The Myth of You and Me

July 25, 2005
Stewart peers into the complicated heart of friendship in a moving second novel (after 2000's Body of a Girl
). Ever since a cataclysmic falling out with her best friend, Sonia, after college, Cameron's closest companion has been Oliver, the 92-year-old historian she lives with and cares for in Oxford, Miss. Oliver's death leaves Cameron alone and adrift, until she discovers that he has given her one last task: she must track down her estranged best friend (whose letter announcing her engagement Cameron had so recently ignored) and deliver a mysterious present to her. Cameron's journey leads her back to the people, places and memories of their shared past, when they called themselves "Cameronia" and swore to be friends forever. It was a relationship more powerful than romantic love—yet romantic love (or sex, anyway) could still wreck it. Stewart lures the reader forward with two unanswered questions: What was the disaster that ended their friendship, and what will be revealed when Cameron and Sonia are together again and Oliver's package is finally opened? The book is heartfelt and its characters believable jigsaw puzzles of insecurities, talents and secrets, and if Cameron's carefully guarded anger makes her occasionally disagreeable, readers will nevertheless welcome her happy ending. Agent, Gail Hochman.

July 15, 2005
Stewart's Bildungsroman contains several incandescently beautiful passages about the challenges awaiting young women as they come of age. Cameron, the narrator, is reflecting on her youth and reminiscing about Sonia, a troubled and difficult girlhood friend. Their bond withstood several impediments, including the dysfunctional behaviors of Sonia's family, but Cameron ultimately decided to end their friendship. A decade later, in an effort to reconnect, Sonia mails a letter to Cameron, which Cameron ignores until her mentor and employer intervenes. At his behest, Cameron sets off in search of her old friend. Traveling around America, Cameron reunites with a number of individuals and finds herself questioning their immeasurable influence. In this well-developed personality study, Stewart ("Body of a Girl") highlights the various Southwestern, Northeastern, and Southern geographical terrains that figure prominently in Cameron's quest. The story, filled with secrets and treasures, is a well-executed, compelling look at attraction, love, and trust. Recommended for all popular fiction collections. -Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., CA

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2006
Adult/High School -Cameron Wilson, 14, is an overly tall army brat and a new kid in town. She begins an intense friendship with classmate Sonia Gray after the two meet while literally saving one another from disastrous situations. The friendship blows up in college, and Cameron struggles through a small, uninspired life until, at age 29, she ends up as caregiver to elderly Oliver Douchet, a famed historian. Then a letter arrives from Sonia telling of her upcoming marriage and wondering why the two of them had gone their separate ways when they had shared so much. Cameron chooses to do nothing until Oliver dies and leaves a package for her to deliver personally to Sonia. So begins Cameron -s journey to find and understand her lost friend and, ultimately, herself. The novel unfolds at an unhurried, graceful pace, moving through flashbacks and memories, but the interest in what Oliver could have sent to Sonia sharpens the edge and drives the plot. Teens will appreciate the high-school beginning of this relationship and Stewart -s notion that friendship can define a life. A poignant and bittersweet story of love." -Jane Halsall, McHenry Public Library District, IL"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2005
At 30, Cameron Wilson lives in virtual seclusion with Oliver Doucet, an elderly historian who can't understand why the bright, beautiful young woman seems to be hiding from the world. When Cameron's estranged childhood best friend, Sonia Grey, sends Cameron a letter out of the blue, Oliver starts to get an idea about Cameron's demons. Cameron refuses to answer Sonia's letter, but when Oliver passes away two months later, he leaves behind a task for Cameron: a package she must deliver to Sonia for her upcoming nuptials. Reluctantly and somewhat angrily, Cameron takes up the task, driving to Sonia's Boston apartment only to find a note in the place of her friend and a mystery to unravel. Cameron's search for Sonia takes her down memory lane literally and figuratively: while she recalls her friendship with Sonia and the reason it ultimately ended, she also renews her friendship with Will Barrett, Sonia's high-school boyfriend and the object of Cameron's unrequited love. Stewart's writing is sharp and observant, making this tale of the complexities of friendship affecting and genuine.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)