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Best Friends Forever

by Jennifer Weiner (Goodreads Author)

3.4 of 5 stars 3.40 · rating details · 30,928 ratings · 2,751 reviews

Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That’s what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they’re both nine years old. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school’s scapegoat. Flash-forward fifteen years. Valerie Adler has found a measure of...more

ebook, 368 pages

Published July 14th 2009 by Atria Books

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The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Best of Chick LIts

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Sep 02, 2010 Meghan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-read

I admit that I typically hide my reading of Jennifer Weiner books because I am sure I will be mocked. By whom I am not sure but never-the-less the fear is there.
But then I read an article on npr (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...) just before I went to 1/2 Price Books and I felt proud to buy some Chick Lit and fight the man.

So the book is ok. I read it quickly, I enjoyed it. Enough said. Weiner follows a similar patter with most of books a self-proclaimed "chubby" woman deals with some fo...more

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Nov 05, 2009 Sherese rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was billed as heart-break betrayal, small town scandalous, funny, Thelma-Louise Style adventures. I just want to know what book these individuals read because it certainly wasn't this one. The storyline was beyond stupid, Addie fat girl odd ball loses weight reunites with former best friend Fox News Weather girl Valerie who abandoned her after Addie told her parents that Valerie was raped by Dan the Jock who everyone including Addie had a crush on. Valerie seeks revenge on Dan at her H...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Kellie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-reads, fiction-literature

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 04, 2013 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have mixed feelings about this novel. The story is about two best friends Addie Downs and Valerie Adler, but is more about the life of Addie Downs. The novel jumps between the perspectives of Addie, police detective Jordan and school mate Dan. I would have loved to have had Valerie’s perspective as well, especially because she is a main character. The story also jumps between past and present which works very well for the story and I think the author does a great job blending together.
Addie’s...more I have mixed feelings about this novel. The story is about two best friends Addie Downs and Valerie Adler, but is more about the life of Addie Downs. The novel jumps between the perspectives of Addie, police detective Jordan and school mate Dan. I would have loved to have had Valerie’s perspective as well, especially because she is a main character. The story also jumps between past and present which works very well for the story and I think the author does a great job blending together.
Addie’s life with her overweight mother, veteran father and older brother is given in wonderful detail before Val and her mother move in to a house across the street. Addie takes on the role of the ugly duckling while Val is the beautiful swan. The two become wonderful friends experiencing some wonderful and heartbreaking moments together. Their friendship comes to a tragic end when Addie tries to stand up for her friend and her friend is not willing to accept that help. The whole school turns against Addie while Val does nothing (from what we know) to stop it.
On the night of a high school reunion Val has a run in with Dan and turns to Addie for help. Addie, despite the past hurt she has experienced with Val helps her and the two embark on a semi Thelma and Louis adventure that is both funny and touching. Police officer Jordan has had a love at first site experience with Addie, and thinks that she may be connected to an unknown event that may or may have not occurred at the high school reunion. He is determined to find out if a crime has been committed and if so who is responsible.

Spoiler Alert: The ending of the novel was predictable, but still fun to read. I thought it was interesting that the conflict between Val and Dan though settled for Jordan never really gets settled for either of the characters.I also felt that Val herself does not necessarily find herself in this novel the way that Addie does. I am hoping that these loose ends mean that there is another book in the works. This was a light read with some interesting characters and fun story.(less)

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Apr 19, 2013 James rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Things I liked: the pacing, the readability, the fact that it was easy to finish.
Things I didn't notice: the plot
Things I didn't like: the characters, the author's (apparent) cluelessness with regard to religion covered by lame jokes and characterizations, the overall sense of banality.

