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deecreatenola 's review for:
Belong to Me
by Marisa de los Santos
Belong to Me combines three seemingly separate stories linked by real estate. About 3/4 of the way into the book, however, you realize that two of the stories are inextricably linked. In addition to the three main stories there are at least three off-shoot stories to the main action.
All of the stories explore the concept of what is family and, more importantly, who is family. It's Cornelia's story, who I found it hard not to identify with the author. (It may not be autobiographical in the least, but I guess since Cornelia's story is told in first person I see her as a stand in for Marisa de los Santos herself.) The chapters alternate, from Cornelia's voice to Piper and Dev's stories told in 3rd person.
The characters all grow throughout the arc of the story, perhaps most especially Piper who begins the story as something of a stereotype. As a reader, you begin to care about them and once the connection is to two of the stories is made, you're hooked for the last quarter of the book - racing through to find out what will happen.
All of the stories explore the concept of what is family and, more importantly, who is family. It's Cornelia's story, who I found it hard not to identify with the author. (It may not be autobiographical in the least, but I guess since Cornelia's story is told in first person I see her as a stand in for Marisa de los Santos herself.) The chapters alternate, from Cornelia's voice to Piper and Dev's stories told in 3rd person.
The characters all grow throughout the arc of the story, perhaps most especially Piper who begins the story as something of a stereotype. As a reader, you begin to care about them and once the connection is to two of the stories is made, you're hooked for the last quarter of the book - racing through to find out what will happen.