Book Review: Best Friends Forever

( Important Note: I know that many of you solely read Christian fiction. If that is the case for you, this book may not be appropriate for you to read.)

I wanted a "new read" when I was at the store last week. I don't know why.

I have PLENTY on my night stand to keep me busy for a while, but nothing there was calling my name. So, while browsing the book aisles at Target, this book jumped out at me. I don't know if it was the crisp clean cover. The fact that it's about a subject that I care about deeply. Or maybe it was some other hidden force that put the book in my hands.

Still, I'm glad it ended up in my cart and moved its way to the top of my "to be read" pile!

The book tells the story of Addie Downs and Valerie Adler. They were best friends from the time Valerie moved across the street from the Downs at the age of nine. As it is with life, however, they are swept apart as they age.

On the eve of their fifteen year class reunion, things change.

Valerie, a successful weather reporter from the local news station, shows up on Addie's doorstep. Valerie announces to Addie (who did not attend the class reunion), "Something horrible has happened and you're the only one who can help."

And the adventure begins. The book is a modern day fairy tale complete with a "Thelma and Louise" flavor! It is funny. It is raw at times. It deals with such real-life themes as: betrayal, loyalty, family history, and small-town life.

If it were a movie, it would definitely be PG-13. There are, at times, mature themes and situations in the pages. Typical high school issues like bullying, jealousy, cliques, and popularity are addressed. But so is date rape. I found it a fun read, though, as it primarily draws the rediscovery of a very special friendship that has never really died.

On a side note: I went to author Jennifer Weiner's website and LOVED her FAQ's as well as her hints for people who want to be writers. (Again, no faith-base here. Just raw real glimpses into a very cut-throat world.) It made me laugh out loud as I read it. In fact, I thought to myself: "I'd like to meet this woman." Lo and behold at the bottom of her very long list of FAQ's she responds to this very question in this way:

I haven’t written a novel, and I don’t have an idea
for one, but you seem really cool, so maybe we could get together and have coffee! I am not really cool. I am not cool at all. In person, I am incredibly boring. My conversational topics are almost entirely limited to reality television, and how I don’t like old people. I rarely manage to look even a tenth as good as I do in my author photo. My table manners are iffy. Many days I don’t even comb my hair, and when I’m not writing I’m usually pushing a stroller and have applesauce smeared somewhere on my person, so in the interests of not having you be disappointed by the real deal, I am going to respectfully decline. But thanks! And please come to one of my readings, where nine times out of ten my hair is combed