Best Friends Forever
I listened to this novel on my daily commute to work and it made the ride very enjoyable. It’s a funny story about childhood friendship, small town life and secrets, a road trip and a hit-and-run. This book had a little of something for everyone.
It starts off with a hit-and-run after a high school reunion. You may be thinking this is serious, but the man walks away with minor injuries. The woman driver, however, is shaken and doesn’t know if she killed the man. Out of desperation she turns to her childhood best friend whom she hasn’t spoken to in 15 years. This is how we meet Addie Downs and Valerie Adler.I love how Jennifer interweaves flashbacks from the women’s childhood in with the present time. These memories seem so realistic and beautiful that you forget about the present situation, aka the crime. The flashbacks continue as the girls enter high school and you witness what happens to a lot of childhood friendships - the girls grew apart. This novel brought me back to my high school memories and friendships. It’s sad when friends drift apart. A betrayal occurs between Addie and Valerie thus ending their friendship and they go their separate ways. A childhood secret causes Valerie to set in motion the consequences of the hit-and-run at her high school reunion.
I loved the reunion of Addie and Valerie 15 years later. Jennifer made the interaction between the two very realistic and true to the characters personalities. The relationship between the two was great and made me wish I had a friend like Addie. She was my favorite between the two.
Jennifer had alternating chapters in this book between Addie, Valerie, the police officer investigating the hit-and-run, and the classmate Valerie hit with her car. The different points of view made the book more interesting and gave it more character. I liked seeing the story from both a female and male point of view. With the audio book version, Valerie and Addie’s chapters were read by a female narrator and the police officer and classmate’s were read by a male narrator. This was a great way to handle the different points of view from an audio take.
I liked how the mystery part of the story was humorous and the road trip Valerie and Addie took reminded me of Thelma and Louise. This book was an enjoyable journey of friendship and self-discovery. I’m looking forward to reading other novels by Jennifer Weiner.
