Lauryn Chamberlain

Title: Who We Are Now
Author: Lauryn Chamberlain
Publisher: PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, Dutton
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Who We Are Now" by Lauryn Chamberlain" by Lauryn Chamberlain

My Sentiments:

'Who We Are Now' was an excellent novel about four college friends from Chicago and New York who were graduating from college and going into the world over around 15 years up through their 30s. It will be a twisted road as the reader will see how they drift apart at times but can become closer toward the end of the story. After all, is said and done, this author gives the reader quite a realistic dramatic, love, resilience, addiction, death, sickness, career choices, and heartbreaking friendship story. The main characters [Rachel, Dev, Nate, and Clarissa] were well-developed, with some more complex than the others with their different POVs that we receive from the alternating chapters. In the end, the reader will get an excellent story of friendship through the years with plenty of up-and-down times on this roller-coaster ride as we see the characters grow up and change as life continues.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for the beautiful story of the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.… (más)

This is an interesting look at friendship and how it changes as you grow older. Jules and Michelle have been friends since third grade after Jules and her mom moved to a small town in Alabama. Their upbringing was very different - Michelle was the privileged daughter of wealthy parents and Jules was being raised by a single mother who spent more time looking for a new boyfriend than she spent with her daughter. Jukes was accepted into Michelle's family and spent more time there than she did at home. They remained best friends until high school graduation when they headed different directions. Michelle stayed near home and graduated from the University of Alabama and now works in a jewelry boutique. Jules went to school in New York and lives in New York City making a living as a book editor. They are both in their 20s when Michelle asks Jules to be the maid of honor at her wedding. The differences in their lives is apparent - Michelle plans to get married and quit her job and live happily ever after. Jules is dating someone but has no plans of ever getting married or having children. Their views on social issues has also changed dramatically and a fight over one issue threatens to tear their friendship apart. Will they be able to find common ground and remain friends or will their changes over the years end their long term friendship?

I enjoyed the plot of this book and really liked Jules. I wasn't too crazy about Michelle - she just seemed so shallow and impressed with herself and her plans for the future. The author definitely understood the way people change and how it affects friendships. I have a friend from third grade and we are still good friends even though our lives have been very different so I understood the main characters struggles to maintain their friendship even their lives had changed over the years. This is a debut novel for this author and I look forward to her future books.… (más)