Dedication is a novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, who also wrote The Nanny Diaries. I have read their novel, Citizen Girl, but not Diaries, although I'm considering it now that a sequel has come out. I'm not always on the ball with reading new releases, as you can see!
The novel begins with Kate Hollis throwing her things in a bag so she can rush back to her hometown to confront her high school boyfriend who done her wrong—big time. Kate has just received a call from her best friend to tell her that said boyfriend, Jake, now a world renowned rock star, has arrived back in their small town for a shoot. In desperate need of closure Kate doesn’t hesitate to return back to her old life. Kate has never gotten over Jake (who abandoned her back in the day to go and be famous) and her suffering is amplified because her ex has used her and their relationship as fodder for his music.
Dedication jumps from the present to the past, filling in details of the Kate-Jake relationship and revealing realities and hidden truths about their love, their families and their friendships. As with so many things all is not as it seems—or how it is remembered.
In the past I’ve been a bad boy addict myself, so in some ways I could relate, although Kate (not to mention Jake) doesn't seem to have matured much since their high school days. At some points I just wanted to shake some sense into her. Regardless of the likability of the protagonists the book was an easy read and I kept turning the pages to see what would finally become of Kate and Jake and all their angst. I'd say 3.5 out of 5.
Alla Prossima
