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25th out of 100 books
—
44 voters
Between Friends
by
Debbie Macomber (Goodreads Author)
The friendship between Jillian and Lesley, told through their correspondence, begins in the 1950s and is charted through to the present in this remarkable story. Through the years and across the miles, two very different women confide in one another and prove what friendship truly means. It's a story filled with the laughter and tears that are shared "Between Friends."
Mass Market Paperback, 416 pages
Published
April 1st 2003
by Mira Books
(first published 2002)
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I liked this book and really enjoyed the way it was written, notes, journals, texts announcements and advertisements - different and really easy to pick up and put down. However, because I was on vacation, I kept reading. The women are portrayed as great friends as they were in this book,
yet have gone on very different paths in life, I get it and love it!
The two main characters have been friends since grade school so the story starts there and just
goes right through their life.
Enjoyable, laught...more
yet have gone on very different paths in life, I get it and love it!
The two main characters have been friends since grade school so the story starts there and just
goes right through their life.
Enjoyable, laught...more
Whoever wrote the blurb on the back was right.. I did recognize myself and my best friend in this book. She was the one that married right after high school and started her family soon after. I was the one who went off to college. My friend and I aren’t as close as Lesley and Jillian, but those familiar feelings were still there. I really liked the addition of newspaper clippings and bumper stickers and such to the letters. Macomber did an excellent job conveying the feeling of each year as our...more
traces the lives and friendship of Jillian Lawton and Lesley Adamski through their letters, diaries, and other correspondence. Jillian, the only child of wealthy parents, and Lesley, one of many children born into a poor family, meet when they are in grade school and are immediately taken with one another. Both girls are extremely smart, but Jillian's family wealth opens doors while Lesley must scrimp and save for everything. Jillian graduates from high school as valedictorian while a pregnant L...more
First things first - EVERY woman needs to read this book. It's that good. Lesley and Jillian seems so real, their triumphs and tragedies so authentic, their friendship so wonderful, that every woman will be able to relate to is novel. The idea of telling the story through primary-source material was unique and made for a quick read. Despite the lack of narrative, the characters became very real. I loved Nick. I loathed Buck. And through it all, I cheered for Lesley and Jillian. I had to flip bac...more
This was a book about true friendship. The girls met in grade school and became instant friends. One girl was an only child and her parents had money. The other had siblings and the parents were always fighting and the father an alcoholic. The girls were inseperable. Both met boys in high school. One girl got pregnant and married while still in school (the poor one). The other met a boy the parents did not approve of. She went off to college and he went off to the Vietnam war. The girls stayed i...more
I finished my other book last night and decided to try this one. I haven't ever read this author before and decided to give her a try once I saw that she was the author behind a lot of the holiday movies that were shown on Lifetime TV this year. I picked a book that was non hoiday to get a feel for her writing. I found this to be an enjoyable book and while I don't find typical romance novels to be high literature, I do think this author is a good writer. I read this book in a day.
This book is c...more
This book is c...more
This book follows the lives of Jillian Lawton, the only child of a prominent judge and Leslie Adamski, the oldest daughter in a struggling family that lives "on the wrong side of the tracks." Despite the social and economic differences, they become best friends in first grade.
This book is told in a series of letters, newspaper clippings, diary and journal entries, and eventually e-mails. It shares how each girl's choices as a teenager has an impact on her life. Despite the different choices they...more
This book is told in a series of letters, newspaper clippings, diary and journal entries, and eventually e-mails. It shares how each girl's choices as a teenager has an impact on her life. Despite the different choices they...more
I'm a big fan of Debbie Macomber. But I got out of the habit of reading her books as I got caught up in reviewing books to purchase for the school library. Recently, my book club chose Debbie as an author pick for our February read. We all chose a different book to read. I actually chose God's Guest List (which I will be reviewing later), but Between Friends was one of the many I picked up on a impulse sweep through the library.
