Promises to Keep by Jane Green, 352 pages. Available in hardcover June 15th.
from the publisher: In her twelfth novel, Jane Green is at her heartwarming best as she creates a tale of exceptional circumstances and the ties that bind. PROMISES TO KEEP is the most personal and moving of her books, written to help Jane through the traumatic loss of one of her best friends, Heidi, who lost her battle with breast cancer last year. In Jane’s words, “Heidi didn’t just live life. She sparkled. But she couldn’t survive the cancer that swept through her body like a wildfire over seven months. One day, leaving a chemotherapy session, she said to me, ‘I hope you’re going to write about this.’ And so I did.”Jane is donating 20% of her royalties to breast cancer research.
In Promises to Keep we meet three women, close friends who are very different each going through a personal struggle.
Callie is a successful photographer, wife, and mother of two. The family lives in an upscale neighborhood in Bedford, NY and appears to have it all. Callie, a breast cancer survivor, is unexpectedly diagnosed with a rare form of her earlier cancer and only has months to live.
Steffi is Callie's sister - a free spirit who lives in Manhattan. Her lifestyle consists of bouncing back and forth between jobs and reckless boyfriends. Her desire for change leads her to the quiet village of Sleepy Hollow, NY.
Lila is Callie's best friend. She has recently found the man of her dreams and is ready to settle down. However, Ed has a young son and his uncooperative ex-wife makes it obvious that she is not thrilled with Lila.
I found Promises to Keep emotional yet not too heavy for a beach/pool read. There were recipes at the end of each chapter - I made the Neiman Marcus cookies and they were incredible. I enjoyed the characters' relationships and how Callie deals with her illness. She finds a way to bring her family closer and prepare them for her death.
reviewed by Trish
The End.
