The Best of Us

The Best of Us was my first Sarah Pekkanen novel and I thought it was fun & enjoyable. This is the story of four friends who met in college, Dwight, Tina, Savannah and Allie as well as their spouses who go off to Jamaica on vacation to celebrate Dwight's 35th birthday. During their vacation they get threatened by Hurricane Betty and the storm heads their way. We learn about infidelities and secrets kept from husbands, and the characters have to decide what truths to share and what not to. The writing what fluid and I wanted to see how the story played out/came all together. Having just been to Negril, Jamaica in January I felt that connection to the story as well, being able to actually picture it in my mind. I felt that each of the characters had a unique voice. I thought that with all these main characters it would be hard to follow them without being confused but Sarah does a great job of writing so that you don't get lost and are able to follow each character's story. The main characters are stressed-out stay-at-home mother of four Tina who is married to Gio, to seemingly put-together mother of two Allie who is married to Ryan, insecure Pauline who is married to the birthday boy Dwight and flirty Savannah whose separated husband Gary appears in Jamaica at one point in the novel. We learn of Pauline's sister Therese and that Allie might have ALS which runs in her family as well as cheating that goes on between a few of the characters in the story. I won’t give away too much – or it will ruin the story for you. I recommend that if you are looking for a good read this summer, check out this novel.

I can't wait to check out what else Sarah has written.