Very enjoyable cross between deep subjects and chick lit. I liked the basketball references; the author seemed to know what she was talking about with that and many other themes. I found the characters believable, however the heavily repetitious descriptors weighed down the narrative (how many times can you mention Julia's love of planning?). A lot of the novel was focused on Julia, a highly unlikable character, plus I lose patience with wimps like William. Still the stories of sisterhood and finding one's way through a difficult world held my interest and it was unputdownable. Much better than Dear Edward.