Editorial Content for I'd Give Anything
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Reviewer (text)
There’s nothing that Marisa de los Santos writes that I won’t read. Her writing is warm and accessible, like open arms welcoming us into the story.
I’D GIVE ANYTHING follows one character in two time periods: Ginny in present day and Zinny as an idealistic, bold high schooler, told through her diary entries. As the story opens, Ginny Beale is a mother of a teen daughter, her husband is caught up in a scandal that forces her to examine her marriage --- and why she chose him --- and her mother is dying. Her difficult, insensitive mother is controlling, divisive and must have everything her own way, right down to how she wants to die.
"[Marisa de los Santos] weaves a compelling, wisely plotted story with characters you want to hang out with and have as friends."
Ginny has been living a steady, safe life that contrasts with her quarry-jumping, fun-loving, big-dreaming younger self. We are privy to young Zinny’s innermost thoughts as we read her diary entries, which vividly capture the spirit of her character and the voice of a vivacious, optimistic teenager. They convey the dramatic, exuberant highs and the dramatic, desperate lows of youth that are so authentic, they reminded me of my own high school journals.
Zinny tears out the pages of her diary that reveal what happened in her senior year of high school that changed her from wild Zinny to safe Ginny. This gap makes us, and later her daughter, question what happened that ruined her dearest relationships --- her close connection with her brother and her friendship with her high school foursome. Ginny’s past collides with her present, and not only does she have to face old wounds, the secret threatens the closeness with her own daughter --- a relationship that she values above everything.
I’D GIVE ANYTHING is a story about redemption, grief and healing broken relationships. De los Santos explores the power of family and friendships and the harm in guarding secrets. Often in books, I’m frustrated when characters don’t talk directly to one another or don’t ask a tough question, but while there are misunderstandings and things that go unspoken, de los Santos lets her characters confront one another. They have difficult conversations, they call each other out, they connect and relate in an active, real way so that we understand when they keep something to themselves.
In true Marisa de los Santos fashion, she weaves a compelling, wisely plotted story with characters you want to hang out with and have as friends. She addresses weighty issues with beautiful prose, and while her writing is elegant and gorgeously crafted, it’s approachable, never sentimental, haughty or pretentious.
I’D GIVE ANYTHING earns five stars.
Teaser
While the town cheers on their high school football team, someone sets the school’s auditorium ablaze. Gray Marsden’s father, a firefighter, dies in the blaze. While many believe that a notoriously troubled local teen set the fire, Gray’s best friend, Ginny Beale, makes a shattering discovery that casts blame on the person she trusts most in the world --- but she tells no one. Over the next two decades, Ginny distances herself from the past and nearly everyone in it. But when her husband, Harris, becomes embroiled in a scandal, Ginny’s carefully controlled life crumbles. Just when she believes she is regaining her bearings, the secret she’s kept for 20 years emerges and threatens to destroy her hopes for the future.
Promo
While the town cheers on their high school football team, someone sets the school’s auditorium ablaze. Gray Marsden’s father, a firefighter, dies in the blaze. While many believe that a notoriously troubled local teen set the fire, Gray’s best friend, Ginny Beale, makes a shattering discovery that casts blame on the person she trusts most in the world --- but she tells no one. Over the next two decades, Ginny distances herself from the past and nearly everyone in it. But when her husband, Harris, becomes embroiled in a scandal, Ginny’s carefully controlled life crumbles. Just when she believes she is regaining her bearings, the secret she’s kept for 20 years emerges and threatens to destroy her hopes for the future.
About the Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of LOVE WALKED IN and BELONG TO ME comes a profound and heart-rending story about a horrific tragedy that marks one woman and her hometown and about the explosive secrets that come to light 20 years later.
Ginny Beale is 18, irreverent, funny and brave, with a brother she adores and a circle of friends for whom she would do anything. Because of one terrible night, she loses them all --- and her adventurous spirit --- seemingly forever. While the town cheers on the high school football team, someone sets the school’s auditorium ablaze. Ginny’s best friend Gray Marsden’s father, a firefighter, dies in the blaze.
While many in the town believe a notoriously troubled local teen set the fire, Ginny makes a shattering discovery that casts blame on the person she trusts most in the world. Ginny tells no one, but the secret isolates her, looming between her and her friends and ruining their friendship.
Over the next two decades, Ginny puts aside her wanderlust and her dreams. Moving back to her hometown, she distances herself from the past and from nearly everyone in it. She marries a quiet man, raises their daughter, Avery, and cares for her tyrannical, ailing mother, Adela. But when Ginny’s husband, Harris, becomes embroiled in a scandal, Ginny’s carefully controlled life crumbles, and, just when she believes she is regaining her bearings, the secret she’s kept for 20 years emerges and threatens to destroy her hopes for the future.
With the help of 15-year-old Avery and of friends both old and new, Ginny must summon the courage to confront old lies and hard truths, and to free herself and the people she loves from the mistakes and regrets that have burdened them for so long.
Audiobook available, read by Caitlin Kelly
