My take on: The Sun in Your Eyes

A road trip with a friend you haven't seen in years? In real life that sounds like a recipe for disaster. All that closeness with someone you're not sure you like anymore? Who would sign up for that? I personally wouldn't. But it could make an interesting book.

Exploring the dynamics of friendship attracted me to Deborah Shapiro's debut novel The Sun in Your Eyes.

Lee Parrish and Vivian "Viv" Feld haven't seen each other in three years. What caused their riff is at the heart of the book. Lee pops back into Viv's life because she needs help. Lee needs help digging into her past. She needs help connecting with the memory of her dead father.

Lee is the daughter of fashion designer Linda West and Jesse Parrish, a rock singer who died far too young in a car accident. In the many, many, many years since his death, Jesse's music has achieved cult status. Since his death, rumors have always circulated about an unreleased Jesse Parrish album. That album. That's what Lee wants. The last piece of her father. She want more of a connection to him. Stories from her mother and his friends aren't enough. Why bring Viv along? How can Viv help in this quest? Is Viv really there to help Lee find a music recording? Or is she there to help rebuild their friendship?

The book alternates between the past and the present. They met in college. Viv wasn't immediately taken with Lee. Viv is the quiet type, more reserved. Lee is more in your face. For me, this book was hard to follow. I thought some passages were taking place in the future but they were in the past. The pacing felt disjointed. I couldn't connect with the characters. Lee came off as shallow to me. Viv just seemed boring. Books about friendship have to make me feel something. I need some emotional pull to the characters. I thought I would like this, but I didn't. I wasn't able to finish. It didn't hold my interest. But don't let that discourage you, what I don't like I'm sure others will!

Rating: Meh

Note: I received a copy of the book from the publisher  (HarperCollins) as part of blog tour with TLC Book Tours.