By banality, I mean that it was a feel good book that made me feel good by adhering to effective conventions. It goes down easily, like water, but it has an aftertaste, like some water does. Its aftertaste is bana...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Lara rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Dec 26, 2012 Sara Marshall rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Entertaining and a good beach book, if you can suspend reality and sort of check your brain at the door. I read that Weiner doesn't like her work to be labeled "chick lit," and she has some great things to say about sexism in the media and the unfair treatment of men and women writers by critics and the double standard for what is considered literature. Unfortunately, this book is no literary masterpiece and earns the label "beach read" fair and square, in my humble opinion.
Why? I found the sto...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Patty rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, family, fiction, friendship, mothers-and-daughters, contemporary-fiction, humor, women-s-books, illinois, women-writers, high-school, coming-of-age, mystery, relationships

I have not read anything by Jennifer Weiner since her first book, Good in Bed. I liked that book a lot; it was an adult fairy tale set in Philly. I liked the romance part and the fact I knew the place. I had high hopes it would be a movie, but that was unrealistic. How many movies have an overweight heroine?

I don't have a good reason to have missed the other books that Weiner has written. There are just too many books. Best Friends Forever was in our beach house, so I thought I would give Weiner...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Laurie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was ok. The characters were mostly believable, and the scenes from the girls' childhoods were detailed and well written. But, there were a few annoying, outlandishly over-done scenes that, without, would have made the book more believable.

*Slight Spoiers*: The whole bit about Jordan, the chief of police, being after these girls with only flimsy details, no evidence, and his 'hunch' was totally unrealistic, as were several of his actions. I was actually annoyed by his character overall...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Lydia Laceby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally Reviewed at Novel Escapes

I enjoyed this book even though I was expecting chick lit which this novel wasn’t in my chick lit opinion. It reminded me more of a Judy Blume novel such as Summer Sisters, which I don’t really remember, but I found it felt similar.

Although it was not even remotely light and fluffy, I thought the writing was impeccable as usual with Weiner’s novels and all the details of growing up from the 70’s through 90’s brought me right back to my childhood and adolescenc...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Jennifer rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I wanted something mindless for the summer but this wasn't even "so bad it's good" it was just...bad. For one thing it was impossible to feel for ANY of the characters. There was Addie, who garnered some sympathy points for having spent her teen years obese and having had a recent break-up with a boyfriend...but wait! That man wasn't even her boyfriend but a married man that she slept with and continuously referred to as her boyfriend. Nope. Then there's the cop, Jordan, who is investigating the...more I wanted something mindless for the summer but this wasn't even "so bad it's good" it was just...bad. For one thing it was impossible to feel for ANY of the characters. There was Addie, who garnered some sympathy points for having spent her teen years obese and having had a recent break-up with a boyfriend...but wait! That man wasn't even her boyfriend but a married man that she slept with and continuously referred to as her boyfriend. Nope. Then there's the cop, Jordan, who is investigating the crime that makes up the novel's plot. We're supposed to want Addie to get together with the creep who treats his wife poorly after her multiple miscarriages, masturbates to children's programming, constantly has an inner-monologue about his co-worker's ass, and breaks into Addie's house-because it's love at first sight!!!!- to sniff her clothing? Plus this is the guy who is easily convinced that her brain-damaged brother is the one who committed the crime because some random person says the brother stole stuff from lockers in high school? And don't even get me started on the stupid crime plot line. A horrible rape occurs so Valerie hits the guy with her car then runs away to Key West with Addie? And then we watch as Valerie takes advantage of Addie, spends all her money, and acts as if nothing happened and of course they're Bffs again because this is mindless chick lit!!! Oh and did I mention that Valerie ALSO has an affair with someone? What is with the author and affairs? THREE characters have them in this book!

Possibly the worst part is the fact that Valerie's rape is blown over when the rapist prays his sin away with a born-again Christian and turns himself in to the police station. Please, how belittling can you get?

Overall an unbelievable, nonsensical book that made me feel no connection to any of the characters. But it's okay because in the end Addie has a baby (from her older married "boyfriend") and ends up with the creepy cop. A baby and a man, just like any woman needs, of course! (less)

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Jun 16, 2012 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It took me a long time to finish reading this book. I kept picking it up, reading a bit, and then putting it down. For a while, I wasn't sure why. The situation was compelling enough, the characters were relatable, there were mysteries to unfold as each page turned. It has all the makings of a good book.

But I finally figured out the problem: The characters, at least for me, were TOO relatable. Addie's character, in particular, often made me felt like someone had plundered my private thoughts and...more It took me a long time to finish reading this book. I kept picking it up, reading a bit, and then putting it down. For a while, I wasn't sure why. The situation was compelling enough, the characters were relatable, there were mysteries to unfold as each page turned. It has all the makings of a good book.

