Best Friends Forever

June 15, 2009
Chick lit doyenne Weiner offers airtight proof that the genre thrives with this clever, sad and sweet turn on Thelma and Louise
–style rage. Juggling the politics of broken families, heartbreaking betrayal and shaky self-esteem, two girlhood pals—ugly duckling Addie and wounded beauty Valerie—reconnect after their high school reunion, where Valerie exacts a long-in-coming revenge on smug former beau Dan Swansea. But the payback gets more complicated when police chief Jordan Novick, nursing a broken heart and a crush-at-first-sight with Addie, is called in to investigate Dan's disappearance. Along the way, Val and Addie stage what may be the funniest not-quite-heist ever pulled off as they evade the heat over the missing Dan. The big payoff, of course, is that Addie and Valerie mend the mean-girls misunderstanding that drove them apart as teens and discover the shared pain and loss that bound them as kids and, once again, as adults. This beach read will win readers over with its wit and wisdom.

July 1, 2009
Weiner proves yet again that women can be their own worst enemies—and shows that women's worst enemies can also be their best friends.

Addie Downs can't catch a break. Fat and friendless as a child, she enjoys a few years' respite from isolation when awkward, neglected Valerie Adler moves in across the street in the Chicago suburb of Pleasant Ridge. Val doesn't care that Addie's mom is obese, or that her father doesn't have a real job; she's entranced by the idea of hot meals (Naomi Adler's idea of dinner is Tab and Wheat Thins, topped off with a Salem Light), clean clothes and a regular bedtime. When Val returns with braces and breasts from a summer visiting her father in California, Addie knows the end is near, although she'd never guess how deep Val's betrayal will be. Alone again, Addie leaves for college only to have her father die before she's unpacked. Then Mom is diagnosed with breast cancer, and Addie watches her monstrous body wither to a horrifying death. Orphaned at 20, Addie lives alone in her parents' home, painting watercolors for a greeting-card company. And eating. When she tops 300 pounds, she finally says,"Enough!" and starts a diet and exercise regimen that brings her down to normal proportions. She buys nice clothes, redecorates her house and even has an abortive fling with a married man she meets at the gym. Just as she's starting to feel normal, Hurricane Val bears down on her. Now a TV weathergirl at a local Chicago station, Val, unlike Addie, can't resist going to their high-school reunion, where she does something very bad, attracting the attention of Pleasant Ridge's lonely, needy police chief Jordan Novick. Now Val needs Addie's help, and though Addie knows she's being played, she can't resist her BFF, whose harebrained, selfish, irresponsible behavior leads Addie to unexpected joy.

So much material recycled from earlier novels (Certain Girls, 2008, etc.) that even fans will feel djà vu.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

July 14, 2009
Addie has always been a good girl-especially compared with her freewheeling and far-more-popular friend, Valerie. When jock Dan Swansea sexually assaults Valerie, Addie comes to her rescue, only to be betrayed and humiliated when Valerie denies everything. Fifteen years later, on the night of their high school reunion, Valerie tries to make things right, only to end up turning their worlds upside down. In her revenge attempt on Dan, she runs him over with her car and leaves him for dead. Once again she turns to Addie for help, and the two set off on a run from the law. Verdict Weiner's latest showcases her talent for creating richly drawn, realistic characters. She deftly weaves in multiple back stories and subplots and punctuates the story with plenty of humor. Highly recommended for all fans of women's fiction.-Rebecca Vnuk, Glen Ellyn P.L., IL

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2009
Best-selling Weiners latest fun-to-read comedy of friendship and love begins with a high-school reunion. Not that artist Addie Downs, 33, has even considered attending, even though she still lives in the house she grew up in. Her long-lost best friend, Valerie Adler, now a TV meteorologist, puts in an appearance with revengeful intent, then ends up pounding on Addies door, terrified that she has done something much worse than she intended when she left Dan Swansea naked and shivering by the country-club dumpster. The unceremoniously reunited friends become the unlikeliest of fugitives and embark on a crazy adventure that radically alters Addies carefully ordered life. Flashbacks, resplendent in their charm and poignancy, reveal that while Val was neglected and Addie was loved, it was Addie who became a pariah at school, suffered a family tragedy, and found catastrophic comfort in binge-eating. Back in the present, Weiner orchestrates a hilarious little caper that throws together reclusive Addie and Jordan Novick, the unhappily divorced and quirkily romantic police chief. Weiner handles sorrow with a deft touch, blossoms in beautifully descriptive passages, and keeps readers glued to the page with curiosity and delight. Sharp and caring, Weiner is a bright light on the popular-reading front.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

September 28, 2009
Reclusive 33-year-old illustrator Addie Downs opens her front door late one night to reveal her childhood best friend, Valerie Adler, whom she hasn't seen since high school. Valerie is in trouble, and Addie drops everything to bail out her friend despite her own rather serious problems. Although the novel isn't up to Weiner's usual standards, the audio abridgment is watertight and the narration strong: Kate Baldwin reads the portions told in the first person from Addie's perspective, while Rick Holmes reads the third-person sections that focus on police chief Jordan Novick and Valerie's high school boyfriend Dan Swansea. At just six hours, this would make for excellent diversion on a girlfriends' road trip to the beach. An Atria hardcover (Reviews, June 15).