FRIENDS LIKE US BY LAUREN FOX

2012-03-01T16:45:00.000-08:00

Published: 2011

It's About: (from Amazon) For Willa Jacobs, seeing her best friend, Jane Weston, is like looking in a mirror on a really good day. Strangers assume they are sisters, a comparison Willa secretly enjoys. They share an apartment, clothing, and groceries, eking out rent with part-time jobs. Willa writes advertising copy, dreaming up inspirational messages for tea bags (“The path to enlightenment is steep” and “Oolong! Farewell!”), while Jane cleans houses and writes poetry about it, rhyming “dust” with “lust,” and “clog of hair” with “fog of despair.” Together Willa and Jane are a fortress of private jokes and shared opinions, with a friendship so close there’s hardly room for anyone else. But when Ben, Willa’s oldest friend, reappears and falls in love with Jane, Willa wonders: Can she let her two best friends find happiness with each other if it means leaving her behind?

Should you read it? Unequivocally, yes.

Why: "What separates us from them? We all think we're snowflakes, but we're Tinker Toys, held together by our interchangeable parts."

The title says it all: friends like us. We think our friendships are impenetrable, rock solid. What happens when we are forced to make a really hard choice? We find out that no relationship is bullet proof.

***************book club discussion follows****************

1. Are you more like Willa or Jane in your friendships?
2. Do you think Ben deserved Willa or Jane?
3. If you were Willa and had to choose between Jane or Ben, who would you choose and why?
4. Do you think Willa's parents' divorce affected her actions in this story and how?
5. What's your thoughts on Declan? Where's the worst place you've been dumped (if you feel inclined to share)?
6.   Were you satisfied with the end?
7. Did you go back and read the prologue when you were finished?
8. If you were Jane, would you have reconciled with Willa?
9. In the very end, who did you respect more? Willa or Jane?

******************************************************
My answers:

1. Are you more like Willa or Jane in your friendships?
I'm definitely more Willa except I would like to think I would not have chosen a boyfriend over a best girlfriend at that point in my life.
2. Do you think Ben deserved Willa or Jane?
Ben gave me the creeps. Ben is not very likeable in my opinion. I don't think he had any business pursuing Jane. He should have had a clue that Willa really liked him. He's not good enough for Willa and he's way too boring for Jane.
3. If you were Willa and had to choose between Jane or Ben, who would you choose and why?
I think Willa's soul was fed more by Jane. Jane soothed her and comforted her in ways that Ben would never be capable of doing. I think she was a little ticked at Jane, when Jane decided to take Ben away to another state. I do think Jane was a little more devious and possessive than Willa really understood. At least, she wasn't quite as easy going as Willa would have us believe.
4. Do you think Willa's parents' divorce affected her actions in this story and how?
I absolutely do. I don't think she has ever learned how to stick out a friendship. I think she is more willing to break away from friends because she feels deserted by her mother. I think it fueled her decision to sleep with Ben.

5. What's your thoughts on Declan? Where's the worst place you've been dumped (if you feel inclined to share)?
I really was starting to like Declan until he did that totally stupid tent break up. I think the worst break up I ever had was calling a boyfriend on the phone and having an our acquaintance (who happened to be a girl) answer his phone. Of course, this was way before caller i.d. and texting.
6.   Were you satisfied with the end?
Not one bit. For pete's sake Lauren, what happened with Ben? I desperately wanted to believe that he stayed with Willa even though she warned us that he wouldn't.
7. Did you go back and read the prologue when you were finished?
Immediately. I wanted to re-read and see if Ben had possibly went back to Jane and if Gus was their child.
8. If you were Jane, would you have reconciled with Willa?
Nope. Willa would not be my friend again.
9. In the very end, who did you respect more? Willa or Jane?
I really respected Jane when she came to the party as the Bride of Frankenstein and then again in the prologue when she gave Willa the what-for.

Feel free to post your answers in the comment section. I'll be back to discuss!

IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

2012-02-27T03:23:00.001-08:00

Brought to us by Book Journey

It's a small miracle that I even finished one book this week but it was a perfect 5 star read!

Friends Like Us by Lauren Fox

It's not everyday that I wholeheartedly endorse a book. Today, I am going to do it. Friends Like Us by Lauren Fox is the perfect book club read. It's perfect in its ambiguity.

A while ago I read Lauren's first book, Still Life with Husband. It wasn't an instant connection I had with the book. I started out hating the protagonist. I didn't like her choices. Usually when that happens, the book is not finished or, if it is, I let that protagonist have it in my review. With that book, something a little magical happened. I hated the protagonist but I accepted the fact that she could make her own choices and I could probably still be her friend.

This review and discussion became quite lively and can be found here:

Lively Discussion - Check It Out!

Lauren's second book, Friends Like Us, is a love triangle like no other. Willa's best friend in high school was Ben. Willa's best friend in college is Jane. What happens when your best friends fall in love with each other? What happens when your best friend breaks your heart?

This book will appeal to young women and women old enough to be mothers of these young women. Like I said, it's your book club's next read.

Later this week, I will host a mini book club here at BookBelle for this book. I will be getting together with a few other bloggers that I have not yet had the privilege of "meeting" to discuss Willa, Jane and Ben.

Stop over! It should be good!