Something Borrowed (plus others by Emily Giffin)

I'm kind of cheating here because I didn't actually read the book. However, I just watched the movie on my day off (thank you Rosh Hashanah!). I have been putting off watching the movie because the book is on my to-read list and I like to read the book first. But last night I was standing at the Red Box by our house and this was the only movie that appealed to me so I rented it. I've read a couple of Emily Giffin's books: Love the One You're With and The Heart of the Matter. I liked the first but not the latter. Not really, anyway. Both books entertained the themes of disloyalty and infidelity, but for whatever reason Love the One You're With had more redemptive qualities. The Heart of the Matter left me feeling agitated and sad. Quick rundown: the main characters are Tessa and Nick, who live a comfortable life with their children in a nice neighborhood. Nick is a surgeon who begins to go through some sort of mid-life crisis (in my opinion). Basically, he forgets who he is and blames it all on his wife. He enters into an affair with a single mother whose child has been badly injured in an accident. He eventually confesses to his wife what he's done and begs for forgiveness. At first she tells him to get out, but then later decides to forgive him. While this might make her seem weak to some people, I actually saw her as brave. She had been deeply hurt and betrayed by the man that she loved and she tried everything she could think of to make him happy. He was a surgeon that was hardly home, and instead of putting forth effort into maintaining a relationship with the woman he fell in love with he ran away to another woman. So when he begged for forgiveness and she eventually granted it, I perceived her character as strong enough to realize that even though people (especially men) make very stupid mistakes sometimes it doesn't mean they don't deserve a second chance. If she had decided to hold onto her anger she would have only hurt herself more. We don't always have it all together, and sometimes we need others to see our strengths over our faults. She loved him, and I believe that she let her unconditional love for him allow her forgiveness and acceptance. It takes a strong woman to do what she did.

Now onto Something Borrowed. I enjoyed the movie. Rachel and Dex were likable, and Ethan was a strong supporting character who helped Rachel to realize the truth. Once she gained a better sense of who she was and who she wanted to be, she was able to tell Dex that the ball was in his court and that she wasn't going to sit around and be second-in-line. There is this theme of cheating that continues to present itself in Emily Giffin's stories, but it seems that she uses it to test her chracters and push them to realize who they are and who they want to be. And that's what life is: a constant test to help us decide who we are and who we want to be.

I'm looking for Something Blue next - any reviews?