Relief is spelled R E V I E W G O O D

*STAR* Nelson, D-L. The Card. Oct. 2005. 308p. Five Star, $26.95 (1-59414-417-6). Every Christmas, for 20 years, two former college roommates, Diana Bourque and Jane Andrews, exchange the same card, summarizing their lives that year in one sentence. The two friends couldn’t be more different. Jane is domestic, and pins her hopes on becoming the wife of handsome medical student David Johnson. Diana is the adventurous one, hoping someday to take over her father’s newspaper. After graduation, each woman discovers that dreams and real life often take two entirely different roads. Although men, employers, and the world in general spin out of control, Jane and Diana hold fast to the knowledge that they will always have their friendship, no matter what. As time passes, Nelson expertly captures the essence of each era with a few well-chosen, tantalizing details. Poignant and witty, this story drives home the point that although everyone’s feelings and experiences seem unique, they do share universal patterns. Readers who enjoy such emotionally textured books as Iris Rainer Dart’s Beaches (1985) or Kathleen Gilles Siedel’s Till the Stars Fall (1994) will love Nelson’s novel, too. —Shelley Mosley, Booklist