I have a confession to make. As I stood in line 2 long hours waiting for EG (as I fondly call Emily Giffin) to sign my SoBo (Something Borrowed) & SoBlue (Something Blue) books at her HOTM book launch, I couldn’t tell my compadres that I hadn’t read all of her books. In fact, I had only recently finished SoBo and cracked the spine of SoBlue. But my cohorts, a few girls I had met over cocktails that night, were adoring fans of EG and invariably had. All of them.

I laughed along with my line-buddies as they discussed their fave parts in each of the books, how good EG is at character development and how they love her writing. It’s like saying in a room full of breast cancer survivors that I’ve never had a mammogram or pap (which I haven’t.)

I digress. So I finally finished SoBlue and I feel my secret must come out. And my analysis.

A little background first. My bestie hates SoBo. Ok, hate is a little strong a word, but she def doesn’t like how the whole book is about infidelity. In fact, she quit it before the 2nd chapter.

But I stuck with it. I mean, there’s gotta be a reason why EG is a NYTimes bestseller, right?

Here’s why I love SoBo. Two words: Character. Development.

Rachel is a total wimp. She got the education and a job that pays her well but isn’t her dream job. Her love life sucks. More significantly, she sucks at believing in herself. She thinks that all things magical and wonderful are destined to happen to her bestie, Darcy, who sucks at being a bestie. I mean, I kept thinking the whole time, Damn, I’m so glad I’m not Rachel. I mean, she leaves her fate up to a pair of die. And then keeps the die on her bookshelf as a token of her “bad luck.” I do not condone.

{spoiler alert!} But as the book nears to a close, Rachel begins to shift. Her once self-deprecating self-talk, turns to total awareness of who she is and what’s she’s been doing with her life.

“Is it possible that the thrill I felt when I kissed Dex had more to do with the titillation of being bad, breaking rules, having something that belonged to Darcy? Maybe my affair with Dex was about rebelling against my own safe choices, against Darcy and years of feeling deficient. I am disturbed by the idea, because you never like to think that you are a slave to these sorts of subliminal pulls. But at the same time, the idea consoles me.”

It takes a ton of courage to look yourself straight in the mirror and say, what the hell have I been doing? Rachel you won some My Voice is Strong points in my book.

Darcy isn’t much better, though. At the start of SoBlue, Darcy is a major B. Everything happens to her. Dex left her. Rachel betrayed her. Marcus got her pregnant then left her high and dry. And her mother is ashamed of her. If you’re not in a good place, it’s hard to follow Darcy into the night.

Nonetheless, she picks up her bags, quits her job, moves to London to find herself (which I do condone) and promptly blows her savings on a new wardrobe she out. She finds new friends, rekindles a friendship with her childhood friend, Ethan, and finds out she’s having twins. IKR.

Just when you think Darcy isn’t ever gonna change, she thinks “Why was I so upset? Hadn’t I moved beyond Rachel’s betrayal? I had a new boyfriend, new girlfriends, a new best friend in Ethan, and two babies on the way. And I was sure that I would find a job in the new year. I was doing fine. So why was I sad? I thought for a few minutes, dug down to a very deep place, and came up with an answer that I didn’t like. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I knew that it had something to do with missing Rachel.”

Missing Rachel, in Darcy’s mind, meant Darcy had to forgive Rachel.

Damn, Darce. I didn’t think she had it in her.

So besides all the infidelity, betrayal, bastard children, self-masochism and “playing it safe,” EG moves her characters from my-life-sucks to total forgiveness. Rachel & Darce look themselves in the mirror, say Damn, how did I F this up so much?, then realize to move on they have to forgive each other and themselves.

Have you ever had to look yourself in the mirror, say what the hell am I doing?, and then totally forgive yourself?

(Pix rights reserved to Emily Giffin.com)

P.S. Super excited about SoBo & SoBlue movies set to release 2011)