Where We Belong
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Tony
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rated it 4 stars
Aug 11, 2012 07:06PM
Anyone read it yet? Did you like the ending? I didn't. Was hoping for rainbows and hearts and glitter lol.
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I loved the book and didn't like feeling like we didn't get closure that I wanted. I kept getting subtly vibes that there was hope for Marian and Conrad to end up together but wasn't positive so it kind of made me sad. I read the last chapter 3 times. What were your thoughts on them ending up together? I totally understand the way it ended the story was more about the change and struggle for Marian and Kirby so that was the focus buy come on give me the closure or a sequel.
I totally 100% agree. I definitely re-read it a few times. Because really, I expect a "rainbows and hearts and glitter" ending (with maybe a unicorn thrown in for good measure from Emily Giffin. Hrumph.
Just finished reading it. I am expecting a sequel--she left so much open. However, i also thought that the end was fitting. Conrad forgives marian, and they silently acknowledge that they probably both still love each other, and she'll probably visit him at his bar (probably when kirby is there playing a set with him.) That conrad and marian find their way back together is implied, and i was okay with that. The story was really about marian changing and coming out of her lies and secrets. Although i didn't understand why marian's mom couldn't accept the changes . . .I was left with anticipation for what comes next, and that may only ever be in my head (unless there's a sequel!) But i think that's what we were supposed to feel.
If you follow Emily Giffin on Facebook, she will be holding book discussions starting in September. This will help decide whether or not she writes a sequel. I for one vote 100% for a much needed sequel.
Jen wrote: "If you follow Emily Giffin on Facebook, she will be holding book discussions starting in September. This will help decide whether or not she writes a sequel. I for one vote 100% for a much needed s..."Jen, I agree with you regarding a sequel. Even though you assume they marry. I think Ms Giffin wants the readers to draw their own conclusions concerning the ending. I will follow her on Facebook to see what happens.
I disagree, a sequel about a romance between Marian and Conrad is way too over the top rosey given what she did to him. I will lose all respect if a sequel involving a romance between the two is made.
i liked the ending. of course i wanted them to ride off on a horse into the sunset but her ending was more realistic. the ending left me wanting more but in a good way. i'd love to read the sequel to this book as long as it wasnt too cheesy. or she could just write another book and have marian as a friend of the character in her new book. like she did with having Claudia ( from Baby Proof ). i love how she does that with her books.
Well, this book had a lot of unnecessary scenes with both characters when what we all we wanted was Marian to confront Conrad (terrible name choice). I really think they should have been forced together sooner (ditch all the chit chat about prom night, shopping, restaurants and, eating) and work out their past. It didn't have to bloom into a full blown romance, but it ended with a fizzle after a saggy middle.
I think the ending kept the door open for a sequel. I would be interested in reading more about these characters.
I didn't like the ending one bit, almost made me feel the author forgot to add an ending. I liked the author's other book but didn't book didn't quite keep up.
I did like the ending, though we focused on the parent/child relationship which I think ended perfectly for all. The man/woman relationship is where we only got a hope for change, I'm good with that. I've lost my need for it to be spelled out, but I will admit I would have enjoyed it more had it been. As for a sequel, I'm on the fence... this "ending" only needed an epilogue, so much was in the flashbacks. The angst factor is already disclosed and out there, I think it would be challenging to make this work. But, could it be a side bar story in another novel? You betcha!
I didn't really like it. I think she spent too much time in the middle and not enough on the end where all the good stuff happened. I think a little more needed to happen between them to lead the reader to believe they might get back together. When he left at the end, I didn't feel like he still cared about her (sure he said she was hot, but whatever). I think if he would've stayed at the end it would've been more of an indicator.
Yes, a sequel would be welcome. I too felt the end was a little too rushed and open-ended. Conrad's character should be more developed because we only received a narrow view of who he is and where he's been and what does he really feel about his newly discovered fatherhood??
