Promises To Keep By Jane Green

Title: Promises To Keep

Author: Jane Green

Where I Got This Book: Public Library!

Why I Read It: In all honesty, the cover caught my attention first, then after reading the inside flap and read there was a Chef in it, I decided to read it!

Rating: 3.5 stars

Description from Barnes and Noble (I returned the book before getting the inside flap description): "From the New York Times bestselling author-a momentous new novel about a family suddenly thrown together Callie Perry is a successful family photographer living in upstate New York. She adores her two daughters, has great friends, and actually doesn't mind that her workaholic husband gets home at 9 p.m. every night-that is, when he's not traveling six months out of the year. Callie's younger sister, Steff, on the other hand, has never grown up. She's a free spirit, living in downtown Manhattan and bouncing between jobs and boyfriends. Lately, she's been working as a vegan chef, even though she can't cook. Lila Grossman is Callie's best friend and has finally met the man of her dreams. Eddie has two wonderful children, but also a drama queen ex-wife who hates Lila. And then there are Callie and Steff's parents, Walter Cutler and Honor Pitman. Divorced for thirty years, they rarely speak to each other. The lives of these colorful characters intersect when they each receive a shocking note that summons them together for one extraordinary summer in Maine and changes their lives forever. This novel is about the hard choices we have to face, about having to be your parents' child long after you've grown up, and about the enduring nature of love."

So, now that you've read the description, I need to tell you why I gave it 3.5 stars. The reason is, because this plot/book has WAY too many characters. In fact, all of the characters listed in the description, are all of the characters in the book excpet for a few random character who pop up in the book. Each character plays a huge role in the story, and I feel like because that's the case, it makes this book very hard to follow, and it becomes boring quickly, and very confusing. I remember getting to chapter 5 and it starting off with a certain character and I was like, "Who is this!?" It wasn't until Chapter 7 that it FINALLY put together each character and helped you SEE how the characters were tied together. Basically, the book is written with way too many perspectives, and it jumps from person to person so quickly that you find yourself forgetting what you read, and being very confused. It also jumps into the narrator explaining something, right in the middle of that person talking, so you get confused that way as well.

However, I don't want to ramble on about the negative things. There were some good points in the book too. The actual story line is pretty good -- what the book is about. The description of the book doesn't necessarily explain what this turn of events is that happens, and you don't find out until well after Chapter 7, but once you do, you find yourself wanting to keep reading, to find out what's going to happen. I'm not sure if I should tell you all what the turn of events is, so what I'm going to do is say that if you want to know, leave me a comment and I will comment back on your blog, letting you know! I'm not sure if it'd be a spoiler, or not.

But, this story is about loving unconditionally, and having true friends, and family who stick by your side no matter what, and keep all of their promises to you! It was very heartwarming, and alluring to read. You do find yourself routing for the character, Callie, as she goes through her rough time, and the turn of events that happens, and you find yourself smiling quite a bit at home her family and friends are all so true.

I wouldn't say it's the worst book ever written, or the worst book I've ever read, but I wouldn't tell you to go out and buy it. It doesn't really fall into the category of a must read, but if you're looking for something new, then it's definitely worth checking out of your local library.

One other thing I do want to mention however, the ending is pretty abrupt. I didn't think it would end that quickly, and I didn't really like the ending at all. I found myself reading and reading, waiting to see what happens, and but the ending came so quickly, I felt like it didn't tell us the whole story, and that there was some missing information that was needed. But, you can be the judge of if the ending was suitable or not.

So, in summation, the reason I am giving it only 3.5 stars is mostly because of how the ending was, and how there just was too many characters, with all of the different perspectives and it jumped around too much. It was just confusing to follow and understand.