I do not choose sappy books knowingly, perhaps subconsciously. However, I do tend to like books with happy endings (though I am pretty flexible in my definition of happy ending), which to me sometimes means sappy. I am not just rambling here, but leading up to discussing the two most recent books I have read.
The first is Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult. 
I read everything Picoult writes and have only missed two of her early novels, which I will most likely read some day. I like all the books I have read, I do not like them equally well, but I do like them. This newest release falls near the top of the middle. What I most liked about this one is actually all the facts about real wolves. What I liked least is the daughter, Cara. Usually when I am not thrilled with a character it is because he/she is not realistic. Cara is supremely realistic from her desperate need to ignore the truth to her selfishness, she is 17, no doubt. I just did not find her to be a likable 17 year old. My other issue with this book is that I have read 16 of Picoult's 18 novels. They are meticulously researched, the characters are engaging, the dialogue is realistic, there are always surprises, yet somehow they are beginning to seem too much the same. There is a pattern, a similarity about them that is becoming disconcerting. This happened a few books ago and I keep reading, because I always like the books, I do not find them predictable, but yet I find them the same. I am not sure what I will do about it, and it does not sound like a real reading dilemma, but it is. Bottom line, this is a good book. If you have read and enjoyed Picoult in the past you will read and enjoy this one. If this will be your first, it is not a bad place to start, but you will not want to miss Nineteen Minutes, The Pact, or Second Glance, which are my favorites.
The book I finished just a few minutes before sitting down to compose this post is Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos. This book begins with friendship and ends with love, but not in a predictable way. It is also about the end of love, death, and healing. It too is filled with realistic and likable characters. I really like Pen and her daughter Augusta as well as her mother, father, and brother. Cat I like less well, but that is as I think de los Santos intended. The story revolves around three friends: Pen, Will, and Cat who lost touch (though "lost" is a bit inaccurate as they really "left" touch, or "stopped" touch) a few years after they had been fast friends in college. Their ten year reunion brings all the memories and angst back to the forefront when Cat sends an unexpected e-mail to the other two. Despite feeling like it will be all about the friendship, the book explores the separate lives of the three, especially Pen, to illustrate why they both do and do not need each other. It was really well done and happy without sappy, and profound without preachiness. I highly recommend it. Also check out Love Walked In and Belong to Me by de los Santos.