This is a quick easy read about a life long friendship. The story is...more
This is a quick easy read about a life long friendship. The story is...more
I LOVED this book about two women who maintain a close friendship beginning in kindergarten and lasting through adulthood. Their friendship is unlikely. Jillian is the only daughter of a judge and his wife who were childless for many years. Lesley is one of 6 children born to a teen mom and her alcoholic husband. Both are very good students. The book uses a unique way of sharing their story: notes passed back and forth in class, diary entries, letters, and postcards. In addition to their individ...more
I picked a Debbie Macomber book as I had lots of long flights, and wanted something relatively fluffy. NOT! This is very different than any of her other books, and by far her best. I may have liked it so much because I felt a strong 'text-to-self' connection with one of the characters. It was very hard to read because one of the characters has breast cancer, and that's too real in my family / friends right now. The goal was to lull me to sleep, and enjoy plane rides. Did not meet those goals, bu...more
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i picked up an updated version of this story in the airport, being a sucker for anything by this author. i wasn't sure i would like the storytelling style of sharing letters, notes and items of interest to the two characters as a way to move the story forward but it worked - kept me entertained while i waited for the plane; i finished it before we touched down.
life wasn't smooth and rosy for these two school age girlfriends who managed to stay in touch over the years but their connection to eac...more
life wasn't smooth and rosy for these two school age girlfriends who managed to stay in touch over the years but their connection to eac...more
I love books written differently -- one reason I liked the Guernsey book so much. It was in the form of letters between various characters. This one is letters, diary entries, excerpts from newspapers, notes passed in class, etc. and I really like something different in the light books I read.
This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. Usually, as I read a book, the closer to the end I am, the faster I read. Not this one. I didn't want it to end.
The story to two girls/women and thei...more
This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. Usually, as I read a book, the closer to the end I am, the faster I read. Not this one. I didn't want it to end.
The story to two girls/women and thei...more
This book was shared with me by a dear friend. I haven't read a lot of Debbie Macomber, mostly because I prefer other genres. I did enjoy this book though. I thought it was a wonderful, easy, summer read. It's the story of two little girls who become friends and though they come from vastly different backgrounds they stay close throughout the triumphs and defeats of their lives. The story is told via letters, journal entries, and things as innocuous but sometimes as important as driver's license...more
I really, really enjoyed this book. I've read a few of Debbie Macomber's books, so I was expecting an enjoyable, predictable romance. This is not a romance book. Instead, this is a story about two best girl friends that grow up together and keep in touch through the ups and downs of life. I supposed I liked it for 3 reasons.
1. The characters - LOVE them
2. The writing is all through letters, which made it fun to read
3. I have a best friend that I didn't meet until later in life. But we still k...more
1. The characters - LOVE them
2. The writing is all through letters, which made it fun to read
3. I have a best friend that I didn't meet until later in life. But we still k...more
This book filled me with a sense of longing for friendships past. I thoroughly enjoyed the unusual construction of the story - through letters, journal entries and announcements and the focus on the characters, their relationships and challenges. The talent of the writer in reeling me into the lives of her characters was impressive. I found some of the political rhetoric a bit tedious but overall enjoyed the sense of time and place. As I became quite attached to the characters, i found the endin...more
This was my first Debbie Macomber book and I was beyond thrilled with it. The book jacket told me that any woman with a good girlfriend will enjoy it and how true that is. I've been blessed with lifelong friends, adult friends and friends that have survived both. I've also lost friends and grown apart from others. I was so thrilled to see a friendship between two young girls survive so many life moments and personal changes and turn into more of a sisterhood.
