Best Friends Forever is a slow-moving tale about just that, two girls who grow up as best friends and after life’s twists and turns, come back to be again, BFFs as adults. The story revolves around Addie’s weight, the gain and the loss, and Val’s rising star, first as a cheerleader, then on the nightly news. In the mix is a class reunion, a man who gets his comeuppance, and a cop who falls for one of the BFFs.

Jennifer Weiner is a very good writer, her prose is succinct and realistic, moving in and out of one theme to another, but Best Friends Forever will not go down as a favorite of mine. I find that I say this a lot in my reviews: There is nothing wrong with the book, but it just wasn’t a zinger for me. That being said, I certainly wouldn’t discount the book on any level, just not one I will write home about.

Why the 5 stars you might ask, because it is very well written and just because the story itself didn’t move me to tears, or heartbreak, or whatever emotional level I may have been looking for at the time, doesn’t mean it warrants anything less than well done. I will read another book of Ms. Weiner, as she is that good of a writer that I have not lost interest. ( )

Romance

OK story of estranged best friends who unite after a class reunion when one of them thinks she killed a classmate who raped her in high school

Childhood best friends break up in high school. Years later the successful friend comes back needing help after the high school reunion. The book goes back and forth in time and tells the story from various characters' viewpoints. ( )

PEARL RULE # 7 (p72)

Rating: 2* of five

The Publisher Says: Addie Downs and Valerie Adler were eight when they first met and decided to be best friends forever. But, in the wake of tragedy and betrayal during their teenage years, everything changed. Val went on to fame and fortune. Addie stayed behind in their small Midwestern town. Destiny, however, had more in store for these two. And when, twenty-five years later, Val shows up at Addie’s front door with blood on her coat and terror on her face, it is the beginning of a wild adventure for two women joined by love and history who find strength together that they could not find alone.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I POSSESS A HARDCOVER OF THIS BOOK. I DON'T ANYMORE. LITTLE FREE LIBRARY HO!

My Review: Chick-lit is never going to be aimed at me, and it shouldn't be. I have no idea why, however, this tediously predictable, barely-serviceably-written story of emotional manipulation and abusive behavior is considered good. When Valerie abandoned Addie after manpiulating her into a situation that guarantees she will encounter serious legal trouble, and that Valerie knew was going to do so, I bailed. Not for me. ( )