Jennifer Weiner grew up in Connecticut and graduated with a degree in English literature from Princeton University. She is the author of seven novels including ‘IN HER SHOES’ which was turned into a major motion picture starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley MacLaine. There are more than 11 million copies of her books in print in 36 countries.
She writes occasionally for the Huffington Post and on her own blog right here. She likes sunsets, sushi, reality TV and long walks on the beach and dislikes fake people, humidity, and entrenched sexism in the literary world. Her last name is not pronounced exactly the way it’s spelled and she lives with her family. (source: author website)
She writes occasionally for the Huffington Post and on her own blog right here. She likes sunsets, sushi, reality TV and long walks on the beach and dislikes fake people, humidity, and entrenched sexism in the literary world. Her last name is not pronounced exactly the way it’s spelled and she lives with her family. (source: author website)
I picked this book up after seeing it on several summer TBR lists. A successful marketing campaign... I did purchase a copy, HA!
This is a hard review for me to write, I don’t feel that I have anything to add to the synopsis below. I didn’t love this book but it’s not horrible, by any means. I still feel the same way days after finishing so today I visited BN.com and Amazon.com to view reader feedback and BFF is getting mixed reviews (which made me feel better). I can’t imagine how difficult it is to write novel after novel with such high expectations from readers.
This is a hard review for me to write, I don’t feel that I have anything to add to the synopsis below. I didn’t love this book but it’s not horrible, by any means. I still feel the same way days after finishing so today I visited BN.com and Amazon.com to view reader feedback and BFF is getting mixed reviews (which made me feel better). I can’t imagine how difficult it is to write novel after novel with such high expectations from readers.
It’s a bit of a Cinderella story (the average girl gets the guy) and not my favorite book written by the author. I do like the author quite a bit and know I will read her next book if only to read the "hot new" book for summer.
Author Q&A (from her site)
Type: Fiction, 362 pages, Hardcover
Synopsis:
Some bonds can never be broken... Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That's what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they're both nine years old. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school's scapegoat.
Flash-forward fifteen years. Valerie Adler has found a measure of fame and fortune working as the weathergirl at the local TV station. Addie Downs lives alone in her parents' house in their small hometown of Pleasant Ridge, Illinois, caring for a troubled brother and trying to meet Prince Charming on the Internet. She's just returned from Bad Date #6 when she opens her door to find her long-gone best friend standing there, a terrified look on her face and blood on the sleeve of her coat. "Something horrible has happened," Val tells Addie, "and you're the only one who can help."
Best Friends Forever is a grand, hilarious, edge-of-your-seat adventure; a story about betrayal and loyalty, family history and small-town secrets. It's about living through tragedy, finding love where you least expect it, and the ties that keep best friends together.
Reviews:"Former mousy types, rejoice! In Weiner's delicious latest, a popular girl hits trouble long after high school and only the geeky pal she once shunned can help." —People
“Warmly and realistically drawn…” – Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Some bonds can never be broken... Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That's what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they're both nine years old. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school's scapegoat.
Flash-forward fifteen years. Valerie Adler has found a measure of fame and fortune working as the weathergirl at the local TV station. Addie Downs lives alone in her parents' house in their small hometown of Pleasant Ridge, Illinois, caring for a troubled brother and trying to meet Prince Charming on the Internet. She's just returned from Bad Date #6 when she opens her door to find her long-gone best friend standing there, a terrified look on her face and blood on the sleeve of her coat. "Something horrible has happened," Val tells Addie, "and you're the only one who can help."
Best Friends Forever is a grand, hilarious, edge-of-your-seat adventure; a story about betrayal and loyalty, family history and small-town secrets. It's about living through tragedy, finding love where you least expect it, and the ties that keep best friends together.
Reviews:"Former mousy types, rejoice! In Weiner's delicious latest, a popular girl hits trouble long after high school and only the geeky pal she once shunned can help." —People
“Warmly and realistically drawn…” – Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Two reveiws on BN.COM:
Another GREAT Jennifer Weiner book! First, I must say that I love everything Jennifer Weiner has written. This book is no exception. The characters are well defined, and you will want to sit and read until you are completely finished. A great "pool" or "beach" book. The only disappointment I have, and why I could not give it 5 stars, was I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I'm not saying that the ending was bad or anything, but it was abrupt. Her carefulness of the characters throughout the book was awesome, and then, clunk. I still enjoyed reading the book very much, and would definitely recommend it.
I must be missing something: After reading the pre published reviews and then customer reviews, I really looked foreward to this book. I did, however, find it very disappointing. I found that I could go from one section of the book to another without really missing anything and I never truly connected with the characters. I didn't find either of the two main characters particularly appealing. Maybe I was expecting more, but this book just didn't deliver it for me.
Another GREAT Jennifer Weiner book! First, I must say that I love everything Jennifer Weiner has written. This book is no exception. The characters are well defined, and you will want to sit and read until you are completely finished. A great "pool" or "beach" book. The only disappointment I have, and why I could not give it 5 stars, was I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I'm not saying that the ending was bad or anything, but it was abrupt. Her carefulness of the characters throughout the book was awesome, and then, clunk. I still enjoyed reading the book very much, and would definitely recommend it.
I must be missing something: After reading the pre published reviews and then customer reviews, I really looked foreward to this book. I did, however, find it very disappointing. I found that I could go from one section of the book to another without really missing anything and I never truly connected with the characters. I didn't find either of the two main characters particularly appealing. Maybe I was expecting more, but this book just didn't deliver it for me.