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From Publishers Weekly
The prolific Macomber follows up Thursdays at eight with this scrapbook-style novel, which relies solely on letters, newspaper clippings, diary entries and even school essays to tell the story of a friendship spanning more than half a century. Born in 1948 in the same Washington State town, Jillian Lawton and Lesley Adamski have vastly different backgrounds. Wealthy Jillian is on a trajectory to become a lawyer like her father. Just as smart, but from the wrong side of the tracks, Lesley is destined to remain in their native Washington; like her mother, she becomes pregnant at a young age by an alcoholic philanderer. Despite their different circumstances, Jillian and Lesley forge a grade-school friendship that lasts a lifetime and is evoked in their various communiques. Macomber's storytelling is undermined by the ambitious choice of format. Rather than providing intimacy, the "just a short note" conceit deals superficially with the most significant events of the last 50 years (a quick perusal of the half-page e-mail devoted to the World Trade Center attack will be enough to confirm this) and with the characters themselves, who are somewhat thinly drawn. As for the lessons learned - it's generally easier to be rich than poor, it's never too late to take up golf - there's not much that's revelatory. Still, while this book is unlikely to win her new fans, Macomber's old ones will give it a chance.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Prolific Macomber's latest 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 Lesley prepares for marriage. Jillian goes on to prestigious colleges and eventually becomes a lawyer and later a judge, while Lesley's family grows to four children and she gives up on her hope of becoming a nurse. Both women experience loss, from men to dreams, but through it all they remain the truest of friends for 50 amazing years. Although the correspondence format can grow tiresome, best-selling Macomber, with more than 100 romances and woman's fiction titles to her credit, sure has a way of pleasing readers. Megan Kalan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Predictable and prosaic,
By A Customer
This review is from: Between Friends (Mass Market Paperback)
Even as I enjoyed reading this book, I wondered why. On the plus side, it is engagingly written. It is also a fast read, a plus for a beach book, because there is so little content, a minus for any book. I stayed with the book because it was not really worth stopping, and because I was curious as to whether I could accurately predict the next set of events. I am basically a contemporary of the two main protagonists. Thus, much of what the book covered was highly familiar to me, and I wanted to see how it turned out.Its predictability made the book both frustrating and familiar. The moment a character has plans to attend the Legionnaire's Convention in Philadelphia, I knew that he was doomed to die of Legionnaire's Disease. The moment a character went to fight in Viet Nam, I knew he would die, too. When another character started receiving blood test results with high levels of cholesterol, I knew he would (a) have bypass surgery, which was new at the time, and (b) eventually die of the disease. Is this starting to sound familiar? I eventually realized that I was reading a bowdlerized version of Forrest Gump, largely in the form of correspondence between two intelligent women. Instead of packing an emotional punch, this book is just trivial. The correspondence that is included hints, tantalizingly, at other exchanges between the chief characters, but does not include them. Indeed, the author seems to avoid the need to write difficult scenes (or even correspondence), replacing possible turmoil and emotional upheaval with a tamer aftermath. (It also becomes repetitious, as the characters repeatedly congratulate each other on bravery in adversity without ever conveying just how hard it was.) As an attempt at realism, the novel is a failure. As a beach book, it is a success. After all, I did keep reading.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved It!!!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Between Friends (Mass Market Paperback)
This is one of the best books that I have read in a long time. I couldn't put it down. The characters ar so alive, I felt like I knew them. It is a heart warming book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reading "Between Friends" "Between Friends",
By A Customer
This review is from: Between Friends (Mass Market Paperback)
My friend that I met on vacation sent this book to me. The story fits us well since we're still keeping in touch after four years through letters and e-mails like Leslie and Jillian (the two friends from "Between Friends.")The book was absolutly wonderful and I'd suggest it to anyone who wants a good cry or longs for a heart warming story. I never wanted it to end but all good things do.
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