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Second Chance
Jane Green has become a nationally bestselling author with legions of fans through her novels about the true-life dilemmas of real women—their relationships, their careers, their loves, their triumphs and disappointments. In her latest book, Green tells the story of a group of people who haven’t seen each other since they were best friends at school. When one of them dies in a terrible tragedy, the reunited friends work through their grief together and find that each of their lives is impacted in ways they could have never foreseen. Warm, witty, and as wise as ever, this is a story of friendship, of family, and of life coming full circle.
417 pages, Paperback
First published June 19, 2007
404 people are currently reading
12227 people want to read
About the author
Jane Green
75 books8,750 followersJane Green's twenty first novel, Sister Stardust, is out April 5th 2022.
She is the author of eighteen previous New York Times Bestselling novels, and known as one of the world's leading authors in women's fiction, with over ten million books in print, and translations in over 25 languages.
Previous novels have included The Beach House, Second Chance, Jemima J, and Tempting Fate.
She joined the ABC News team to write their first enhanced digital book— about the history of Royal marriages, then joined ABC News as a live correspondent covering Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton.
A former journalist in the UK, she has had her own radio show on BBC Radio London, and is a regular contributor on radio and TV, including as well as regularly appearing on television shows including Good Morning America, The Martha Stewart show, and The Today Show.
Together with writing books and blogs, she contributes to various publications, both online and print, including anthologies and novellas, and features for The Huffington Post, The Sunday Times, Cosmopolitan and Self. She has taught at writers conferences, and does regular keynote speaking, and has a weekly column in The Lady magazine, England’s longest running weekly magazine.
A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, Green is bringing out her first cookbook: Good Taste , with Berkley in October 2016.
She is a storyteller for The Moth radio hour on NPR,
and lives in Westport, Connecticut with her husband and their blended family. When she is not writing, cooking, gardening, filling her house with friends and herding chickens, she is usually thanking the Lord for caffeine-filled energy drinks.
Jane's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jane-Gr...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
She is the author of eighteen previous New York Times Bestselling novels, and known as one of the world's leading authors in women's fiction, with over ten million books in print, and translations in over 25 languages.
Previous novels have included The Beach House, Second Chance, Jemima J, and Tempting Fate.
She joined the ABC News team to write their first enhanced digital book— about the history of Royal marriages, then joined ABC News as a live correspondent covering Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton.
A former journalist in the UK, she has had her own radio show on BBC Radio London, and is a regular contributor on radio and TV, including as well as regularly appearing on television shows including Good Morning America, The Martha Stewart show, and The Today Show.
Together with writing books and blogs, she contributes to various publications, both online and print, including anthologies and novellas, and features for The Huffington Post, The Sunday Times, Cosmopolitan and Self. She has taught at writers conferences, and does regular keynote speaking, and has a weekly column in The Lady magazine, England’s longest running weekly magazine.
A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, Green is bringing out her first cookbook: Good Taste , with Berkley in October 2016.
She is a storyteller for The Moth radio hour on NPR,
and lives in Westport, Connecticut with her husband and their blended family. When she is not writing, cooking, gardening, filling her house with friends and herding chickens, she is usually thanking the Lord for caffeine-filled energy drinks.
Jane's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jane-Gr...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,270 reviews
October 10, 2022
I love Jane Green for those sunny days that you don't want to end, really enjoyed this.
Five stars.
Five stars.
August 9, 2008
This book starts out as a British version of "The Big Chill" but goes downhill pretty fast.
We are introduced to all the main characters in the opening scene. They were school friends who went their separates ways and reunited when another friend dies in a terrorist attack.
So we have Holly, trapped in an unhappy marriage to Marcus, a vain, snobbish, selfish lawyer. The author devotes many pages throughout the book to demonstrating how vain, snobbish and selfish Marcus is. Oh, did I forget to tell you? He's vain, snobbish and selfish.
Next is Saffron, a B-list Hollywood actress with alcoholic tendencies having an affairs with P -- "the sexist man in the world." Except that P can't marry Saffron because he's married to someone else and it would be bad for his career. (Didn't stop Tom Cruise).
There's Olivia who likes dogs more than people, has a one-night stand with a hunky American and gets pregnant.
Paul is a journalist married to super-Swedish businesswoman Anna who would like to have children but can't get pregnant. Oh the possibilities for plot development that little contradiction offers.
