Books: Heart of the Matter

Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin.
"The author of Love the One You’re With (2008) once again tackles the subject of infidelity in a novel told in alternating chapters by the wronged wife and the other woman. Tessa Russo is celebrating her wedding anniversary with her handsome husband, Nick, a pediatric plastic surgeon, when his pager goes off. At the hospital, he meets his new patient, six-year-old Charlie, who has been badly burned while roasting s’mores. Charlie’s mother, Valerie, a high-powered lawyer who has raised Charlie on her own, is wracked with guilt. As Charlie goes through various grafts and surgeries to repair the damage done to his face and hand, Nick and Valerie become close. Tessa, a stay-at-home mom who has misgivings about leaving her professorship, recognizes the distance growing between her and Nick but isn’t sure what to attribute it to or what to do about it. The premise is a familiar one, but Giffin injects freshness by getting inside both Tessa’s and Valerie’s heads and by making both sympathetic, fleshed-out characters. Giffin’s talent lies in making her characters believable and relatable, and readers will be enthralled by this layered, absorbing novel. --Kristine Huntley" Booklist, taken from Amazon.com


I haven't read any chick lit in awhile so it was a change to be able to read an entire book in a few hours. I have read several of Giffin's books in the past & she is definitely one of the better chick lit authors. This book was a bit of a change from the usual single-girl-in-her-30s-finds-a-man fare. The topic is actually quite heavy, a child being injured & the dissolving of a marriage. Definitely not a feel-good, happy book. But still a good read. Although not something I think I will want to read again so I will be putting it in the giveaway pile.