I enjoyed The Story of a New Name so much more than My Brilliant Friend. So much so that I was panicked on the last line of the book, knowing I would have to request and wait for Book 3 from my local library. 
 Elena and Lila are now in their late teens. Elena is still struggling with school, her identity, boys and friendships - normal concerns for her age. Lila has just been married, smart but unable to afford school, caught in the middle of warring families and being used by her own family to further her brother's "career" and make them money - more than most could handle at any age. The book covers the next few years, into their early 20s. 
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 We find Lila struggling with the idea of freedom and choice as a woman in the mid 60s in a small town, from a poor family and now married to a fairly wealthy man. Only after she is married does she realize that she has been more of a bargaining chip or prize to be won. She is much smarter and harder working than her family and contemporaries, only her passion and stubbornness have led her into a bad decision and one she cannot extricate herself from, though she tries and tries again, much to her detriment. She cannot resolve giving up her passion or ideas to smooth the way for herself. 
 I found myself both rooting for Lila, admiring her strength and resolve and mourning for some of her hasty and harmful decisions. There were times where I thought she was in the right to fight for what she wanted, but did not always agree with her methods. She knows she is much smarter and resourceful than many of those in her small town and ends up playing them, the same way she is being played by her husband and the Solaras. She suffers more than she needs to from her selfishness. Then again, the situations are not fair and she has had to fight her whole life to retain her true self. 
 Meanwhile, Elena has tried to stay the good and correct path, while alternately admiring and envying Lila. Because of her mild and amiable temperament, her teachers take a liking to her. Her family allows her to continue school and as a result, she has a way to escape where she came from. Only Elena realizes as she continues school that there is a big difference between social classes and one that cannot be learned or earned. 
 This is what makes Elena the most crazy, knowing that she can never attain this level on her own. She often attaches herself to men for how they make her feel about herself, rather than how she feels about them. She also yearns to accomplish something true on her own. Until her book is in the process of being published, she attributed much of her success to others. This finally gives her something to be proud of in herself. She does attribute her ability to write the story to Lila, which brings us back to their mutual need for one another. 
 Elena and Lila are tied by more than just childhood friendship, a sense of competition, even the men they love. They complete each other in ways that have been preordained for us as humans. Elena needed the competition, the ire and passion that Lila ignited in her through Nino, through school, through her own success. Lila needs Elena's support, her steadiness, she provides that something "contained" that Lila is always afraid will spill out of her own self. 
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 I am anxious to see how their journey continues. A great read.