Cat, Will and Pen. Friends till the end, or something along those lines. This is the story of three eccentrics who found one another while attending college, held on for dear life and then suddenly let go. Cat the uber cool chick with flowing skirts, bangle bracelets and a fierce love of all things kitsch. Will the typical man's man with a side sensitive enough to be bound to these two women for years. Pen (Penelope) the good girl with pristine hair, tall limbs and a love of her family that transcends all. They met in an awkward moment and soon became inseparable. I loved the very real relationship between these three. The dynamics of their conversations because it reminded me of the few people in my life I have that same type of rapport with. The language and idiosyncrasies of who they are will draw you in immediately.

Six years later Cat and Will are nowhere to be found while Pen finds herself as a single mother bunking with her brother and still dealing with the very tragic loss of their father. Pen receives an email from Cat to meet up at their 10 year college reunion (as does Will) and although her better judgement is yelling "don't do it, they abandoned you!" her love of her dear friend propels her to go anyway. While there she meets Will. Awkward! And shortly they meet Jason, Cat's estranged husband, the guy she broke their friendship off for. Before you know it they find out Jason was the author of the e-mail and in fact Cat is missing and he needs their help to locate her. Soon begins a tirade of plans and an investigation conducted by the four most unlikely people, Will, Pen, Jason and Pen's daughter Augusta. Their search takes then across the ocean to the Phillipines.

I really loved the interactions between them all especially once they were in the Phillippines and Jason goes from being Public Enemy #1 to "poor poor Jason". It was a great tale of love, loss and the bonds of family. Not just the biological bonds, but of those we call our family. I love the way the author writes, I felt like I was smack dab in the middle of their banter at all times. All three friends have complicated pasts that eventually unravel for them to deal with individually. The writing was so descriptive I could almost smell the empanadas they ate! I was in love with this book and will recommend it to many!