This book is Sense and Sensibility for the modern age – sisters Annie and Miranda are accompanying their mother to a extended exile in Westport, Connecticut when their step-father dumps Betty for a much younger woman.
Annie’s Edward is Frederick, famous author and brother to the much younger woman now shacked up with her step-father. Miranda’s situation is a bit less clear – Willoughby is a distinct character, but Colonel Brandon is more or less an amalgam of three people, and it would be completely spoilerly to go into more detail than that. A trip to Palm Springs stands in for London, and we’re off to the races.
I really enjoyed this story – it really does capture the essence of the original, but gives the sisters a more fitting story for this modern age. It’s mostly pre-ordained, based on the source (Miranda’s denouement somewhat withstanding), but there’s still some mystery in what will happen next, and satisfaction upon reaching that end.