Save as Draft by Cavanaugh Lee

Not too long ago, I gingerly accepted a review request for Teresa Medeiros’s Goodnight Tweetheart, a novel made up mostly of Tweets. I say gingerly because I thought, “Tweets? How could readers understand and connect with characters by reading their Twitter thoughts?” I gave the novel 4 ½ stars.

Proven wrong, I now eagerly accepted to read the debut by Cavanaugh Lee, Save As Draft. This novel is written mostly in email messages, along with a few tweets, texts, and Facebook updates along the way. The story follows Izzy Chin as she tries to find love. She joins E-Harmony and connects with Martin, and they have an instant connection. Through technology, they decide they could meet in person. One wildly successful date later, Izzy dumps Martin after deciding to take a chance on her best friend Peter. Peter and Izzy fall in love, as readers can depict from the sappy emails and TMI Facebook status updates, and quickly get engaged. But when Peter starts acting like he is married to his job, Izzy feels lost in the shuffle. She knows it may be wrong, be she drifts back to Martin, who is overly hopeful he can make a relationship with Izzy work. Readers can see how different the outcome could have been, if only some of the characters would just hit send.

The ending I think will shock everyone. I actually started shouting after I closed this book. But in a good way, a way that made me think. What if we were just honest with each other? What if we didn’t have technology allowing us to censor our thoughts and emotions? Save As Draft is definitely on my Favorites List. I loved getting to know characters a different way, and the added friendships of Izzy’s and their take on marriage brings in the comedic relief. The subjects touched in this novel are actually very serious, and I appreciate how this story is told with such honesty and validity in the technology crazed world we live in.  I highly recommend this book, and looks forward to more from newcomer Cavanaugh Lee.