Blog Tour: The Friends We Keep

Jane Green and summer reading are two things that go hand-in-hand for me. Unfortunately, I'm still in school (although the end is in sight), so her latest book which releases today is a bit of pre-summer reading for me.  

I'll read anything Green writes, and although I like some stories more than others, generally enjoy the way her stories play out.

The Friends We Keep is the story of three college friends: Topher, Evvie, and Maggie. There is a brief chapter at the book's beginning set in 2016 where we learn of some difficulties each is facing, but the story really begins in 1986 when they are about to start college.  

As we learn more about each character, time continues to pass.  They graduate from college, begin careers and relationships of their own, and generally lose touch with one another.  There were times I groaned a bit inside at the decisions they made, but overall I liked each of the three main characters.

And of course, as we meet them again in the present day, we learn of some secrets and struggles that each is having that needs to be dealt with. 

This is the perfect book to throw in to your beach bag.  It's a great choice for the sun-filled summer days, but I would happily curl up with this one any time of year.  Personally, I found myself gravitating toward the characters as they are now-not the twenty-somethings that Green created at one point in the novel, but as the middle aged adults who are reconnecting.  (Maybe that means I'm getting older myself because had I read this book a decade ago, I'm not sure that's who I would have connected with).  Because Green shows theses characters at various points in their lives, I think this will appeal to a wide audience, as younger and more mature readers will have characters they identify with.

As with any Jane Green novel, they are always finished too quickly, and already I am awaiting news of her next book's release.