(reviewed by Ann Onymous )
This is a love story. Not that Love Story but a NEW love story. A mother’s love for her two adult children. A parent’s love for their children. A love for a sibling, a colleague, love of a mentor, the love of your life. How far would you go for that love? How loud would you shout your love from the rooftops? Love can be complicated and love can be simple.
This is a story of love over the years between our narrator, Tom and his sister, Nina. His journey begins at her death and the reading of her will. The attorney reads out Nina’s wishes and Tom is left asking “Who is Sarah?”
Nina’s ‘coming-out’ story is revealed to us through her journals. Tom is reading and learning about her after she has passed away.
Phillip Vega has crafted a good ‘mystery’ as we all discover who SARAH is and we search to understand her throughout the book. Why is she important to Nina? What happened to her? How does she fit into Nina’s life as a lawyer?
I enjoyed this book because it was a pleasant read and definitely relatable. After Nina’s death, we fly back and forth from Florida to New York and experience two different lifestyles: Tom’s ‘family’ life vs. Nina’s ‘single’ life – the difference isn’t only financial. Nina is a very successful lawyer, even winning a case in the Supreme Court. Tom and his wife Gabi are raising two kids and enjoying the slower pace in Florida. Tom is proud of his Dominican heritage, Gabi is a proud Cuban descendent, Nina is a proud gay woman and Sarah is? Where IS Sarah?
The author keeps us engaged until the very end – he has created characters that we care about. If you like reading terms of endearment in a variety of languages, you will enjoy this novel. And if you can embrace different types of love connections, you will truly appreciate this story.
Congratulazioni and Felicidades to Phillip Vega for writing a lovely story.
