Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
After enjoying her last novel quite a bit, I was excited to get a hold of Marisa de los Santos’ Falling Together. The story of three college friends who experience a rift after graduation, de los Santos covers the familiar ground of loneliness and community as themes.
This story is told primarily from the perspective of Pen, a single mother struggling with the loss of her father and her deepest friendships. I liked this character but I didn’t identify with her as deeply as I did Cornelia in Belong to Me. I found the plot also more forced, and the flashbacks not as powerful as they could have been. I don’t think readers got a full enough picture of the friendship of Cat, Pen and Will. They are told how special it is more than shown.
De los Santos has a background in poetry and her writing is marked with loveliness. All of the description of setting and place were beautiful and I enjoyed her writing of some of the secondary characters in particular.
Overall, Falling Together is a feel-good read that many will enjoy. I just didn’t think it was De Los Santos’ best.
[I received a review copy of the book from its publisher, which in no way influenced my opinion.]