With Friends Like You

by Amy Chozick

From a New York Times bestselling author comes a gripping debut that defies all expectations—a story of feverish obsession, new motherhood, and a friendship pushed to the edge

Emily is unmoored as a new mother in Manhattan—exhausted, broke, and slipping away from her well-meaning husband. She becomes fixated on finding the one person who ever truly understood her college roommate Daisy who vanished years ago after dancing at a seedy strip club off campus.

In her desperate search for Daisy, Emily tumbles from new-mom message boards into a world of porn, secrets, and a high-end escort service for global billionaires, hitting one dead end after another—until the unthinkable Daisy suddenly reappears.

Daisy infuses Emily’s life with newfound purpose and community as the two launch a new mothers’ group in a vacant luxury skyscraper (matcha on tap, vibrators on offer). But the joy of their reunion soon fades, revealing deep cracks in their friendship. Is Daisy the key to Emily’s happiness—or is she unraveling her world? And where has Daisy really been all these years?

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Adult Fiction

332 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication July 21, 2026

About the author

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amychozick

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amychozick/

Amy Chozick is an author, screenwriter, and journalist who has covered major stories in politics, business, and media for The New York Times.

She is the creator and executive producer of the HBO Max original series The Girls on the Bus, inspired by her New York Times–bestselling memoir Chasing Hillary. Her debut novel, With Friends Like You, will be published by Dutton in July. She is currently adapting the novel into a feature film with Brad Weston — the producer of several Oscar-winning films — and Fifth Season. She also has multiple television projects in development at Netflix and Apple.

Amy’s writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Vanity Fair and other
publications. At The New York Times, Chozick served as the lead reporter covering Hillary
Clinton during the 2016 presidential election. Most recently, she conducted an exclusive
interview with Elizabeth Holmes.

Prior to joining the Times in 2011, Chozick spent eight years at The Wall Street Journal,
including as a political reporter covering Barack Obama and as a foreign correspondent based in
Tokyo.

She served as a consultant on the Netflix political drama House of Cards and Greg Berlanti’s USA series Political Animals.

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son.

Reviews

[Stacy40pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

With Friends Like You by Amy Chozick. Thanks to @duttonbooks for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emily is a new mother in Manhattan and having a hard time adjusting. She starts to look up her old roommate from college, Daisy, who vanished after starting stripping at a seedy club.

I loved this dark humor look at motherhood and mental health. The story is very entertaining and flips a few times unexpectedly. I really enjoyed it. It’s hard for me to say more at risk of spoilers but it’s a great read!

“We were witches, wild and drunk and together and so, so alive.”

Read if you like:
-Stories about motherhood
-Friendships
-Unexpected twists
-New York City settings

With Friends Like You comes out 7/21.

[rin ⋆˚✿˖°]

this book got way too graphic about child-birth for me to enjoy it

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Elisa Roche · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this will catch a lot of people by surprise. The storytelling and writing was so fast paced, humor witty and raw. This is 100% the modern day moms’ Fight Club. The writing style and inner monologue also reminded me so much of reading Fight Club. I loved how the author made it her own and ended in a very satisfying way. Highly recommend this read! Thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book feels like a fever dream in the best way. The writing is sharp, fast, and completely driven by Emily’s inner dialogue, and it is so witty. It has that spiraling, slightly chaotic energy that makes you feel like you’re inside her head the entire time. I loved it.

Emily, a postpartum mom, becomes determined to track down her old college roommate Daisy, someone she hasn’t spoken to in years. What starts as curiosity, or maybe unfinished emotional business, turns into something much more consuming once she finds her and gets pulled into Daisy’s world.

There is a major plot twist. It briefly crossed my mind at one point, but the way it actually unfolds is so much better than I expected. Even if you start to suspect something, the execution makes it feel very satisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC.

[Emily Chavez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was obsessed with getting an ARC of this and it didn't disappoint!! I appreciated all of the characters, even the smaller ones from the Juju Bean mom group and its portrayal of the bored and lonely NY city elite mother.

