Marcela Ortiz is a librarian who has been in love with Ben, a guy she met 9 years ago. They dated in college for a short time, and when he broke up with her, she thought it was because her body isn't perfect. When he wanted to stay friends, she chose that alternative because she didn't want to lose him completely. Now he's engaged to Alice, so Marcela is quite upset. At an engagement party for Ben and Alice, Marcela discovers that Ben's brother Theo is upset, too: Theo's in love with Alice, and would like to break up the couple. It turns out that Marcela and Theo have a lot in common.
Where can this lead? The novel is chock full of emotional pitfalls. The brothers have issues, their parents had issues, and Marcella has issues, too: her continuing love for Ben, the abandonment she has felt since her father left when she was a child, her negative feelings about her body, and now her budding interest in Theo. One of my favorite characters in the book is Marcela's best friend, Angela, who lends some good gut-checks to her friend. Some of the plot points seem unrealistic, but the emotion is real.
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