This is an amazing story and told in...more
This is an amazing story and told in...more
I have always thought that the phrase "women's fiction" was somehow a slight (or not so slight) put down of the kind of stories that women find enjoyable or meaningful. While it is certainly not a universal fact that all women like to read stories about family, relationships, and friendships, it is certainly true that much of the fiction marketed to women as women's fiction is just that. I have mixed feelings about the type of novel that is labeled "women's fiction". Like any other genre, some i...more
Of Debbie Macomber's books, this is my new favorite. It's a series of letters exchanged between two best friends, starting when they are in school and ending when they are both grandmothers. It follows the life paths of each, through thick and thin, and through it all, they keep in touch, first by mail, and finally by e-mail. This was great to read while I was traveling, since it's divided into letters instead of chapters, making it very easy to follow. Also was very hard to put aside as I could...more
This was a very different kind of book. Written in a kind of Journal style. It was a compilation of journal/diary entiries, newspaper clippings, invitations, etc. that told the life story of two girls from their birth until they were in their 50's. The two girls were best friends but came from totally different worlds. The story was compelling (but sometimes a little predictible). It was kind of amazing how well developed the characters were considering the style it was written. The ending was a...more
My mother gave me this book years ago and I had zero interest in reading it so there it stayed, collecting dust on my bookshelf. Semi recently while trying to de-clutter I put this one on my bedside table, and slowly founding its way into my hands. What a great book! Mom you were right about one thing at least :). The entire book is written in a series of letters, emails, flyers, etc. dating 1948 through 2002, chronicling the lives of two women who were lifetime friends. This very touching, emot...more
Although I'm not a fan of stories told through journels, I really loved this book. First the main characters are born in 1948 (me 1947) and the nostalgia I felt was amazing. Then the interaction of the lives of the two best girlfriends really touches your heart. Added to that is the fact that this book covers some very strong incidences in history and medically affecting their lives. As I don't want to spoil it, I will just say I highly recommend reading this book. There's truly a lot going on i...more
This was good but not great. It was all correspondences - birth announcements, notes, letters, obits, emails, etc. through a friendship (ending in the early 2000s when the women were in their 50s). At times it was really good but there was more sadness in there than I want when I am expecting a light and fluffy book. I normally expect light and fluffy from Debbie Macomber :-)
Seeing the changes over time was interesting through - those women were from an entirely different generation from me (ob...more
Seeing the changes over time was interesting through - those women were from an entirely different generation from me (ob...more
This is a compilation of letters between two best friends from grade school through retirement. It's a great way to look at some of the historical highlights of our generation as well as the development of thoughts, attitudes and belief systems as we grow, experience life, and learn the many and varied lessons that are in our paths... It's also a great reminder at how truly important true friendship is, and the need that we have to care for, maintain, and encourage those friendships through all...more
Macomber does it again! A very well written, satisfying book. Written as letters, emails, & notes between friends and loved ones over the years. Really brings out the characters personalities; you get to know them closely. All emotions are conveyed in this book easily and seemlessly covers years of hardship, heartbreak and utter, unquestionable friendship and love. If you love Debbie Macomber, you will love this book. It was a quick read that will stay with me. I learned and was reminded of...more
I wasn't going to like this book. It looked like a cheesy "BFFs forever!" book. It's written in letters. I have something against the font on the cover. But I couldn't put it down. Maybe part of that was because I had about 25 hours between when I picked it up and when I was supposed to discuss it at book group, but I kept thinking, "It's ok if you don't finish it, you get the idea, just read till your sleepy." I was too busy crying, falling in love, and waiting to find out what happened next to...more
Lesley Adamski and Jullian Lawton are the best of friends even though they are both from opposite sides of the track. Jillian is born into a family of wealth whose father is a Lawyer and Judge, whereas Lesley's father is an alcoholic and can barely hold on to his job. Her mother had to work her fingers to the bone in order to make ends meet and raise her children. Leslie find herself pregnant at a young age and marries a man much like her father who is an unfaithful alcoholic. Jillian has fallen...more
What a wonderful summer read. It made me think of my best friend, my family and the people who have had an impact in my life. As someone born in the late 50's, what a trip down memory lane. This book made me laugh, cry, and remember. I recommend this book to all baby boomers and their daughters. I think the format of letter writing, journal entries, and e-mails worked perfectly for this story. Didn't want the book to end because I felt like I would be saying goodbye to "my" friends Jillian and L...more
Jillian and Lesley, though from vastly different backgrounds, become friends during the 1950's. Letters and other documents tell the story of their lives until 2002, including 9/11. Jillian is upper middle class, the daughter of a judge, and Lesley is lower middle classes. Her life is a constant struggle, while Jillian has most of the breaks in life. Still their friendship survives. Okay romantic story--the epistolary format lends a little piquancy but we never see very deeply into either charac...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cafe Libri: July: "Between Friends" by Debbie Macomber | 30 | 8 | Aug 06, 2012 06:04pm | |
| TOUCHES THE SOUL | 4 | 20 | Jul 29, 2012 08:08pm |
With more than 140 million copies of her books in print, Debbie Macomber is one of today's most popular authors.
The #1 New York Times bestselling author is best known for her ability to create compelling characters and bring their stories to life in her books. Drawing on her own experiences and observations, Debbie writes heartwarming tales about small-town life, home and family, enduring friends...more
More about Debbie Macomber...
The #1 New York Times bestselling author is best known for her ability to create compelling characters and bring their stories to life in her books. Drawing on her own experiences and observations, Debbie writes heartwarming tales about small-town life, home and family, enduring friends...more
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