My biggest issue on the ending was how rushed Conrad seemed to be in getting away from Marian. It just didn't fit to me. I mean, supossedly Marian was the love of his life, but he just keeps rushing off to get away from her. I understand he was upset but I felt like the story was just sad from Marian's point of view. Like, she makes choices that she thought were the best, but in the end she just goes home alone to her empty apartment. I just felt like Miarian deserved to be heard out by Conrad in the end whether anything else happened with them or not. It just kind of left me wanting. Maybe there will be a sequel though I have a feeling that Giffin will only give us a glimpse of them in one of her future books much like she did with the couple in baby proof. I wasn't crazy about that book either but it made me happy to see they had had a baby in this book!
Yeah I definitely don't see her doing a sequel. It's just not her style. More like a glimpse of something in the future, but I don't really think that will be satisfying for the readers. It may work for some of her other books, but not here.
In my review of this book, I said it could have been just a little bit longer. I was left unsatisfied at the end and wanting more. Never really thought of a sequel, although that would be great.
I finished reading this book yesterday and I also was a little disappointed with the ending. I wanted to read more about Conrad and Marian and hope their relationship did or did not. Will there be a sequel? Hmmmmm. I have not read any other books by Emily Griffin but may consider reading others in the future.
You should read her first books then, they are better.
I enjoyed the book, my first 'eg' book. Anyone noticed an error on page 279 where Kirby visits Marian's parents...the second to last paragraph reads, "....as Kirby's father enters the room..." I am thinking it should have read "Marian's dad"
This seems to be the only avenue to try to get to the author, hopefully she reads this :-)
Thank you Jessica. I will look into the other books.
I really liked this book. I wasn't even that upset at the ending because it leaves possibilities.
I would have preferred a happier ending for sure but was encouraged in that the story seemed to have ended with a sequel in mind. I think Ms. Giffin will treat us with a follow up! At least I hope she does.
Bee wrote: "I finished reading this book yesterday and I also was a little disappointed with the ending. I wanted to read more about Conrad and Marian and hope their relationship did or did not. Will there be ..."Bee wrote: "I finished reading this book yesterday and I also was a little disappointed with the ending. I wanted to read more about Conrad and Marian and hope their relationship did or did not. Will there be ..."
Yes, do yourself a favor and read her other books. She's a wonderful storyteller!
I will. Thank you Tamara.
I did not much care for the ending, although it was probably better than the author going further into the highly unrealistic details of Conrad forgiving her and pretending like she hasn't lied to him for the past 18 years....It bothered me more how things ended with Peter.
Marian pretty much bullies Peter into proposing (which I guess I can't hold too much against her considering she is already 36, her biological clock is ticking and she doesn't want some guy wasting her time if he is not in it for the long-tun), but after he does propose, she decides she does not want to marry him after all, because "they are not in love enough" - how would one know what is enough?!?!? Is she basing it on the teenage love she shared with Conrad? Because she clearly did not love Conrad enough either if she could just lie and dump him like that! Either way - my general opinion (for this book and others that have a similar "it-doesn't-feel-like-enough-so-i'm-going-to-dump-you-because-i'm-the-bigger-person-and-the-book-implies-this-is-for-the-best" attitude) is that either the author does not know how things and feelings work in real life, or the author is purposefully trying to mislead others... Why imply that it is for the best that Marian dumps Peter, whom she loves, just because maybe they are not in love enough??! Enough compared to what?! And how is it better for a 36-year-old to end up alone, just because she was waiting for a non-exitent fairy tale ending (with Conrad)?? If she ended up definitely getting together with Conrad, I would understand that the author is going for a fairy tale ending - the magical love that transcends time, etc... However, since they all end up alone (until the sequel) - why is it presented like a good thing? "Oh Marian grew as a person and dumped her fiance!" Really?? How is Marian now a better person for this?? To me - she just ended up wasting a chance to be happy with a man she loved, because she was expecting something more - something completely unrealistic with Conrad! Which may or may not happen...
Elena wrote: "I did not much care for the ending, although it was probably better than the author going further into the highly unrealistic details of Conrad forgiving her and pretending like she hasn't lied to ..."That's a good analysis, actually. She clearly has not matured as an adult if she's still looking for high school infatuation while well into her 30s. I like that the book is at least left ambiguous, though, it's not implied that she repairs things with Peter OR gets together with Conrad.