- loved: notes on new motherhood, a good ole friendship arc, that twist!!! & I actually think it has a cute love story line.
- meh: there were about 60 pages in the middle i thought didn't add much and just slowed down the plot and made it harder to get through.

the ending was so good and learning all about emily and daisy was so worth it. thank u NetGalley for the arc 🩷

[Jenny Stirrat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75. Very readable and humorous at times. I love the ideas behind this book. It was just slightly predictable. Despite that, it held my attention and kept me reading

[Grace! · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 it just didn’t work for me. Felt like way too much build up but also the ending was rushed for me. I did like the twists, I think they weren’t executed well enough though. There’s a stretch of 4ish chapters that end with something along the lines of “until the bad thing happened dot dot dot” and I was getting very upset at that just write better. Also “Virginia Woolf was wrong. A woman doesn’t need a room of one’s own. We just need three hours with no one asking us for a snack.” That’s literally exactly what Virginia Woolf meant 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I got so mad at that line I took a photo on the plane to put in this review like please be serious

[Dori Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

You think you’re reading one thing but it turns out you’re actually reading something else.

I realized early on that I had absolutely no idea where this was going, which kept me engaged and turning pages. And where it went, I never would have expected from the description (which still was accurate). I want to read this one again but more closely.

Thank you Dutton and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Jenna Beck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

Ok, I feel terrible saying this, especially since it’s my first advanced copy from NetGalley, but this one just wasn’t for me. It took me a long time to get into, and I found myself not wanting to pick it up each night.

I also struggled to connect with any of the characters. Daisy, Emily, Roman… I didn’t find myself rooting for any of them. The twist at the end felt pretty familiar too, and I had a feeling early on where it was headed.

Overall, it felt like a strange mix of too much chaos but not enough actually happening at the same time.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm learning that I really love a touch of psychological suspense in my literary fiction, which probably isn't surprising considering my reading journey started with a heavy diet of mystery and thrillers. This novel scratches that same itch, using psychological tension to deepen its exploration of more literary themes.

Emily is a new mother trying to adjust to a completely different phase of life, and much of the novel is driven by her reflection on the choices, relationships, and regrets that have followed her into motherhood. At the center of those regrets is Daisy, her former college roommate, whose struggles ultimately pushed them apart. Emily can't shake the feeling that she failed her friend, and her determination to reconnect with Daisy gradually becomes an obsession of its own.

What follows is a slow downward spiral. Emily spends so much energy searching for Daisy, so when they finally reconnect, it almost feels too easy. Fueled by Emily's determination to make up for the past, the two launch an exclusive mothers' group inside a luxury New York building. What begins as a source of support gradually becomes something much stranger, and as spa treatments, questionable childcare practices, and luxury amenities become the norm, the atmosphere grows increasingly unsettling.

Beneath the psychological tension from the wild plot, the novel offers a thoughtful exploration of motherhood, belonging, identity, and the pressure women face to excel in every role they're expected to occupy.

This is the kind of book I'd love to reread knowing the ending. There are so many small details and moments of foreshadowing that I think would take on a completely different meaning the second time around. I finished with a few questions, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment at all.

Thanks to Dutton for the earc via Netgalley.

Recommendation: This one actually reminded me quite a bit of Yesteryear. Both novels explore similar themes around womanhood, identity, and societal expectations while using psychological tension to gradually push their characters into increasingly questionable territory. If you enjoyed Yesteryear, I'd definitely recommend picking this one up.

[Larry H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book was wild! I honestly didn’t know what to expect but I couldn’t put it down. Thanks so much to Dutton and NetGalley for the advance copy!

Emily loves her infant son and can’t get enough of him. But she’s struggling with physical pain since his birth and the lack of sleep is taking its toll on her. She loves her husband, Roman, but he’s always working, so she’s mostly on her own.

As she takes the baby to playgroups and classes, she thinks about Daisy. Daisy was her college roommate—she gave Emily confidence and companionship, and Emily felt like they were soulmates. But when Daisy’s family stopped paying for college, she started dancing at a strip club and taking drugs, and soon dropped out. Not long after, Daisy disappeared from her life completely.

Emily has spent years trying to find what happened to Daisy. She obsessively scans pornographic magazines, travels to strip clubs, and even hires a private investigator, but to no avail. And then one day, Daisy reappears.

Daisy quickly reclaims her place in Emily’s life. She’s good with the baby and willing to watch him when Emily goes back to work. The two of them build a luxury refuge for mothers of young infants, with childcare specialists to watch the children and teach them language skills and music, while they relax, exercise, and take advantage of designer drugs, vibrators, and alcohol. But Daisy still maintains her air of mystery—she doesn’t talk about her past and doesn’t really share about what she does to make money. Will she disappear again?