But I finally figured out the problem: The characters, at least for me, were TOO relatable. Addie's character, in particular, often made me felt like someone had plundered my private thoughts and insecurities and printed them out on the page. It's good to be able to relate to the character, to put yourself in her place, but when it's unavoidable, it becomes uncomfortable. Addie is not a perfect person; she's deeply flawed, and you see her for all the good and the bad and everything in between. She's real... but she's too real. At times it's downright painful to read about her, because you just sit there nodding your head and agreeing with everything.

The friendship between Addie and Val is equally painful, for anyone who's ever had a "best friend." Again, it's all too easy to identify with Addie being the awkward, overweight, unpopular best friend of the perfect, beautiful, popular girl. And since the story is told from Addie's point of view, you naturally sympathize with her, and don't really see what Val's been through. She is harder to relate to, harder to sympathize with, and harder to like. In fact, far too often, you're left shaking your head at her stupidity or laughing at her crazy ideas and antics. In fact, for a book titled "Best Friends Forever," the lack of a viewpoint for both friends is a somewhat troubling flaw. There are two sides of the story, and we didn't really get enough of Val's to understand why she did what she did.

Jordan's character was interesting in his sad way. He was even more closed-off, more pathetic, more lonely than Addie, and it was only natural that they would eventually find each other. And you want both of them to find happiness. The trouble is that so much time is spent on filling out the backstory, and going on the "run" with Val, that they really didn't get much time to build a relationship before the book ended. I would have liked to have seen more of the connection between them, which was impossible given the plot. Yes, it was about the friendship between Addie and Val, not about her possible relationship with the hot but pathetically lonely divorced police chief, but still... so much time was spent describing how lonely Jordan was that it would have been nice to see him connecting a little more with the equally lonely Addie. Instead, he spent more time thinking about the Nighty-Night Lady than Addie.

Despite all of this, and despite the fact that the "on the run" plot didn't really go anywhere, it was an entertaining read once I got into it. I did eventually reach a point where I couldn't put it down and I finished the rest of the book in two days. And I was left smiling at the hopeful ending, wondering what would become of these characters once Addie's baby was born. I particularly liked Dan Swansea's plot line, in which he was rescued by Holy Mary Armbruster, found religion, and confessed to his crime from so long ago. I found myself hoping that, as miserable and useless a human being as he was, he turned his life around and made up for the crimes he had committed when he was younger.

Overall, I liked the book, even though it upset me at times. It does give a sense of hope that even the most hopeless cases can be turned around, and that we can rise up like phoenixes from the ashes of our own shattered lives.

(less)

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May 25, 2012 Sheila DeChantal rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When 9-year-old Valerie Adler moved in across the street from 9-year-old Addie Downs, the two become inseparable friends. Addie, who has always been on the heavier side, does not make friends easy, unlike Valerie who's fun personality, natural good looks, win her over many friends through the years. Val moves easily into the popular crowd where Addie, always insecure in her looks, waits by the wayside.

As the girls near graduation, a major incident shatters the girls friendship and they go their...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Patricia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

Valerie Adler is the only child of a beautiful single mother; a mother that has never grown up, she is more child than the adult and unable to be the mother Val wants and needs. Addie Downs has a mother and father who are able to parent despite the serious problems they face.

When Valerie moves in across the street from Addie they are both nine years old. Both need a best friend and fate has brought them together to be best friends forever. Both girls want...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Elodie Diebolt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rien de tel qu’un peu de chick-lit pour égayer une semaine maussade ! C’est avec un grand plaisir que je me suis lancée dans la lecture de ce livre qui promettait d’être des plus intéressant. Je dois avouer que j’ai un gros faible pour la couverture totalement girly qui donne le ton du livre : à la fois drôle et déjanté. Je ne connaissais pas du tout l’auteure et j’avais très envie de la découvrir pour me faire une idée. Une fois encore, mon intuition s’est révélée bonne puisque c’est une très b...more Rien de tel qu’un peu de chick-lit pour égayer une semaine maussade ! C’est avec un grand plaisir que je me suis lancée dans la lecture de ce livre qui promettait d’être des plus intéressant. Je dois avouer que j’ai un gros faible pour la couverture totalement girly qui donne le ton du livre : à la fois drôle et déjanté. Je ne connaissais pas du tout l’auteure et j’avais très envie de la découvrir pour me faire une idée. Une fois encore, mon intuition s’est révélée bonne puisque c’est une très belle surprise.

L’intrigue du livre repose sur le retour de Valérie chez Addie, la fête d’ancien de promo mais également sur la tentative de meurtre. L’originalité du récit se situe dans le mélange des genres littéraires avec en grande partie de la chick-lit en mais aussi une part de roman policier qui donne du piment à l’histoire. Les principaux thèmes abordés sont ceux de l’amitié, de l’adolescence et des relations parents / ados.

Le personnage principal est Addie Downs, une jeune femme combative et courageuse qui fait passer sa famille avant tout le reste. Il m’a été très facile de m’identifier à elle puisqu’elle est comme toutes les jeunes femmes de nos jours : à la recherche du grand amour, fan de sucreries laissant parler sa gourmandise en dépit de sa volonté d’atteindre le poids idéal. Valérie Adler est le second personnage principal et ma première impression sur elle n’a pas été des meilleures ! Elle m’a fait l’effet d’une bimbo prétentieuse, imbue de sa personne qui manipule les gens sans aucun scrupule. Puis, au fur et à mesure, j’ai appris à la connaître et à voir sous cette carapace une femme blessée, en recherche d’affection et d’attention. Jordan Novick est le troisième et dernier protagoniste clef du roman. Il est la touche policière. Je l’ai beaucoup aimé pour sa détermination mais aussi parce que c’est un homme bien qui a eu le coeur brisé. Malgré un passé douloureux, il fait ce qu’il peut pour se maintenir à flot, affichant un caractère doux en dépit de ses blessures.

Le récit se déroule aux États-Unis et plus précisément dans L’Illinois et en Floride. La narration est alternée. On suit tour à tour Addie Downs et l’auteure qui parle du personnage de Jordan Novick, ce qui nous donne l’avis du personnage principal et les différentes façons de voir les choses. Le vocabulaire est riche et pourtant accessible. La plume de l’auteure est très agréable et fluide de sorte que les pages du livre se tournent très vite. Jennifer Weiner nous livre ici une histoire de chick-lit en y ajoutant une touche de roman policier sans oublier la romance en toile de fond, une bonne dose d’humour et de tragique. Le tout donne un cocktail détonnant et fait de ce livre un roman prenant et captivant par lequel on se laisse agréablement emporter.

Pour conclure, c’est un roman que je conseille vivement aux fans du genre mais pas seulement, parce qu’il mélange plusieurs styles, pouvant ainsi séduire un plus large public. J’ai vraiment passé un excellent moment de lecture et je vais très certainement me pencher sur les autres romans de l’auteure.(less)

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Mar 01, 2012 Florinda rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of my regrets is that I don't have a single best friend (other than my sister) whose history with me goes back decades - long-distance moves and early marriage and motherhood were both complications to sustaining such ties. That's probably one reason I'm drawn to stories of long-term friendships, so along with the fact that Jennifer Weiner is one of my very favorite authors, I was bound to read her last novel, Best Friends Forever.

Addie and Valerie grew up across the street from one another,...more One of my regrets is that I don't have a single best friend (other than my sister) whose history with me goes back decades - long-distance moves and early marriage and motherhood were both complications to sustaining such ties. That's probably one reason I'm drawn to stories of long-term friendships, so along with the fact that Jennifer Weiner is one of my very favorite authors, I was bound to read her last novel, Best Friends Forever.

