

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: MIRA; Reprint edition (January 25, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778329356
ISBN-13: 978-0778329350
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (212 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #608,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #120 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Epistolary #978 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Friendship #19838 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Contemporary Women

Once an avid romance reader, these days with a few exceptions I hardly ever read from this genre anymore. And while I was familiar with the name Debbie Macomber I never did read any of her books. But when I came across Between Friends by Debbie Macomber while browsing at the library and read the dust jacket I immediately became interested in this title. I am, a real fan of books written in the epistolary form. Books whose stories are presented as letters or diary and journal entries and today may even be e-mail correspondence. My favorite titles written as epistolary novels include A Woman of Independent Means, Between Heaven and Sky, These is My Words and more recently Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend. And to this list I can now add Between friends which has a permanent place on my favorite books list of 2002.The year is 1948 when Lesley Adamski and Jillian Lawton are born in Pine Ridge, Washington. And while they become life long friends, their families couldn't be more different. Lesley's parents marry after she is conceived and there never seems to be enough money to care for her and eventually her five siblings. Her father who works on and off in the mines enjoys drinking a bit too much while Lesley's mother works hard to keep the family together. With excellent grades Lesley hopes to attend college until history has a way of repeating itself and Lesley finds herself marrying her high school boyfriend.Jillian's life is in sharp contrast to Lesley. As the only child of a Judge and his wifeJillian is afforded a life filled with a beautiful home, wonderful trips, pretty clothes and her own car at 16.
This is by far one of the best books I've read in a long time. I loved last year's THURSDAYS AT EIGHT, but this time Ms. Macomber outdid herself. BETWEEN FRIENDS is the story of the lifelong friendship between Jillian and Lesley - The story is told uniquely through the use of letters, journals entries, emails (later on in their lives), wedding & birth announcements, newspaper articles - even the occasional gas station receipt! You follow Jillian and Lesley from the day they were born (through the birth announcements of their parents) all the way up through the summer of 2002. What is so wonderful and makes this novel worth reading again and again, is how Ms. Macomber uses actual historic events to tell this story and move the friends through life. You will read about how Vietnam touched both girls and had a lasting affect on Jillian; how they each felt and reacted to the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy; what their feelings were about Women's Lib; connecting to each other via email and going "online"; even the tragic events of Sept. 11th are briefly touched upon (only wisely, Ms. Macomber spent little time on this subject and only used the event to explain the feelings of the two women today). You will see Lesley and Jillian experience life & death, the birth of children, loves of their lives entering and leaving; and the joys and heartache that see them through 50 years of friendship. You will witness not only the love Jillian and Lesley have for each other, but the love for their family and friends and the love these people have for each of them.
Between the Lines (Between the Lines #1) Between the Plums: Visions of Sugar Plums, Plum Lovin', and Plum lucky (Stephanie Plum: Between the Numbers) Between Friends A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond Between Two Friends and a Lion A Year Between Friends: 3191 Miles Apart: Crafts, Recipes, Letters, and Stories Dollys and Friends, Witches Paper Dolls, Wardrobe No: 9 (Dollys and Friends Paper Dolls) (Volume 9) Thomas & Friends The Great Race (Thomas & Friends) (Little Golden Book) Thomas & Friends 5-Minute Stories: The Sleepytime Collection (Thomas & Friends) Thomas & Friends Story Time Collection (Thomas & Friends) Thomas & Friends Little Golden Book Library (Thomas & Friends) Super Friends: Flying High (DC Super Friends) (Step into Reading) DC Super Friends 5-Minute Story Collection (DC Super Friends) DC Super Friends Little Golden Book Favorites (DC Super Friends) Wonder Woman and Her Super Friends! (DC Super Friends) (Tabbed Board Book) B.F.F. Best Friends Forever: Quizzes for You and Your Friends B.F.F. Best Friends Forever: Have Fun, Laugh, and Share While Getting to Know Your Best Friends! Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction Between the World and Me The Light Between Oceans: A Novel