Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

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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.”⁠

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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.⁠

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I hate to say it but I'm so disappointed in this book. The characters aren't well developed and Weiner tries to pack too much plot into the book. It felt like too much was explained, rather than shown to us. I didn't like the Valerie character and didn't think she redeemed herself - she just came off as unlikable and you wonder why Addie let her back into her life. I also disliked the ending - it felt thrown together, like a cop out and was way too cutesy. ⁠

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I've long been a fan of Weiner's work but I wish I hadn't spent the time on this book - definitely not worth it.