Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

This is an older book of Weiner`s but it`s a goodie. Addie and Valerie`s journey from childhood on is wonderfully told, with lashings of laugh out loud humour, some tears, compassion, wisdom and honesty, most of us have navigated parts of their journey and it`s setting in Illinois could equally be anywhere in New Zealand, the book resonates and although set in the present Addie. Valerie and their co- characters back stories are beautifully lit and which gives a richness  to the characters dimensions.
This is a book that deals with serious issues but not with the glugginess that can so easily occur when writing about the less pleasant aspects of peoples lives and the some what difficult elements that people have to negotiate. The road is wide open and after an estrangement, their reunion and its fallout allow both Addie and Valerie to stretch their wings and travel new paths, even if their ways of embracing the pathways are a little different. Both characters know life`s unfairness and its disappointments but both also know the meaning of love and forgiveness and what the word friendship means. Her characters emotions are one of Weiners strong points, so is her ability to kick the book off like a rocket and continue to keep you reading until the very last page.
Not too heavy, not too light, an entertaining and engaging read.Available from all good bookshops and libraries. I am away on my next Weiner read, she has a back catalogue that is easily accessible.