THE FIRST LOVE MYTH

Three sisters tackle questions of love, heartbreak, and forgiveness over the course of one summer in Dembowski’s novel.

Liz Madden thought she had a love story straight out of the movies with Julian, her husband and erstwhile childhood sweetheart. But when she discovers his affair after the letdown of a negative pregnancy test, she’s forced to confront all the not-so-perfect details of their relationship—starting with their rocky road to marriage, which included dozens of breakups and makeups. Liz isn’t so keen to take Julian back this time and goes to stay with her father and half-sister, Zoey, who she catches in bed with Andrew, Zoey’s cheating ex-boyfriend; Liz’s return might shake the last bit of Zoey’s faith in first love. The arrival of their older sister, Cecilia, complicates things even further, as she still has not forgiven their father for cheating on their mother years earlier, or cultivated a sisterly relationship with Zoey, who is the product of that marriage-ending affair. Cecilia also struggles with commitment issues that bar her from taking the next step with her girlfriend. As the days of summer pass by, the sisters find themselves relating to each other more than ever, especially recently heartbroken Liz and Zoey. Together, they forge new connections and discard old ones as Cecilia wonders if it’s time to finally accept Zoey as a part of her family after years of using Liz as a go-between. Told in alternating perspectives, the three storylines are braided together with ease, effectively conveying the overarching themes and character arcs. The prose drills deep into the sisters’ heads and depicts their emotions in affecting detail: “I sit down on the bed and stare at my hands in my lap. My heart thumps a broken beat. Whatever any of this means, I can’t think about it now. Or ever.” Their individual journeys feel real, with endings that don’t come with a neat bow on them but are still satisfying.

A quick read that packs in lots of heart and familial love.