There’s a lot more to this book than I can describe without giving anything away. I was completely hooked on the story and wondered how it would end.

This will publish 7/21.

Check out my best reads of 2025 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2025.html .

See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.

Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/getbookedwithlarry/.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thriller and contemporary novel that focuses on motherhood, friendship and figuring out who you are.

Emily has just given birth to her first child, Holden. She’s questioning herself about how she got there and dealing with postpartum depression (my take on Emily - having experienced the birth of a first child, you do feel as she does; it’s like a wasteland and you wonder if you’ll ever get out). This book got me from the beginning. In her misery, Emily starts thinking about her college roommate, Daisy, the one person who seemed to understand her (of course, that was fifteen years ago) - though I do think Emily’s husband, Roman does too. Determined to recapture that spark from the past, Emily sets out to find Daisy. After quite an adventure into porn, pole dancing and strip clubs, Emily finds Daisy is close by. Reunited, Daisy takes Emily into a world of luxury and some weirdness which includes an unoccupied Park Avenue building where the two set up club for moms - JuJu Belly. There we see the high pressure Manhattan motherhood play out against Emily’s middle class concepts. As things get stranger, Emily starts to question if she really was that unhappy before. The ending is a total shocker - you have to read the book to find out what it is.

This book can be dark and snarky at times. It juxtaposes the staid life of motherhood against the “superficiality” of Manhattan life illuminating what we think we know with what we really don’t know. Daisy’s and Emily’s friendship begins as euphoric but devolves into a toxic one - never fantasize about the past; the good old days were never that good. Besides the friendship angle, Emily’s difficult birth experience is explored I think to help paint Emily more favorably - or to hint it’s not postpartum depression. Either way the birth of the first child is a daunting experience - which is what I liked abut the book: exploring a real transition for women that nobody considers or prepare you for.

Enjoyed the read. This is a book for people who enjoy a good story exploring modern day realities that delivers an extra punch.

My thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for allowing me access to this book.

[Danna · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Friends Like You started off with the feel of a memoir; I had to check the cover to confirm “novel” was printed on the front. Emily’s character felt so real to me: with her poignant descriptions of postpartum pain and her feelings of aloneness and anxiety. But as With Friends Like You unfolds, the story becomes harder to believe and, thus, less memoir-like.

As mentioned, Emily gave birth to baby Holden not that long ago. She is terrified to go back to work, but also terrified to be at home alone with a small baby. In her postpartum state, Emily becomes obsessed with tracking down her college roommate, Daisy, who she lost track of years ago when Daisy skipped town, strung out on heroin and sliding further into the world of sex work.

Then, one day at a New York City park, Daisy sits down on the bench next to Emily. In many ways, this is when the story begins. Daisy is living in a high-end apartment and invites Emily to turn it into a coven for new mothers. It gets wild, with a hint of dark humor as the list of uber luxury items stacks up. It’s fun and funny and definitely a bit off kilter.

You know something is up with Daisy, but not what. Emily keeps saying things like, if we knew… or at the end… hints that this wild ride will come to some unexpected end. And boy, does it. I absolutely loved this book till about 80% in. And then, that last 20% really threw me. Its ending is a major twist and I’m not sure I liked it, but I also didn’t not like it.

Overall, this is a fun story with a hint of mystery that puts a spotlight on some of the most raw postpartum feelings and experiences. I recommend it, even with my slightly less favorable view of the ending, which knocked it from 5 stars to 4 for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Favorite quotes:
“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”

I learned that the best thing about having money was the ability to think about things other than money.

[Beth Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️

Emily just went through a horrendous birthing experience (physically and psychologically) that she’s still recovering from months later. On maternity leave in New York City, with the little bit of spare time she has, she becomes obsessed with her college roommate Daisy that left school to work in the adult industry. I don’t want to inadvertently give any spoilers, so that’s all I’ll give.

🩷 NYC setting was spot-on.
🩷 This novel prompted a few mini deep dives on my part. For example, a condo skyscraper that has balconies on the 87th floor. Those exist?! And I learned that, yep, a few do.
🩷 I felt the new mother challenges were very relatable, and I’m glad the author delved into all the various challenges and how lonely a new mother can feel.
🩷 This author used the brand and model name of every baby product mentioned. It seemed like a nod to the consumerism of the baby industry touted to new moms.

