What If I Fly by Jayne Conway

[TomL]

This is a story about Julia and Will who grew up in the same small New England town, but due to the difference in their social status in fact lived worlds apart. While Julia was raised by a working class mom, Will was brought up in a world of wealth and privilege. In spite of this the two are captivated by one another and quickly fall in love. The differences in their social status and circles of friends quickly put strains on their relationship, and when an old girlfriend of Wills enters the picture . . . . . . . Well, lots of things happen, and there are a number of twists and turns along the way which kept me hooked from beginning to end. I honestly did not want to put this book down and did not want it to end.

The characters are well developed and believable as is the story itself. The setting of Bristol RI is the perfect small town to portray the class differences, and the author totally nails the small town setting, and does equally well as the story moves to DC, New York City and Verona Italy. Hard to believe this is a first novel, highly recommended.