Between You and Me by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Publisher: Atria Books (June 2012)
Source: Publisher
Formats Available: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Format Read: Advanced Review Copy
Synopsis from Goodreads: In Between You and Me, twenty-seven-year-old Logan Wade has built a life for herself in New York City, far from her unhappy childhood in Oklahoma. But when she gets the call that her famous cousin needs a new assistant, it’s an offer she can’t refuse. Logan hasn’t seen Kelsey since they were separated as kids; in the meantime, Kelsey Wade has become one of Fortune Magazine’s most powerful celebrities and carrion for the paparazzi. But the joy at their reunion is overshadowed by the toxic dynamic between Kelsey and her controlling parents. As Kelsey grasps desperately at a “real” life, Logan risks everything to try to give her cousin the one thing she has never known—happiness. As Kelsey unravels in the most horribly public way Logan finds that she will ultimately have to choose between saving her cousin and saving herself.
My thoughts: This book ended up being something completely different from what I expected. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I will say that I thought the perspective would be a bit different.
There are several different themes explored in Between You and Me. The first and most obvious is childhood celebrity status and its long lasting effects. Kelsey is very grown up in some ways and very much a child in others. I am not often a connoisseur of celebrity gossip, but I’ve followed enough to know that this does happen and is likely a fairly accurate portrayal of celebrity life. (A life in which you COULD NOT pay me enough to have) The general plot very much reminded me of a particular celebrity whose downfall was highly publicized.
The second theme explored in Between you and Me was substance abuse. I really liked the subtlety the authors used with this theme. They paid more attention to the aftermath of substance abuse rather than the devastation that occurs in the moment. I have a special appreciation for that and thought that it added another dimension to the story.
At times I found the story to be a bit confusing. I felt like it was headed in one direction and all of a sudden it’s somewhere else. I’m not sure if this was a story telling technique that was intentionally employed by the authors or if they just ran out of steam for a particular part of the story and dropped it. More than once I found myself having to go back and re read something to see if I’d gotten distracted and missed something.
Overall I found Between You and Me to be a unique story about friendship and the lengths a true friend will go to in order to help a friend in need.
© 2012, Teresa. All rights reserved.
You couldn’t pay me enough either!
I can get behind friendship and loyalty, but am a bit scared off by the confusing aspect.
Thanks for review.