Promises to Keep

April 26, 2010
In Green’s 12th novel, Callie Perry is a happily married photographer with two wonderful kids, a lovable sister, Steffi, and a best friend, Lila. Problems are minor: Steffi can never settle down, Lila has finally found love but the guy has a nightmare of an ex, and Callie and Steffi’s divorced parents haven’t spoken in 30 years. But then Callie, a breast cancer survivor, is diagnosed with a rare and incurable complication of the disease. Suddenly realizing that she has only months to live, she begins the painful process of saying good-bye. While the subject matter is intense and personal, it’s far from depressing; the characters are warm, funny and realistic. Green (The Beach House) manages to create an authentic tale of a woman who truly loves her life and family and is trying to do the right thing for them before she dies. While Green breaks up her chapters with recipes (presumably because Steffi is a cook), this peculiar modern conceit in women’s literature feels like a misstep. Overall, Green once again delivers an enjoyable emotional story.

June 1, 2010

Green's latest summer novel is an uneasy mix of girly romance and cancer.

Once upon a time there were two sisters: Callie has a house in the country, two kids, a dreamy husband and a growing career as a photographer. Steffi is an up-and-coming vegan chef in New York, has a rock-star boyfriend and a charmingly irresponsible life. But because she's deadly bored with the city (and her boyfriend and her job), Steffi decides to accept the generous offer of acquaintance Mason Gregory. While he and his filthy rich wife Olivia are in London for a year, Steffi will dog sit Fingal at their country house, which happens to be close to Callie's place. Steffi loves the country, loves feeding the chickens and the goats, loves the quiet of the beautiful house and the little business she's beginning, supplying healthy food to the town. But most importantly, she's there for Callie, whose splitting headache has developed into a hospital stay, which leads to the diagnosis of terminal cancer. Their parents (who have been divorced for 30 years and never speak) come down from Maine; Callie's driven husband Reece does the unthinkable—stops working to look after the children he barely knows; and best friend Lila becomes an advocate for Callie, navigating the family through the nightmare of her illness. An effervescent soul, Callie wants to live through her loved ones, and soon the fractured lives of those she cares about begin to come together, just as Callie lies dying. Green's sad story (the novel is inspired by a close friend who died) seems more of a catalyst for romance and positive life change rather than a drama, resulting in an emotionally disjointed read.

Green's 12th novel (Dune Road, 2009, etc.), so intent on a sort-of-happy ending, misses the mark.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

June 15, 2010

Green's 12th novel (after Second Chance) is an endearing, compassionate look at the Tollemache family--Callie; Steff; their divorced parents, Honor and Walter; and Callie's best friend, Lila. Callie is a successful photographer with two children and a husband she adores, while Steff, though 33 years old with an amazing cooking talent, hasn't yet settled down. Their parents have not spoken since their divorce almost 30 years ago, and Lila has finally found true love at the age of 40 but doesn't want children. When Callie is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, all the characters question what they really want from life as they watch Callie fight for hers. VERDICT Green doesn't disappoint with this moving story (inspired by a friend's illness) that's filled with warm characters and softened with humor. Includes recipes between chapters. [Previewed as The Love Verb in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/10; seven-city tour.]--Anne Miskewitch, Chicago P.L.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2010
Callie Perry seems to have it all: a handsome husband she adores, two adorable children, and a thriving business as a portrait photographer. A battle with breast cancer four years ago only made her marriage to Reece stronger, but the couple faces a major setback when agonizing headaches and a frightening blackout send Callie back to the hospital soon after celebrating her forty-third birthday. While Callies oncologist tries to determine if her cancer has returned, her family rallies around her. Her younger sister, Steffi, a successful chef, has recently traded a fast-paced life in New York City for a quieter one in Sleepy Hollow in order to reassess her priorities. Callie and Steffis father, Warren, has barely been able to be in the same room with their mother, Honor, since she left him; but news of Callies plight brings him rushing to her bedside. Inspired by a friends battle with cancer, Greens story definitely has the emotional heart and resonance to hook readers of womens fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)