Jennifer Weiner’s seventh novel, Best Friends Forever, may fool readers into thinking this is some lovey-dovey over the top story about friendship, but don’t fall for that. The story begins with a possible homicide at a ten year high school reunion, when the beautiful Valerie tries seeking revenge on Dan Swansea but possibly goes too far. When Valerie realizes she may need help, she seeks out childhood best friend, Addie Downs, to bail her out of the sticky situation. Addie is shocked to find Valerie on her doorstep, especially after the major falling out the girls had in high school. It doesn’t take much for Valerie to apologize for her previous actions and rope Addie into her off the wall schemes in trying to elude the police, turning this novel into a Thelma and Louise type plot.
I did enjoy reading about how the girls were able to mend a once broken friendship, but at times it was too over the top for me. With a police officer that conveniently falls for Addie after one glance, a harebrained scheme of robbing a bank, and a religious intervention taking place at the end, I found myself shaking my head in disbelief on more than one occasion. But underneath that, the focus on ugly duckling Addie as she struggles with her weight, a slew of disastrous blind dates, and caring for her troubled brother kept me happily occupied during my reading. I think chick lit fans will appreciate the differences in these friends and the backgrounds they have come from, and of course- the underlying romantic plot between Addie and the officer. Best Friends Forever wasn’t my favorite Jennifer Weiner novel, but I still recommend it for a good beach read.
Rating: 4/5
I enjoyed this book. Read it last year and immediately recommended it to my best friend. 🙂 If you want another good best friend novel, try “Firefly Lane” by Kristin Hannah.