⚠️ I felt a bit unmoored by this novel, and honestly I don’t like to feel that way in my reading. So if you also struggle with books that are fever dream-like, then you might also struggle.
⚠️ I did see the plot twist coming because of the aforementioned unmoored nature.
⚠️ The plot goes somewhere in the middle of the novel that I still haven’t wrapped my head around, and it does stay there awhile. I wasn’t understanding the logistics of it, and I realize that’s me trying to understand the details when I was supposed to just go with the theoretical.
⚠️ There’s a lot about Emily’s birth experience and (lack of) recovery. If you’re pregnant or squeamish toward bodily injury, you might not want to read this.

I did enjoy this one, and it makes me appreciate having tucked that phase of my life to bed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for an Advance Reader Copy. My review is completely my own.

It publishes July 21, 2026.

[Pamela Shrewsbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW
With Friends Like You — Amy Chozick
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to @NetGalley, @duttonbooks, & @amychozick for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emily is exhausted and struggling to find herself after becoming a new mother in Manhattan. When her long-missing college roommate, Daisy, suddenly reappears, Emily is pulled into a world of wealth, secrets, motherhood culture, and blurred boundaries. But as Daisy’s stories stop adding up, Emily begins to wonder if reconnecting with her oldest friend is saving her or destroying her.

Amy Chozick delivers a sharp, funny, and unsettling story about motherhood, female friendship, and the illusion of having it all. I was hooked almost immediately. It’s messy, uncomfortable, and, at times, completely unhinged in the best way. I never knew who to trust, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

What stayed with me most was how honestly it captured the loneliness of new motherhood. Emily’s need to feel understood again, and her willingness to overlook old warning signs, felt incredibly real. Daisy is the kind of character who changes the mood every time she walks into a scene.

I also loved the twists. They were surprising without feeling over-the-top, and I appreciated that everything was explained clearly instead of relying on shock value. The ending felt a little rushed, but it still wrapped up the story in a satisfying way.

Overall, this was a compelling mix of psychological suspense, complicated friendship, and emotional drama that I had a hard time putting down.

✅ WHAT WORKED
• Sharp motherhood satire
• Messy, believable friendship
• Addictive pacing
• Well-executed twists

⚠️ WHAT DIDN’T WORK
• The ending felt slightly rushed.
• Some side characters faded into the background.
• The graphic childbirth scenes and darker underworld elements won’t be for every reader.

[Kara Galvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW OKAY so that twist was INSANE!
For me, the twist couldn't make up for the soggy middle.
That twist deserves to be spoiler free, this review reflects that.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4:
Emily wants to find her long-lost friend from college Daisy, a representation of nostalgia and a life that wasn't as complicated as it is now tackling first time motherhood. Emily is extremely relatable. She's just trying to find someone she loved, a feeling any number of us would have. She's so desperate to find Daisy, her methods are unconventional yet entertaining, a sort of homage is being paid to all the girls with insane FBI-level investigation skills.

Cut to Part 2 and here Daisy is in the flesh with no fanfare or explanation. The reader is just thrust into this situation much like Emily is. It's disorienting. It's really baby focused, I didn't really understand . I now know this was part of the twist and necessary for the book. In all honesty, this could still be effective for readers with cutting Part 2 in half. I was bored, I wanted to DNF, and I forced myself to keep going. I'm glad I did. As much as I didn't like the middle of the book, the mundanity is the point. Regular life is messy too. Something else is up.

The end of Part 2 and beginning of Part 3 had me book-in-my-lap jaw-on-the-floor multiple times. It's a whirlwind. And it's really evocative knowing the reader is left feeling exactly like Emily is as she discovers the twist.

In my opinion, this book is a mystery/thriller novel written as literary fiction. If you like any ounce of that, you're likely to enjoy this book. Maybe you'll find the middle to be just right. I encourage you to keep going with this, I'm certain this ending will stick with me a while.

[Melissa DeLong-Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's my advice: go into this blind. Read the blurb and then the book and live your best life. The remainder of my review will be hidden behind a spoiler tag to avoid giving too much away.

