By Annette Cinelli

Did you catch and love The Nanny Diaries in the theaters this summer? Did you read the best selling book by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus? If you enjoyed the movie or book you should check out the ladies’ latest novel, Dedication.

Dedication opens with 30 year old Kate Hollis getting a phone call from her long time friend Laura at 4:45am three days before Christmas. She says the two words Kate’s been waiting to hear for over a decade: “He’s here.”

“He” is Jake Sharpe, Kate’s high school boyfriend who abandoned her on prom night their senior year.

“Here” is her hometown of Croton Falls, Vermont.

Jake left Kate without so much as a goodbye, never mind an explanation. He’s completely gone from her life until one night in college when, as she’s kissing a new guy with definite boyfriend potential, Kate hears a song on the radio: “I’m losing, my eyes on the towering golden gods over our heads. I put my hand to your skin and you tell me to come inside I come inside…“ It’s Jake singing about his and Kate’s first sexual experience. She kicks the guy away from her and bolts out of the room. The song, “Losing,” goes on to become the number-one hit single of the 90s.

Jake becomes one of the biggest recording stars on the planet and almost all of his songs are about Kate. He sings about the freckle on her neck, the affair her mother had, and intimate details of their relationship. She can’t go into a bar without running the risk of hearing what she describes as “…a lyrical blow-by-blow of my oral sex capabilities.” Since he left her and made his millions singing about their relationship, she has vowed to make him “…regret his entire existence.”

The novel goes back and forth between the present day, as Kate gets ready to confront Jake, to Kate, Jake, Laura, and their friends in middle school, high school, college, and post college.

Through the flashbacks we see how Kate and Jake’s relationship developed. It started in 6th grade when a group of the popular girls question new girl Kate on whom she likes in school. She doesn’t want to pick anyone, but the girls push her into choosing. Her eyes scan the boys in gym class and “…land on a scrawny kid with floppy brown hair…” “’That guy…the one with the uh…palm trees on his Jams.’” The girls tell her that his name is Jake Sharpe and no one’s ever liked him before.

The two don’t start dating until 11th grade, but their paths cross throughout middle school and high school. They go on a group date, they do research for a school project together, she laughs at him in class and they both get in trouble, and they are at the same parties with a shared group of friends. But once their relationship does start, it is intense (as most first loves are) and it breaks her heart when he leaves her so unexpectedly. Thirteen years later the wound hasn’t healed and she vows to get closure now that he is back on her “home turf.”

The parts of the book that flash back to Kate and her friends in high school and college are funny and realistic. There are universal scenes and experiences to which anyone can relate. Seeing Kate in high school and college really helps show how she got to be the woman she is today. The details of her complicated and passionate relationship with Jake help explain why she never really got over him. By comparison, I was disappointed in the portrayal of present day Jake. He doesn’t really match up to the slightly troubled but caring and talented guy in Kate was in love with for years.

Overall, Dedication is a really great read. The idea of confronting the one that got away is a fun one and I love the insight that comes along with reading the history of Kate and Jake’s relationship. The ending is surprisingly refreshing and I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick and entertaining read.