Review: The Story of Us by Deb Caletti

The Story of Us by Deb Caletti

Publication Date: April 24, 2012
Page Count: 389
Format: Hardcover
Published by: Simon Pulse
Source: Library

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Cricket’s on a self-imposed break from her longtime boyfriend—but she’s picked a bad week to sort out her love life. For one thing, her mother’s romance is taking center stage: After jilting two previous fiancés, her mom is finally marrying Dan Jax, whom Cricket loves. But as wedding attendees arrive for a week of festivities at a guesthouse whose hippie owners have a sweet, sexy son—Ash—complications arise:
Cricket’s future stepsisters make it clear they’re not happy about the marriage. An old friend decides this is the week to declare his love for Cricket. Grandpa chooses to reveal a big secret at a family gathering. Dan’s ex-wife shows up. And even the dogs—Cricket’s old, ill Jupiter and Dan’s young, lively Cruiser—seem to be declaring war.

While Cricket fears that Dan is in danger of becoming ditched husband-to-be number three, she’s also alarmed by her own desires. Because even though her boyfriend looms large in her mind, Ash is right in front of her....

I'm having a difficult time trying to think of what I want say about The Story of Us. I thought it was just okay. It was very wordy and took forever to finally get to the point. I have read Deb Caletti before, so I sort of knew what to expect. Her writing is really good, and there was plenty of stuff going on, but it was so boring that it couldn't hold my interest.

The protagonist, Cricket, is confused about her future and is trying to decide what to do. She is struggling with her relationship with her long-time boyfriend, Janssen. At the same time, her mother is re-marrying and Cricket has to deal with a new step-father and step-sisters. To add another layer of drama, Cricket has to decide what to do about college. She has a lot to deal with and is struggling with doing the right thing for everyone involved.

Cricket's (ex?) boyfriend, Janssen - somehow I seriously loved him, even though he was only in 1 scene, and I don't think he even spoke! I should start a fan club for him or something, just to get him noticed.

We get 'the story of us' mostly through emails from Cricket to Janssen where she rehashes their shared past and hints about what went wrong in their relationship. The emails really left me unsatisfied. We only get Janssen's side of the story from the small amount of recaps that Cricket does, which makes it difficult to take in the entire situation. And most of the emails were so boring! Lots of filler and nonsense and dog metaphors galore! I found myself waiting and waiting for the big reveal about what Cricket did wrong in her relationship with Janssen. After all that waiting, I didn't think the situation was the big deal that she made it out to be.

While I liked the writing, I didn't connect with any of the characters or the storyline. It didn't move me or make me feel anything. Well, I take that back. The dang dog made me cry my eyes out. So, thanks for that at least.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars