Friends Like These

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Author(s)

Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

Publisher

Delacorte Press

Genre(s)

Age Range

12+

Release Date

November 01, 2022

ISBN

978-0593309674

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"Sharp, atmospheric, and wildly fast-paced"—Jessica Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of They'll Never Catch Us

From the author of Lies Like Wildfire comes another page-turning thriller about the little lies we all tell before the truth sets us free—perfect for readers of Karen M. McManus and Diana Urban.

Mistake number one . . .

Fun-loving Jake tells his girlfriend, Jessica, that they have to go to Tegan’s end-of-summer party in their tiny California beach town. Jessica doesn’t like parties, and she doesn’t like Tegan, who has an obvious, obsessive crush on Jake. But she agrees to go, to make Jake happy.

Mistake number two . . .

Something awful happens at the party. Something so embarrassing that Jessica doesn’t know if she can ever get over it—and Jake will do whatever it takes to earn her forgiveness. And now a girl is missing. Everyone is a suspect. And Jake seems to have a lot to hide. . . .

When a body is discovered at the beach, friends start turning on friends, and lies start piling upon lies. What happened could destroy their lives. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? Mistake number three . . .

Editor review

1 review

Thought Provoking Thriller

June 07, 2024

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Friends Like These was a hard-hitting story with a plausible scenario and well-developed characters that gave me second-hand embarrassment as the disaster scenario unfolded. Jake and Jessica are the sweetest couple with a solid foundation and no fear that anything could break them apart. Tegan has the looks, money, and athleticism to be the “it” girl. However, with everything she has, the couple of things she lost along the way drive her crazy like her ex-best friend Jessica and her ex-boyfriend Jake. This resentment builds to a bet, winning at any cost, going viral on social media, a murder, arrests, and ending on a path no one ever could have expected.
The way Jake’s life implodes was faithfully portrayed to the point it was hard to read. His decisions were so bad and so embarrassing and were so ruinous to his life. I just kept imagining how he could come back from such a disaster to live in a small town after what happened. The author does a fantastic job putting you right there in his shoes. However, not everything is as it first appears. Jessica is not the innocent victim and Jake is not the cheating jerk that we think they are.
There were many twists and turns. Some I was correct in my guesses and some I never saw coming. As more things were revealed I could not put the book down. It helped my ability to keep reading when Jake was vindicated.
There should be a trigger warning about drug-assisted sexual assault. By having a trigger warning you can guess a few things that get revealed in the plot. However, due to the emotional impact this topic has on the characters I could see this being a difficult read if you didn’t know it was coming.
Overall, this fictional story hit all the right buttons on being fast-paced and engaging. I also hope the teens who read it can see it as a warning about underage pornography, drug-assisted sexual assault, and how males as well as females can be victims. I like that there is a takeaway message centered around an engaging story making this thought-provoking as well as a great read.