Addie and Valerie grew up across the street from one another, and were united by the way that neither of them fit in. Adventurous, confident Val has a mother who is divorced, quirky, and inattentive, while quiet, artistic Addie fades into the shadow of her popular, athletic older brother Jon. But as the girls enter high school, things change. Jon is involved in a car accident which alters the lives of Addie's entire family, and Val returns from a summer visit to her father in California with a new style and more self-assurance than ever, which brings her into the high-school mainstream. However, Val does her best to bring Addie along with her, until an incident at a party tears them apart and renders Addie an outcast. Their lives diverge until Val appears at Addie's door on the night of their 15th class reunion, and she brings a crisis no one but Addie, her "best friend forever," can help her with.[

Weiner moves between past and present in the novel, and for me, the "past" portions worked much better. Told through Addie's first-person viewpoint, the pathway of her friendship with Val, the relationships among her family as they face various challenges, and her own struggles with adulthood are rendered with sympathy, humanity, and humor, and Addie is a particularly well-developed, layered character. By contrast, the "present" crisis that reunites Addie and Val, and leads to a "ladies on the lam" thread, came across to me as somewhat contrived and, at times, borderline cartoonish. I applaud Weiner for taking a chance with that plot element - and I actually understand why something like it is necessay - but I didn't feel that it meshed well in tone with the rest of the novel.

Weiner mixes things up in a few other ways in this novel as well. As I said, I can appreciate why she'd want to do that as a writer, but I didn't appreciate it quite as much as a reader; some elements of the story felt a little gimmicky to me, and didn't seem to play to Weiner's strengths in creating contemporary, realistic women's fiction and strong characters. Having said that, Best Friends Forever doesn't change Jennifer Weiner's place among my favorite authors, but it isn't one of my favorites among her works.(less)

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Feb 07, 2012 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another one I abandoned because I didn't really care what happened (or had happened) to any of the characters. Addie came across as such a whiny loser, very negative and depressing, spent her life dwelling on the past and the Big Mysterious Tragedy that had separated her from her high school friend Valerie (with whom she seemed rather unhealthily obsessed) instead of getting on with life and making new friends. At the same time she was so self-absorbed and focussed on all the things that had gon...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Ismail Elshareef rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The story is about two best friends who grow apart due to some high school drama and then reconnect many years later. The premise is interesting but everything else is abysmal. The story is tired, the humor is tired (and sadly embarrassing) the characters are super tired (and boring) and the dialogue is just really bad and unrealistic. The only thing I really wanted out of this book once I started reading it was for it to end and end fast.

The reason I picked up this book was the good reviews I...more

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Sep 24, 2011 Annie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

A frothy, light, entertaining beach read, Best Friends Forever has some heart, although the pulse doesn’t thud strongly throughout. Jennifer Weiners strongest quality as a writer is her ability to craft characters. There were many times when the plot twisted towards the implausible (the bank scene!) and absurd. At these moments, while rolling my eyes, I’d think, “Oh, but that is so how Val would react.” And unlike some equally unbelievable scenes in chick flicks or comedies, the book presented...more A frothy, light, entertaining beach read, Best Friends Forever has some heart, although the pulse doesn’t thud strongly throughout. Jennifer Weiners strongest quality as a writer is her ability to craft characters. There were many times when the plot twisted towards the implausible (the bank scene!) and absurd. At these moments, while rolling my eyes, I’d think, “Oh, but that is so how Val would react.” And unlike some equally unbelievable scenes in chick flicks or comedies, the book presented enough of a backstory to understand why these two women, Val and Addie responded and handled life the way they did.
Addie Downes, formerly large, endured heaps of abuse in high school after the betrayal of her friend Valerie involving, what else, a boy. Addie subsequent weight struggles, unlucky-in-love experiences, and nursing her mother through illness while talking care of her brain injured brother was tragic. Her father died of a brain aneurysm. Living alone, she now paints greeting cards. However, I often wished she would develop more of a backbone and stand up to Valerie, the blond, perk weather woman who uses her sexuality for attention and hoped-for fame.
When Addie and Valerie were kids, they grew up across from the street together. Addie worshiped Valerie and helped her feel like Val had a home, since Valerie’s parents were divorced and her mother didn’t provide much stability. After the brutal behavior in high school towards Addie, Addie and Val stopped being friends. Now, suddenly, Val has shown up begging Addie for not only her forgiveness, but also for her help. Val needs Addie to stick out her neck for Val (again!) on her revenge-gone-too-far situation that has sparked a police investigation.
The book was likable and pretty humorous. It strikes some emotional cords and had an relatively satisfying ending in a fictional world with little consequences. The story raises the theme of friendship; two women illustrating what friendship is, opposites balancing each other out, working in harmony, bringing companionship, truth and memories.

