Friends Like These

Meg Rosoff

Friends Like These
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Country
United Kingdom
Published
5 July 2022
Pages
320
ISBN
9781526646132

Friends Like These

Meg Rosoff

New York City. June, 1982. When eighteen-year-old Beth arrives in Manhattan for a prestigious journalism internship, everything feels brand new - and not always in a good way.

A cockroach-infested sublet and a disaffected roommate are the least of her worries, and she soon finds herself caught up with her fellow interns - preppy Oliver, ruthless Dan and ridiculously cool, beautiful, wild Edie.   

Soon, Beth and Edie are best friends - the sort of heady, all-consuming best-friendship that’s impossible to resist. But with the mercury rising and deceit mounting up, betrayal lies just around the corner. Who needs enemies … when you have friends like these?   

From bestselling, award-winning author Meg Rosoff comes a gritty, intoxicating novel about a summer of unforgettable firsts: of independence, lies, love and the inevitable loss of innocence.

Sharp and irresistible, it’s perfect for fans of Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends and Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan.

Review

Friends Like These is the second instalment of Meg Rosoff’s trilogy of summer novels, the first being The Great Godden, which was perfect seaside escapism. This time it’s a city summer: New York in 1982. A city of sweat and heat. I always go for books set in New York, and there’s something about the city during the eighties that is especially compelling.

After landing a coveted journalism internship, Beth arrives at a revoltingly hot and grubby shoebox apartment, ready for the next part of her life to begin. She meets her fellow interns, most notably a bold and fearless local cool girl, Edie, who sweeps Beth up into an intense and exciting friendship. It’s a coming-of-age story, and Beth encounters an array of new experiences, a touch of drugs, sexual encounters, and frenemy behaviour from her bestie.

Breezy isn’t the right word for Friends Like These: there’s a grittiness to it but you’ll hurtle through the plot. It’s not a lengthy book either, but it’s satisfyingly meaty and the characters are incredibly well formed. Beth is a smart and observant lead. She’s fresh on the scene but she learns fast and there’s plenty of points throughout the book relating to social strata, gender politics and the AIDs epidemic that was occurring at the time. After reading _Friends Like Thes_e, all I can say is, bring on Meg Rosoff’s third summer book! For ages 14+.

Kim Gruschow is the co-manager at Readings St Kilda.

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