Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

So I usually think that Jennifer Weiner is a pretty reliable author. I read everything new she puts out, and I believe that I've read all of her past works. Generally, if you're looking for a light, entertaining read, you can rely on Weiner (I just burst out laughing).

Anyway, Best Friends Forever irritated me a little bit. It's the story of one of those friendships - which I think all women have been in at this point - where there are two people who don't quite seem to make much sense being friends with one another. One of them is bright and shiny, and the other is dark and twisty (thanks, Grey's Anatomy). I am and always have been, without exception, the dark and twisty one in those relationships. The other part that comes with being a dark and twisty person is that you're an acquired taste, so you have to work at having friends sometimes. You end up taking care of yourself, and then by extension, being "the responsible one" who often takes care of other friends as well. Now, before you start defending yourselves, college friends/sorority sisters, I'm not talking about you. We all know that our friendships are all fair and balanced - each taking care of the other when they need it - but that's why we're all so close, I think. We all look out for each other. I'm talking about other people, other friendships. The thing is, when you're bright and shiny, everyone likes you. You get away with a lot. You're not necessarily quite as responsible for yourself. So if a bright and shiny comes into contact with a dark and twisty, they tend to have a successful if somewhat dysfunctional relationship. The bright and shiny gets taken care of by the dark and twisty, and in return provides some light/sunshine. The dark and twisty gets to feel needed. I promise this all relates to the book.

Maybe if you are a bright and shiny you will like this book more than I did. I just hated watching the dark and twisty character get totally dominated by the bright and shiny character. The thing is that you're supposed to grow out of whichever extreme you are to become...normal. I am still kind of dark and kind of twisty, but I have my bright and shiny moments. Just like I think that those who used to be bright and shiny had their dark and twisty moments. These characters didn't. They were two extremes. It was annoying. I felt that they lacked the development they should have had at the ages they were meant to be (late 20s, early 30s...I think) and that annoyed the hell out of me. I wanted them to grow up. I wanted to jump into the plot and give both of them a good ass-kicking for being so immature.

Alright, so maybe I'm being overcritical. But you have to remember, people, that I spend more time socializing with the characters in the books I read than I do with actual live people. So I am quite critical of those characters I encounter in my book-life.

So yeah. I guess take my criticisms with a grain of salt. That said, I would recommend Weiner's earlier books more highly than her most recent two.