Some language: f-word, drinking, adult-situations (cop with his show), sexual content.

Favorite Quotes
You broke my heart were the words that had risen to my mouth, but I couldn’t say them. That was what you said to a boyfriend, a lover, not your best friend.

It was okay if boys liked Val better. Someone would love me someday. Even if I wasn’t an obvious choice, I’d be somebody’s choice, some boy’s choice, the way I’d once been Valeries.(less)

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Sep 22, 2011 Shaya rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, realistic-fiction, summer-fall-2011

I wanted something light and Best Friends Forever overdelivered to the point of being sappy and ridiculous. It's a modern day Thelma and Louise story. Val and Addie were childhood friends until the end of high school (won't spoil it by revealing the event that changed their friendship). Val shows up at Addie's house 10 years(?) later because she may have run over a man from the high school reunion.

I did enjoy Addie's ideas of body image as a child ands seeing how they changed throughout her lif...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Antof9 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-read, americana, chicklit, forgettable, junk-food, women

Good, and hard to put down, but she's done others better. It was sort of a cross between Firefly Lane (which was better), the Laura Linney storyline from "Love Actually" (but this was better), and something else. Maybe the inconsiderate friend from Something Borrowed (don't ever waste your time reading that crap)?

Anyway, I liked it, and it kept my attention on the plane to Las Vegas and during the Garth Brooks concert my friend went to, but that's about all.

I did like Addie and Jordan, even thou...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Mirah W rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jennifer, what has happened? You used to write wonderful books...like "In Her Shoes"...and then you write "Certain Girls" and now "Best Friends Forever". I really wanted to like "BFF", I really did, but I just didn't think it ever got above the average rating. The story seemed so random and most of the characters were not developed in a way that made them understandable or likeable. Addie was a great character but she was also the only complete character...it was like the author only figured out...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chicklit

Two friends from high school fall out after graduation and take two separate paths that lead them back together the night of the reunion. The "pretty" one thinks she killed the guy who raped her back in high school (which she denied then) and goes to find her formally fat friend and for some reason they go on the run. It was kind of weird. The author didn't clarify the reason enough why they did that instead of turning themselves in and seeing what happened. Instead, it's like spur of the moment...more

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Jul 08, 2011 H rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Completely predictable reading "lite" - but it was just what I wanted when I picked it up - something I didn't have to think about very hard but written well enough that I wouldn't want to throw it across the room.... The story is about Addie Downs, a formerly very overweight (now less overweight) wallflower of 33 who through a shy personality and family sadness has retreated into her own safe world. Into this life blows Val - her former best friend who did something bad to Addie their senior ye...more

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Jun 18, 2011 Britni rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Do you ever feel like you should like an author or book just because everyone else does? It's been three years since I read a Jennifer Weiner book, and Best Friends Forever reminded me exactly why.I know there are people out there that buy everything she writes, but after my second experience with a chick-lit book that lacked any real imagination or characters I could relate to, it'll probably be longer than three years before I pick up another one. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of chick...more

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Aug 30, 2010 Melani rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Best Friends Forever-Jennifer Weiner- I wasn’t especially fond of this book while reading it, and the more I thought about it after I finished the less I liked it. The book follows two stories, one in the present day and the other is the tale of our characters growing up. On the surface it’s a funny little romp and a look into growing up in a small town. However, you start to dig just a little and it becomes this very ugly book. The main message is that fat people can never be happy unless they...more

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Aug 25, 2010 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very predictable and typicla Jennifer Weiner style but a good girlfriends book! Makes you realize that true friendships are hard to come by, but a real friend will be there in the end.

