Our Fault

Noah Morgan and Nick Leister’s complex romance captures how love can help the individual overcome life’s difficulties. When Noah and Nick first reunite after their breakup, neither one of the protagonists is sure that their relationship has a chance. Noah is still in love with Nick but worries that the mistakes she made in the past might preclude them from rekindling their romance in the present. Nick has all but given up on love. Since Noah cheated on him and they ended their relationship, Noah has stopped “feeling anything for another person beyond carnal desire” (19). His and Noah’s lives feel devoid of love when they see each other at their best friends’ wedding, but their forced proximity challenges them to embrace love anew. 

Throughout the novel, Noah comes to a different understanding of what love means and what it requires. She realizes that part of this is admitting the mistakes she made when she and Nick were together and asking for forgiveness. While she waits for Nick to “believe in [her] again, in [them], in forgiveness, in love,” she pursues personal change and growth (80). She repairs her relationship with her mom, seeks out new work, school, and relationship opportunities, and even invests in Nick’s sister Maddie.