It pains me to write this book review of The Friends We Keep.
Many of you know that I’m a huge Jane Green fan; I’ve read all of her books, and I’ve recommended quite a few of them on the Tart. Whenever I hear she has a new book coming out, I immediately get on the waiting list for it at my local library. (And, there’s always a waiting list for her new books.)
However…after reading The Friends We Keep, I have to finally acknowledge that my love of Jane Green has perhaps come to an end.
*sings* “They say that breaking upppp is… haaaard to dooooo.”
*weeps bitter tears*
I’m pretty sure The Friends We Keep is supposed to be about the complexities and resiliency of friendship. I get that. Like love between family members, love between best friends can be pretty complex. But, really… this novel showcases, in my opinion, really crappy examples of friendship. Like, these may be some of the worst friends ever. I’m not joking.
I was completely surprised that I felt this way about the characters since one of my favorite, reliable features of a Jane Green novel is the strong, loving, and loyal bond she often creates between her characters, particularly the women. Such paragons of female friendship seem completely abandoned in The Friends We Keep. While I understand that relationships come in all different shapes and sizes, and that true friendships stand the test of time and setbacks, I’m not buying what Green is selling in The Friends We Keep. I’m frankly surprised if anyone would.
As plot lines go, The Friends We Keep is pretty darn depressing. The book summary warns you that none of the characters’ lives turn out how they had hoped, so I should have been more prepared for disappointment when I started reading. However, I don’t think I expected quite how upsetting their lives would be. I feel this book could have been titled “Every Dream You Have Will Shatter.” While there’s admittedly some light at the end of the (very long) tunnel, in true Jane Green fashion, the thirty years of crap the characters endure beforehand really takes a toll on the appeal of the story.
Some good things about The Friends We Keep: the story does move along, although I feel it’s repetitive in some parts. I didn’t find the characters particularly engaging, but I didn’t find them off-putting, either. I read through the story quickly, and while I contemplated not finishing the book after a short reading break, I’m glad I did. This is mainly because I found the last 100 pages or so to be the most entertaining part of the story. A driving force of the novel is the Big, Looming Secret, which you know will be revealed at some point. But, it takes forever to get to that point, and most of the novel subsequently feels like filler. I will say that once the shit finally does hit the fan, the story becomes a LOT more interesting. I just wish I didn’t have to wade through about 250 pages of heavy, emotional backstory to get to the good part.
I know I shouldn’t compare Green’s new book to her previous ones, but, as a longtime fan, it’s very hard not to. Overall, it feels like The Friends We Keep was written by a different author under the same name. There are small nods to Green’s signature style here and there, but her warm humor that I’ve come to know and love is missing; the emotional scenes come across as a bit forced; and the overall tone of the book feels foreign to me. I’m all about evolving in one’s craft and trying new writing styles, but, for me, this particular attempt fell flat, and The Friends We Keep just made me mourn the Jane Green novels of my youth.
The last Jane Green book I truly loved was Swapping Lives, which published *gulp* 13 years and 11 novels ago. I’m not sure if my tastes have changed, or if Green’s has. I definitely feel her novels have become more depressing over the years, with unexpected sicknesses, deaths, family drama and deceit, and addictions weighing down the stories. Or, maybe it’s that Green’s writing style has evolved, and I’ve just not evolved with her. After all, many of the Goodreads reviews proclaim The Friends We Keep to be Green’s “best book yet.” I would heartily disagree, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve not enjoyed a book that everyone else seemed to love. Perhaps if you’re a newcomer to Jane Green, without any previous expectations, you’ll like this novel more than I did.
So, there you have it. I hope Green never reads this book review, as it kills me to write so negatively about an author I love so dearly. But, this review contains my honest opinion, and I owe my readers that. I just hope that none of you listen to me, and that you decide to read The Friends We Keep anyway. And, that you love the story in the way I was hoping to, but couldn’t.
Tell me, Tartlets: have you ever been disappointed by your favorite author? What are some books you were desperately hoping to love but didn’t?? I hope you’ll share in the comments below!