This book is about 2 girls that grew up together as best friends, living across the street from one another. Addie had the perfect family, a brother and two parents that loved her...and Valerie lived with her unstable but beautiful mother. Addie wanted a life more like Valeries, going on adventures and never knowi...more

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Aug 10, 2010 Suzanne rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I like Weiner's books - they're easy to read and funny, even while tackling serious issues. But this one missed the mark. Weiner tackles body images well again - in this book, Addie is the former fat girl struggling with her new image while Valerie is the lucky duck size 2. I feel the book, based on the title, should have delved deeper into Valerie and Addie's relationship instead of spending so much time on Jordan Nick. The "romance" felt stilted and I think it detracted from the real story of...more

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Jul 19, 2010 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Enjoyable, like all of Jennifer Weiner's books, but I didn't love it the way I loved Good in Bed and Goodnight Nobody. The plot was fun and kept me reading, but ultimately the characters sort of let me down.

Addie Downs, the ever-suffering main character, is a strange combination of self-loathing shut-in and fun modern woman. After being ostracized in high school and losing both her parents, she gains vast amounts of weight and avoids leaving her house - for years. She rather predictably goes on...more Enjoyable, like all of Jennifer Weiner's books, but I didn't love it the way I loved Good in Bed and Goodnight Nobody. The plot was fun and kept me reading, but ultimately the characters sort of let me down.

Addie Downs, the ever-suffering main character, is a strange combination of self-loathing shut-in and fun modern woman. After being ostracized in high school and losing both her parents, she gains vast amounts of weight and avoids leaving her house - for years. She rather predictably goes on a diet and becomes a socially-acceptable bmi, and at least Weiner (who usually avoids cliches like these) doesn't suddenly give Addie a perfect life - though it's close.

But Addie isn't the one who bugged me. Her erstwhile best friend, Valerie Adler, starts off as a weird, out-of-place kid with a seriously messed-up home life (and the fact that Addie completely misses that fact is one thing that really annoyed me about her character). When she's re-introduced as an adult, she's vapid, thoughtless, dangerously impulsive and kind of stupid. And it's funny, sort of, but more often than not I found myself just staring at the page thinking how is this person a functional member of society? She runs a guy down with her car. She makes out with people to get things and avoid consequences. She goes on the lam and tries to rob a bank with a tampon case. She pulls an actual gun on a police officer. Normal people do not do these things. Sure, one could argue that her childhood experiences turned her into a sociopath...but she's not written as a sociopath. She's written as cute-but-flawed, one of those skinny girls whose life isn't that great after all. Quirky. (Except one of those quirks might kill you in your sleep.)

Ultimately what I'd have liked from this book was a little more realism. A little more delving into various psyches, a little more dealing with consequences. I'd have liked Addie to be less pathetic and Valerie to be less psychotic. I'd like them to be people I could relate to rather than caricatures. I'd like to buy it when they said they'd be best friends forever.(less)

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Apr 22, 2010 Talulah Mankiller rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, guys, you know I love me some Jennifer Weiner. I have gone to bat for her before, and I probably will again. HOWEVER. This one’s a stinker.

The plot, such as it is, is that Addie Downs opens her door one night and finds her best friend from high school standing there, covered in blood. Turns out that at their fifteenth reunion, Valerie ran over the guy who raped her during their school days, and then left him outside, naked and bleeding in the middle of a Chicago November.

Strong start and t...more

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About Jennifer Weiner

Jennifer Weiner was born in 1970 on an army base in Louisiana. She grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Princeton University. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Central Pennsylvania, Lexington, Kentucky, and Philadelphia, before the publication of her first novel, GOOD IN BED, in 2001. She is the author of the novels IN HER SHOES (2002), which was turned into a major motion picture; LITTLE...more

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“There's all kinds of love in the world, and not all of it looks like the stuff in greeting cards.” — 39 people liked it

“Addie, please." More tears dripped down her cheeks. "Don't be so hard."
"Oh, please," I muttered...and that was as far as I got. 'You broke my heart' were the words that had risen to my mouth, but I couldn't say them. That was what you said to a boyfriend, a lover, not your best friend. She'd laugh. And I'd had enough of being laughed at. I'd worked hard to get to a place where it didn't happen anymore, where I didn't move through life like a walking target, where it was just me and my paints and brushes and my big empty bed every night. "You weren't a good friend," I said instead.” — 12 people liked it

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