Unbreakable
Drama, Lesbian Romance, Mystery, Published in 2005, ISBN: 1-932667-25-3, $17.99, 294 pages
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Story Summary
Author Commentary
Reader Reviews
From their earliest years, five very different girls were as close as sisters—sharing everything, even secrets and lies—until their friendship and their lives were ripped apart by a devastating act of betrayal from one of their own.
Twenty years have gone by, and one woman has more cause to regret her estrangement from the group than the rest. An old promise leads to a reunion, which unearths memories, mistrust, and hidden agendas as the former friends—grown up and grown apart—reconnect and realize the impact they’ve had on each other's lives. Real and perceived betrayals jeopardize the entire event … as well as the hopes of a rekindled romance.
Author Commentary:
Storylines, storylines! Drama, romance, and just a hint of mystery. Unbreakable is a tale set partly in the present day and partly in the 1970-1980s. The bonds we form as children and young women can be some of the most critical relationships of our lives. They shape and often define us. What happens when those bonds are brutally severed?
More than any of my other stories, this is a tale written for women and about their unique relationships with each other. It’s the equivalent of a ‘chick flick’ on paper and one of my personal favorites. I’ll keep you guessing right up until the very end and still surprise you.
My nine-year-old daughter did the artwork in the front matter of the book. It’s my favorite part of the entire project.
The cover for this story started out very differently, with a great photograph of five little girls. I loved the picture, but when I ran across the photograph of the two youths’ hands clasped, I tossed out my original cover idea and went for the photo that’s on the cover today. It was simple and perfect and conveyed the message that I wanted without beating the reader over the head with it. I loved that it’s not so literal and I even loved that it had a beach in the background while a beach isn’t featured in the story. To me, the cover gives off the sense of love and commitment that I wanted readers to get from the novel.
What a wonderful story! The kids & their interactions were so very real & brought back many memories - all the way up to the terrors that college & growing up/apart can bring... especially when that involves coming out to friends.
A nice job showing how misunderstandings can be so very life altering & the awkwardness of seeing such close friends after so many years. The love & 'feeling' of closeness is still there, but there's a time-instilled awkwardness to be overcome.
A joy to read!!
-reader review, T. Crittenden
***What a great story, really great characters development. I liked Jacie and Nina the best, but Audrey and Katy were hilarious when the got together. Gwen though was such a tortured character, as much as you might want to hate her you just couldn't, she was just so young and misguided not to mention messed up, you just had to feel for her as well as the others.
Lot's of angst but really well balanced with the other story elements. I have always enjoyed reading your stories, you always create great secondary characters, which are well fleshed out, they always add so much to the overall story.
This one was slightly different, it had rotating main characters, so that at some point in the story every character was a secondary character and at the same time not quite. You handled the balancing of that masterfully. This book is definitely on my list to buy.
-reader review, Shari
***I admit to being a devoted fan of Blayne Cooper's writing. The diversity of topics is enriching. With "Unbreakable" comes a story of friendship; the joy of childhood friends, the pains of growing up, differences in family lifestyles and finally the rifts that occur when hurt, mistrust and betrayal are brought to the forefront.
The story weaves in and out of the past and present nicely linking the current storyline with the relevant moments of the past. Gwen is wondering which one of her childhood friends is blackmailing her and threatening to destroy her carefully constructed life. She must revisit not only the fond moments spent with Jacie, Nina, Katy and Audrey, but also look at her own actions that sundered the group. In order to achieve piece of mind, Gwen decides to invite them all for a reunion weekend at a local B&B to celebrate her 40th birthday as promised in a childhood pact.
So much of the dialogue from childhood misadventures through the growing pains of teenagers and college, right up into the maturity of adults rang so true to my own memories. Mixed in was the constant wondering who could be behind the threatening emails and letters -- and why? To me, this is a great story about relationships and how life twists and turns can test even the most unbreakable of friendships.
-reader review, Eileen Marks