decades worth.
4.5 Stars
♥ Sophie
