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Getting to Happy started slow for me. In fact, it started so slow it stopped. It ended up in the land of open books and the likelihood of it staying there increased by the day. Why?
I paid no attention to the "sequel to Waiting to Exhale" until I started. It started like a YA "problem" novel. The characters sat there like I should have known and cared about them. Even if I had read the previous book or seen the movie, I thought these women never would worm their way in to my heart or head.
I had to read it for the book club. I tackled it not unlike I would have tackled a book in high school that I had to read. About one chapter later, I started growling about the characters, the choices, the men, the women. In other words, I stopped growling about having to read the book and started growling because I cared.
Yes, it boils down to people make bad choices; friends and family all have their issues; and of course, the love of friends, family and strangers makes a difference. Not a new tale, but an immensely readable one, once some part makes you care. After that happens, you realize that you can't just care about the one situation or one person -- all of them share the whole, even as the dramas in each of their lives unfold.
I got to happy with Getting to Happy. These women, their choices, their challenges have embedded into my brain. They live those "book memory" areas that exist. I think of it as a grand family room where the best characters live on, nudging me, goading me or giving me a reference point.
