Adriana Reads

This is by far Laura Dave's best work. She not only captures the angst of being young (relatively speaking), in love and determined to make a relationship work (which is essentially what her other two books have been about), but she also manages to interweave this story with that of another relationship in its death throes. Maggie's fiance, Nate, is bringing her home to meet his parents, which is difficult enough under the best of circumstances. Unfortunately, these are not the best of circumstances. Her future in-laws are hosting a divorce party. During the course of the day, Maggie makes some surprising discoveries about Nate which make her question the stability of their relationship. She also suspects that the pending divorce is not as straightforward and inexorable as her future mother-in-law, Gwyn, would have the world believe. This is a beautifully wrought story of a relationship in its twilight and masterfully captured the heartbreak, disappointment and acceptance of something which as unwelcome as it is, has shown itself to be inevitable. Ms. Dave has shown maturity and deep understanding of human emotion, and I would very much like to see this side of her creativity in future works.