GIVEAWAY! REVIEW: The False Friend by Myla Goldberg

October 5, 2010 By Mary 62 Comments

Description

From the bestselling author of Bee Season comes an astonishingly complex psychological drama with a simple setup: two eleven-year-old girls, best friends and fierce rivals, go into the woods. Only one comes out . . .

Leaders of a mercurial clique of girls, Celia and Djuna reigned mercilessly over their three followers. One afternoon, they decided to walk home along a forbidden road. Djuna disappeared, and for twenty years Celia blocked out how it happened.

The lie Celia told to conceal her misdeed became the accepted truth: everyone assumed Djuna had been abducted, though neither she nor her abductor was ever found. Celia’s unconscious avoidance of this has meant that while she and her longtime boyfriend, Huck, are professionally successful, they’ve been unable to move forward, their relationship falling into a rut that threatens to bury them both.

Celia returns to her hometown to confess the truth, but her family and childhood friends don’t believe her. Huck wants to be supportive, but his love can’t blind him to all that contradicts Celia’s version of the past.

Celia’s desperate search to understand what happened to Djuna has powerful consequences. A deeply resonant and emotionally charged story, The False Friend explores the adults that children become—leading us to question the truths that we accept or reject, as well as the lies to which we succumb.

About the Author

MYLA GOLDBERG is the author of the bestselling Bee Season, which was a New York Times Notable Book in 2000, later made into a film; and Wickett’s Remedy. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Details

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Doubleday (October 5, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385527217
ISBN-13: 978-0385527217

SOURCE: Publisher

LOVED IT

I adored Bee Season and it was one of the best film adaptations I have seen. So when given the opportunity to read this one, I jumped at it. Goldberg does a fabulous job bringing to life Celia and the horror she feels at her friend, Djuna, disappearing. She blocks the memory and a lie becomes the truth. Goldberg’s stories all have an unusual twist somewhere and this one won’t disappoint. It will make you say, “oh, that explains everything”, but you will still wonder about it. It may keep you thinking about it for awhile. I really enjoy the author’s use of words. Every word fits perfectly and sometimes I am always lost when I try to write reviews for books like this, that just hit you emotionally.

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?

Contest is open to anyone with a US or Canadian mailing address (no PO Boxes)
Winner will be chosen by Random.org on 10.20.10
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is sponsored by DoubleDay and 2 books will be available.
Only one winner per household address!

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