Every once in a while a person starts a book that makes them just want to throw it across the room instead of finishing it. “Something Blue” by Emily Giffin is one of those books.
A sequel to the truly amazing “Something Borrowed,” a book about two best friends, one that the readers are made to love, Rachel, and one that is a self-centered, egotistical, mean character that the readers are supposed to dislike, Darcy.
In “Something Borrowed,” the readers follow Rachel’s journey of love and Giffin teaches you all about flawed friendships and following your heart. “Something Blue” picks up where “Something Borrowed” ends.
“Something Blue” follows Darcy who is now pregnant and living with Marcus, the man she cheated on her ex-fiancé with. Competitive Darcy then ruins her own relationship with her obsession over her ex-best friend and ex-fiancé, driving Marcus to flee the relationship. Darcy, now with no boyfriend, no friends, and a baby inside her, decides to flee the United States in search of a magic fairy tale in London where her remaining friend Ethan lives.
Once in London, readers follow Darcy on her journey of self discovery, love, friendship, and motherhood, ending of course, with a happy ending.
The story line that Giffin picks is a good one, and the novel teaches a lot about self- discovery and life in general; however, Giffin makes one crucial mistake in the entire novel. In all but the last ten chapters Giffin makes Darcy so repulsive that readers actually do not want to keep reading.
However, if one makes it through the hatred of Darcy and gets to those last ten chapters, it is almost worth the first three quarters of the novel. The last ten chapters are truly magical. It’s like watching Darcy see the light bulb go off in her head and transform to the beautiful women she is outside and now inside. The reader gets to meet her babies, watch her leave her fairy tale relationship to pursue the man she has fallen in love with, someone she never would have gone for as the “old Darcy.”
Giffin also shows the audience the transformation a child can cause, and it proves that family and love supersede other people’s envy every time.
The last ten chapters not only show readers that people can change no matter what their age is, but that family and love trump everything.
Jacqueline Valentino is a fourth-year student majoring in English with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at JV671648@wcupa.edu.
Just saying…I was enjoying the book and have read several by Ms. Giffin. I was hurt and offended by the comment that was made concerning one of the Jewish characters in Something Blue. It was said that if Darcy had a baby with him, the child might need “a minor nose job” in the future. I didn’t care for the comment and will not read any other books by Ms. Giffin. There’s enough antisemitism around thank you very much.