Family Tree: Great Book About A Family Crisis

This is another book I came across by chance while browsing at the bookstore again recently.  I initially picked it up because it's by one of my favorite authors, Barbara Delinsky. While I had read many of her books, I had somehow missed this one when it came out in 2007.

Family Tree is about a woman who has just given birth to her first child, a child she and her husband had been really looking forward to. But, as beautiful as the little girl is, everyone soon notices she looks nothing like her parents.  The parents are white and the little girl looks distinctly African-American, which prompts the woman's husband and many others to suspect that maybe she had an affair, perhaps with the single dad and very handsome African-American man who lives next door and is friends with the family. 

In order to prove the child is really hers, Dana must research her family tree and find the father she never knew.

This is a fascinating story because it brings up something I really knew nothing about-the genetics of race.  It's also a great read because it is so well written and the story moves at a quick pace. I found myself rooting for Dana and at the same time, beginning to hate her husband and her inlaws who sided with their son in thinking Dana was hiding something.

I actually have enjoyed almost every  book by this author that I have read and have happily added this to my bookshelf. I think it's a great read and would make a fantastic selection for those of you in book clubs!

Check out Delinsky's site:

http://www.barbaradelinsky.com

Love The One You're With: A Great Read!

For all those women who have pondered the question of whether or not they took the right path in life or chose the right guy, this is definitely one book you'll want to read!

Ellen and Andy seem to have the perfect marriage. They are deeply devoted to each other and their life together seems to be great until one afternoon when Ellen runs into her ex-boyfriend, Leo, who broke her heart and never explained why. Ellen had never forgotten Leo and begins to wonder what life would have been like had she ended up with Leo. She also begins to wonder how can she really love Andy if she cannot forget Leo?

I loved this book, just as I have loved all of Emily Giffin's previous novels. She has a way of creating unbelievably relatable characters that deal with issues many women face in their relationships. When I read this book, I actually began to think about an old college boyfriend-one I had dated a few times on and off before meeting and marrying my husband. While there were definitely no feelings for him laying dormant, I did stop briefly to consider the question, "What if...?"

I won't spoil everything for you, but I will say while this book is a great chick lit read, it definitely has some serious moments like all of Giffin's other novels, but it is such a fabulous book, I know you will not be disappointed.

Visit Giffin's website at:

http://www.emilygiffin.com