Okay – things I liked: the new mom angle was super relatable. The disjointed inner dialogue that Emily had totally made sense through the lens of adjusting to motherhood (and of course later finding out that she is both Emily and Daisy makes it even more clear why it was so disjointed).

Things I didn't like: Listen, I don't like the movie Fight Club but I did enjoy learning about Sybil. I probably didn't ~get the movie~ the way you're supposed to, but it just didn't call to me. The plot of Fight Club is basically this book, so take that for what you will.

I wish the reveal would've been a little more clear – you get essentially a chapter or two from Daisy's POV and THEN you get the confirmation that Emily lived alone in college so she must be Daisy, probably? It does eventually become clearer, but I think the abrupt transition – while making sense in the plot! – was a bit tough to understand from a reader's POV.

The one thing I'm still split on is the whole cult, mom group angle. It makes sense, but it felt like it was SO much of the book that you miss out on more extrapolation about Emily, Daisy, and the DID of it all. Also, the ending?????? Again, makes sense, but knowing what we know, if Emily is Daisy and Daisy is jumping, is this metaphorical, or did she jump? Please I need to know.

Waffling between three and four stars, but I think I'm leaning towards four just because I was very much engaged and am still thinking about this book a day later.

*Thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for the ARC!*

[Georgea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to @duttonbooks for the gifted Arc

I have to admit that I started this book without high expectations, but it completely surprised me.

The story follows the lives of two friends, Emily and Daisy. They meet in college and quickly become inseparable. As time goes by, Daisy faces serious hardships and ends up working as a dancer in a nightclub. Eventually, she distances herself from Emily and disappears from her life entirely.

Years later, Emily, now married and the mother of a young boy, decides to search for the friend she hasn't seen in years. From that point on, we follow the beginning of her journey and everything she is willing to do to find Daisy. Just when it seems that all hope is lost, something happens that completely changes the course of the story and sends it in an entirely new direction.

Throughout the entire book, I kept asking myself: where is this story going? I genuinely had no idea what was happening or what the major twist would be. As the narrative unfolds, we start to get hints about what might be going on, but everything is incredibly subtle, always leaving an air of mystery. By the final pages, I found myself holding my breath and devouring every word. The big reveal caught me completely off guard, and I absolutely loved how everything came together in the end.

This is a novel about friendship and obsession, while also satirizing aspects of modern life that we encounter every day and often participate in without even realizing it. I highly recommend it.

[Thrillerswineandchill · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌪️ M O O D Y M O N D A Y review 🌪️ featuring “With Friends Like You” by Amy Chozick!

Emily is a new mother who is struggling with exhaustion, lack of stability and feeling disconnected from her husband. During this major transition in her life, she cannot stop thinking about the one person who should be a part of it: Daisy.

15 years ago, Emily and Daisy were college roommates who instantly clicked and truly understood one another. Their bond seemed unbreakable until Daisy started dancing at a sketchy strip club near campus to pay for her tuition. Daisy turns into a completely different person as she gets pulled into the sex trade and drug scene and disappears from Emily’s life.

Emily becomes obsessed with trying to find Daisy after all these years. She even goes as far as looking for Daisy on porn and escort service sites, visiting strip clubs and leaving her baby to fly to different cities to search for answers.

Much to her surprise, Daisy suddenly re-enters Emily’s life. Emily always considered Daisy to be her soul mate, but has too much happened between them? And where has Daisy been all these years? Does Daisy have the best intentions of starting over … or are cruel intentions starting to crack the foundation of their friendship?

💭 This book is intriguing and beautifully written! I went into it blindly and thank god I did because I was TOTALLY BLINDSIDED and BAMBOOZLED! A mix of dark humour, suspense and gut wrenching emotions kept me engaged and desperate to find out more! Definitely never read a story like this before and I had a major book hangover afterwards!

Thank you kindly to @amychozick @duttonbooks @penguinrandomca @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. This book releases on July 21, 2026!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

WIth Friends Like You takes place in Manhattan which is one of my favorite places to visit in real life so a story being set there is always always a plus.
It starts out in with Emily lonely and suffering in the aftermath of an incredibly rough labor and delivery of her son. Her husband is working a lot doing his best to provide and skip the next round of layoffs. Leaving emily a lot of idle time with a newish born baby. Emily is able to make some friends online in a mom group but is yearning to find a friend she had in college whos disappeared after running in to financial hard times in college to work at a Strip Club which progress to actual sex work. The friend Daisy is everything Emily is not, rich, sexy Spontaneous and free spirited without a worry in the world. When Emily reconnects she is able to feel powerful and find purpose through creating a high end daycare/self care center for moms.

