(159) The False Friend by Myla Goldberg

Mean girls suck. Seriously. I don't remember any "mean girls" when I was growing up. I mean, I pretty much got along with anyone, so if my memory serves me, I never really had to deal with mean girls. But as Myla Goldberg shows us in her new book, The False Friend, sometimes our memories are the most reliable of sources.

The events of her childhood are haunting Celia and she makes a trip to her hometown with the hope of clearing her conscience. You could say that Celia was one of those "mean girls". Her childhood friend, Dejuna disappeared on that day so many years ago. Celia lied to everyone and told them she got into a strangers car, but as Celia remembers it, Dejuna tripped and fell into a ravine. Never to be seen from again. Celia's hopes that her trip home will help her get over the events of the past and erase all of her "mean girl" actions. Ultimately she just wants to be absolved of her actions and be able to move on and be able to build a life with her boyfriend, Huck.

The False Friend was a bit diffucult to read in some parts. Difficult in the manner that I wanted to like Celia and I even felt sorry for her in parts, but her actions as a child were disgusting. When she goes to visit Leanne and the consequences of her "meanness" are revealed, well it made me sick to my stomach. The False Friend was a well written novel about regret and forgiveness. There were a few parts that seemed to drag on a bit, but overall the story was a good one. Keep it in mind for a book club selection, I can see it generating a lot of discussion amongst women who may or may not have been "false friends" themselves.