In Leah Stewart's words, "This is not a story about sex or romance,
but it is nevertheless a story about love. In college, Annabel was
for me the sort of friend every girl has at least once in her life,
the one whose sentences you can finish, the one you never go
anywhere without. There's always the chance that a man will cheat
on you; you realize, especially when you are only twenty, that a
love affair might end. But a friendship is supposed to last
forever, isn't it?" THE MYTH OF YOU & ME, Stewart's second
novel, is an exploration of the boundaries of trust, love and
mutual respect within friendship, and the story of what can happen
between two supposed soul mates when that delicate balance is
broken.

Cameron is 29 and living as a research assistant and caretaker for
Oliver Doucet, an aging, renowned historian who is on the verge of
dying. Other than Oliver, she has no family to speak of, no
significant other, and no real friends. She spends the bulk of her
days talking to Oliver, making his meals, and occasionally
venturing out into the world for an errand or two, before returning
home to start the routine again. She has settled into a tired,
lonely existence and feels no real incentive to break out of her
self-imposed isolation.

She wasn't always a hermit, however. Growing up, she had a best
friend named Sonia with whom she shared everything. Ever since the
time when they first laid eyes on each other at 15 after Cameron
moved to Clovis, New Mexico, the pair was inseparable and it seemed
as though nothing could come between them. "With Sonia, [she]
belonged for the first time with a person, instead of pretending to
belong to a place. When one of [them] walked into a room alone,
'Where's Sonia?' or 'Where's Cameron?' was the first thing
said."

When Sonia's mother screamed at her during one of her many episodic
rages, calling her stupid and a slut, Cameron was there to comfort
Sonia. When Cameron was ostracized at school, Sonia was immediately
at Cameron's defense. Cameron was Sonia's complement and Sonia was
Cameron's. After high school, the two went to the same college and
were, of course, roommates. They took the same classes, went on
many trips together, and throughout all of it, stayed as tight and
as connected as ever until the unthinkable occurred --- a betrayal
so profound that Cameron cut all ties with Sonia and severed the
friendship permanently.

Ten years later, Cameron still has not forgiven Sonia for what
happened. When an unexpected letter and invitation to Sonia's
wedding arrives out-of-the-blue, Cameron ignores it despite
Oliver's advice. But when Oliver passes away and leaves Cameron
with instructions to find Sonia and hand-deliver a mysterious
package to her, Cameron is left with no choice but to honor his
final request. After packing up her belongings, she sets out on
what turns out to be a life-changing journey to reconnect with her
best friend and, inadvertently, find her true self in the
process.

Overall, THE MYTH OF YOU & ME is what you would expect from a
novel dedicated solely to exploring a friendship (and its demise)
between two women. Stewart spends a lot of time discussing her
characters' feelings and deconstructing their intentions, sometimes
to the point of excessiveness. At times, Cameron's behavior seems a
bit too scripted, her emotions too over-the-top,
almost as if she never progressed past a tantrum-throwing 13 or
reached that heightened level of maturity that comes with age and
experience. Similarly, there are moments throughout the book that
seem either too contrived or overly wrapped-up (the ending!) to be
believable so that readers feel like they're witnessing scenes out
of an overly-dramatized back-to-school special.

That being said, THE MYTH OF YOU & ME mostly accomplishes what
it sets out to do and reveals a sentimental look at the resiliency
of friendship and the unbreakable bonds that can be formed (and
kept) between women.