While I think middle of the book was a too slow pace, and could have been shorter without taking any thing away from the plot, the ending was very good. I did think i knew where this story was going a couple times and how it would end, I am glad i continued on because my guesses were wrong.
I did like the characters even the smaller characters from the mom online group. Loved the setting and I feel that the end absolutely wrapped everything up well. Just think there was too much pointlessness in the middle that could have been left out for better pacing and more anticipation.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton for early access to this book in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up

Amy Chozick absolutely nailed the disorienting, lonely, identity-shifting experience of new motherhood in this one. Emily’s exhaustion, insecurity, desperation for connection, and feeling like she’s slowly disappearing in her own life all felt painfully real. There’s such a sharp understanding of how motherhood can become wrapped up in performance and consumerism too, which I thought came through brilliantly in the little details. The use of specific brand names like the Itzy Ritzy diaper bag instead of generic descriptions felt so intentional because those brands can almost become social signals or shortcuts to belonging in mom culture, even when everything underneath feels messy and isolating.

What starts as a search for a missing college friend spirals into something far darker, stranger, and more unhinged than I expected. The atmosphere constantly balances satire, psychological suspense, and genuine emotional vulnerability in a way that really worked for me. And Daisy’s reappearance completely shifts the energy of the book into something increasingly unsettling.

The twist genuinely shocked me, which is getting harder and harder to do with thrillers. This was chaotic, sharp, funny, and deeply uncomfortable in the best possible way. One of my favorite reads of the year so far.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. What a fun and different type of story this was. This is Amy Chozick's first novel and she can really keep a reader engaged. Set in Manhattan among the have's and have not's, With Friends Like You follows Emily, a new mom to a son who's married to a well-meaning Aussie husband. Its easy to see that she's undergoing some type of transition after becoming a mother, but no spoilers here. When she tracks down her friend from college, Daisy, Emily's world changes into something she could never could have imagined. Daisy opens up worlds to her that she's never known - a black Amex for Emily to use as she pleases, a condo in an exclusive 527 Park Ave. location for a mom's day retreat while their children are cared for on another floor in the building doing constructive activities. Emily's life starts to blur with her marriage, her baby, her new mom friends and with Daisy. Amy Chozick's writing is smart, funny and darkly wicked. The way the moms in the 527 Park group roll designed baby gear names off their tongues is hilarious. The book takes a turn in the last chapters - explaining a lot about Emily and her friendship with Daisy. I don't think this review will do this book justice. I hope to read more from Amy Chozick in the future.

[Susan Ingraffea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from Dutton via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. This was an absolute masterpiece, and I didn't want it to end. I wish I could give more than 5 stars!

I think you will have a special connection to Emily and to the situations in general if you are a mom. I have a 5-year-old, so I feel I am still in this general era of parenting. So many of the pop-culture references resonated. The Snoo at a garage sale. Sophie the giraffe. Tons of hilarious references to the "good night, good night" books. Every sentence was a work of art with tremendous humor and feeling.

The mothers' group is the dream of so many (all?) new moms who are struggling and need a village, not to mention free childcare. I wonder if this idea came from the author's own experience as a new mom.

I could also relate to Emily and Daisy's college experience. Living away from home for the first time absolutely does generate these tight, almost co-dependent relationships.

There were two massive reveals which quite literally left my jaw hanging open. I did not even remotely suspect them, but the most important one made me want to go back to the beginning of the book and look for clues. I rarely read books twice, but I think this one would be worth it.

Ms. Chozick is incredibly talented and I will certainly seek out more of her books!

[Sacha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This is a sinister narrative with a wildly unlikable protagonist and many moments where I thought, "What?!" I wondered frequently during this read if having children would have also given me a completely different reaction to the content. I didn't dislike this and, in fact, found several enjoyable aspects, but this is one gritty read.

Emily has a baby and then goes searching for a really important person from her past: Daisy. I struggled to connect with what drove this search at first. It seemed random and left me wondering, again, if I were just not able to access a part of Emily's experience. During this search, Emily delves into a world that seems to differ dramatically from the one she inhabits currently. It was jarring to observe her chaotic choices.