Thanks Alana! My rant was pretty much supposed to portray what you managed to say in one sentence!! :)"I don't see how she has grown as an adult if she throws away an adult relationship for a teenage crush... "
Bee wrote: "I finished reading this book yesterday and I also was a little disappointed with the ending. I wanted to read more about Conrad and Marian and hope their relationship did or did not. Will there be ..."I am a bit disappointed with this ending too. It is really open and with various loose ends (which, by the way, couldn't keep me from loving the book♥).
Regarding Marian and Conrad, I hope that if "Where We Belong" get more stories, they get to be the protagonists (I would really like to see, specially, the version of the facts in Conrad's point of view). Also, I think that speaking realistically, what Mary did wasn't so unforgivable. Alright, it was terrible that she didn't tell Conrad about her pregnancy, but both of them were young and human, so, vulnerable to making terrible choices. As well, I believe that people grow, get mature and learn with their mistakes, and even if Conrad is clearly a less troublesome person with life than Marian, she is trying to become a better person (and, at the end, this is what really matters).
Besides, during the book, it's implied that both of them still had feelings for each other (sure, great part of those conflictuous feelings are for those that they had been before, but I still believe the essence of each one of them is still the same). It would have been interesting to see they interacting again and noting the changes in each one of them 18 years after, in a romantic relationship or no (but yes, the romantic part in me believes in second chances when it's the right person and waits a reasonable between them ~ even, maybe, without "rainbows and hearts and glitter").
I REALLY wanted a happy ending, but I understand why it ended the way it did. The moral of the story was change, and a lot of things did change. But I still held high hopes that Conrad & Marian would get a happy ending 'together' :( I would read the sequel if there was one!
I didn't think the end was UNhappy, just not stereotypical, which was refreshing. Leaves it open to chance and real life a little bit. Life doesn't wrap everything up in a neat little package.
I agree - I didn't think it was unhappy, either. I thought that it hinted at her and Conrad getting back together at some point (especially with her "you can run but you can't hide" remark), but leaving that up to our imaginations...
Melissa wrote: "I loved the book and didn't like feeling like we didn't get closure that I wanted. I kept getting subtly vibes that there was hope for Marian and Conrad to end up together but wasn't positive so it..."I felt the same exact way!!! I really wanted Conrad and Marian to end up together or wish there was a better type of closure.
I would love a sequel !! Marian and Conrad's story is not finished.
I was hoping for a happy ending as well. Conrad and Marian getting back together, I love happy endings. I just finished the book and I wish there was more between them. And I just wanted to say like someone mentioned above, Marian should have told Conrad, that would have been the right thing to do but how many of us do the right thing at 18 without proper guidance. She told a someone her mom, I believe as a parent she should have done the right thing by sitting with the two of them Marian, Conrad, Conrad's dad, Marian's dad andwork it out. I don't think Marian got enough support from her mom, like her dad said they could have helped her raise the baby as her own. All in all I enjoyed it until the last part that is.
Conrad would not be back with Marian. And good! She had a kid without telling him. And she broke his heart with her passive aggressive action of never contacting him after the summer. He got on with his life, she got on with hers, that's how it works. There may be suspension of disbelief with Giffin's books, but she's better than a hearts & flowers Harlequin ending. On a tangent (sorry Tony) I HAVE to ask: Isn't it illegal for a woman not to tell the father about a pregnancy? The Baby Jessica case from the early 90s establised laws about that. How would she be able to get away with that?
this is the first time i hear about it being illegal for a woman not to tell a man she is pregnant. Especially after she "ends" her pregnancy - there is no way to prove who the father was or even to tell she was ever pregnant...
I LOVED this book! I read it MONTHS ago and I am still crying over it! The ending was quite upsetting I was so team Marian and Conrad, but I accepted the ending. It was a true depiction of what I imagine would happen with such deception. I still cringe thinking of the novel. One of my new favorites. I hope there is a part two, I KNOW he still loves her!
Wow…..Outstanding! Beautifully written….the characters you fall in love with. It was “real and raw”….a story which will leave you smiling and crying at the same time. I cannot wait for a continuation of Marion/Conrad and possible Philip/Kirby…This is a winner – highly recommend!!!!
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