I found most of this read unsettling, and that's what made me enjoy it. Chozick really sets up that constantly concerning scenario in which readers know a lot more is wrong than they can even identify. This situation both frustrated and intrigued me at different points.

Overall, this is a bit of a mixed bag but I'd recommend it to fans of gritty mysteries/thrillers. It definitely made me want to engage more with Chozick's work.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Dutton Marketing for this widget, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

[Grecia Hayer Simonovis · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I heard Amy was writing fiction, I trusted it almost instinctively. If you're familiar with her background, she knows this world too well for it to feel imagined. With Friends Like You moves through New York City with fluency, but what stayed with me wasn’t the enthralling setting as much as the complexity of the women within it. It captures an element of friendship we rarely discuss, intimate yet evaluative, quietly competitive. I am not a mother or married, and still, I felt implicated in the familiar split between self-assurance and the subconscious suspicion of not being enough, sharpened by a culture of constant comparison. The novel feels participatory in this way. I devoured it, but toward the end I had to set it down because of the recognition it demanded. And while the plot may not be entirely original, it also doesn't feel repetitive because its real concern isn’t resolution. It’s the interior question that keeps returning me to: what kind of life we are allowed to want, how often we allow ourselves to begin again, and how deeply shame embeds itself in the spaces between intimacy, domesticity, and whatever we decide to call love.

[Sara Lavoie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book! Even before the bigger twists began to be revealed, I found myself enjoying the journey even though i was wondering where it was all going.

I was immediately invested and thought the author did a great job with her nuanced portrayal of early motherhood. Losing yourself, finding yourself, resenting your partner for seemingly getting to continue their life as yours is completely upended. The shifting dynamics of a marriage with little throwaway lines like mentioning her husband losing his wallet again before he even has.. were so authentic and well done- saying so much while saying so little.

The psychological mind fuckery reminded me of Yesteryear in the best way.

As someone who works in the baby products industry, I also kept noticing the narrator’s repeated references to specific baby brands and wondering why those details were there but ultimately appreciated how intentional those details were.

It was a wild ride of a book- i definitely recommend. Thank you NetGalley!

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

I'm not sure what I just read.

New NYC mom Emily is struggling to adjust to motherhood, figure out her child care situation, and not go insane from construction happening next door. All things I could totally relate to.

Then Emily becomes obsessed with finding her former college roommate, Daisy. After Daisy's family stopped paying her tuition, Daisy started stripping and then disappeared. Daisy felt like a sister to Emily, the only person who truly understood her, so Emily determined to find her. Okay, at that point the book was feeling like a Finlay Donovan story.

But things got much weirder, and it was clear that while Emily was a witty and relatable characer at times, at other times seemed to be suffering from some alarming postpartum mental illness. And yes, indeed. But not postpartum depression. Emily has DID, or dissociative identity disorder. And she IS Daisy. . THAT I was definitely not expecting.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

[Jen W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I did not see this story going this way.

Emily is a new mother who is really having a hard time adjusting to motherhood, lack of sleep, pain from an emergency delivery, and issues breast feeding. In her waking hours, she has taken to trying to find her college roommate, Daisy. When Daisy had issues in college, they lost touch. Emily liked herself better when she was friends with Daisy and thinks reconnecting with her could help with her current mental health.

This story really captures some of the emotions and struggles that new moms can feel and how important it is to get help if you need it. It also shows how friendship with other moms can be beneficial.

While I didn't find the mom group portion of this very realistic, I really loved the push/pull with Daisy and Emily. I really was not expecting the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[BDJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This debut novel is such an entertaining, suspenseful and surprisingly witty page-turner you can practically see it come alive as a film while you are reading it. I had so much fun getting to know the title character Emily as she attempts to find her best friend Daisy from college after Daisy lost her way as a sex worker. While the premise sets the stage for what could be a cat and mouse game between old friends, as the story develops it cleverly morphs into a titillating, revelatory maze through early motherhood that’s told with much humor and comedy, propelling the mystery into something far more profound. In the same way Big Little Lies wove its story through the trauma of spousal abuse, this novel expertly examines motherhood and relationships and friendships through the lens of these rich characters whose portrays come alive off the page as the story unfolds. Highly recommend for the dudes too - it’s both sexy and sinister at once. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️