This collection of cliches (sorry, I mean characters) falls in and out of bed with each other and others, goes to weddings and funerals, gets pregnant, gets drunk, gets depressed, gets high, gets low ... gets this, that and the other ...until the book ends with everyone living happily ever after and buying lots and lots of fabulous clothes and never getting wrinkles.
I honestly don't like giving books poor reviews and I have nothing against books about unhappy marriages and adultery (Anna Karenina and Madam Bovary examined this territory rather effectively, after all). I would rather give five stars to all the books I read because I know how hard it is to write a book, how much effort and heartache and emotional investment goes into it.
But really, don't people write books with real characters and real plots any more? The writing here is so wooden and pedestrian it's hard to describe. Characters are introduced solely so that they can say things about other characters. Then they disappear and we never see them again. At the end of the book, Holly suddenly falls in love with someone else who we never meet at all. Sarah, the widow of the friend who dies, is inconsolable -- depressed, shattered, bereft. She just disappears from the book. Does she live, die, recover, marry a space alien? We're not told.
I guess writers are only as good as readers demand them to be. If this kind of stuff sells, there's no incentive for the author to do better or her editors to demand better. We, the reading public, get the books we deserve.
But surely we don't deserve this.
We are introduced to all the main characters in the opening scene. They were school friends who went their separates ways and reunited when another friend dies in a terrorist attack.
So we have Holly, trapped in an unhappy marriage to Marcus, a vain, snobbish, selfish lawyer. The author devotes many pages throughout the book to demonstrating how vain, snobbish and selfish Marcus is. Oh, did I forget to tell you? He's vain, snobbish and selfish.
Next is Saffron, a B-list Hollywood actress with alcoholic tendencies having an affairs with P -- "the sexist man in the world." Except that P can't marry Saffron because he's married to someone else and it would be bad for his career. (Didn't stop Tom Cruise).
There's Olivia who likes dogs more than people, has a one-night stand with a hunky American and gets pregnant.
Paul is a journalist married to super-Swedish businesswoman Anna who would like to have children but can't get pregnant. Oh the possibilities for plot development that little contradiction offers.
This collection of cliches (sorry, I mean characters) falls in and out of bed with each other and others, goes to weddings and funerals, gets pregnant, gets drunk, gets depressed, gets high, gets low ... gets this, that and the other ...until the book ends with everyone living happily ever after and buying lots and lots of fabulous clothes and never getting wrinkles.
I honestly don't like giving books poor reviews and I have nothing against books about unhappy marriages and adultery (Anna Karenina and Madam Bovary examined this territory rather effectively, after all). I would rather give five stars to all the books I read because I know how hard it is to write a book, how much effort and heartache and emotional investment goes into it.
But really, don't people write books with real characters and real plots any more? The writing here is so wooden and pedestrian it's hard to describe. Characters are introduced solely so that they can say things about other characters. Then they disappear and we never see them again. At the end of the book, Holly suddenly falls in love with someone else who we never meet at all. Sarah, the widow of the friend who dies, is inconsolable -- depressed, shattered, bereft. She just disappears from the book. Does she live, die, recover, marry a space alien? We're not told.
I guess writers are only as good as readers demand them to be. If this kind of stuff sells, there's no incentive for the author to do better or her editors to demand better. We, the reading public, get the books we deserve.
But surely we don't deserve this.
December 2, 2010
***If you love the book, do not read this review.
You can, if you would try not to post rude comments.
There are some spoilers in this review so if you haven't read this book yet, please don't proceed reading this review.****
*****
****
***
**
*
This book is probably the worst piece of Literature I have ever read.
In fact, I am very much surprise that I was even able to finish it. I'm not narrow minded, but really, I don't see the point in this book. I don't even know how it became a New York Times Bestselling book.
It's crap. Nothing is likable in this book. There's just too much going on. The author tried to fit so many characters and so many dilemmas in one go. It would've been okay if the characters were at least likable or believable. But they were the opposite!!
I loathed Holly's character. She is the most ungrateful, discontented, flirt, childish, selfish and easy to get character I have ever known. She has been complaining about her husband, Marcus (A very conceited lawyer). She says he changed her into someone she's not. She's not the fun, adventure loving and cool Holly anymore. She had been pondering about what her life could have been if she picked her best friend Tom over Marcus. Then she finds out Tom is dead. He died just recently on suicide bombing event. And She actually grieves, not because Tom was her best friend, but because Tom was the life she was not able to have. After years of being married, she admits to herself that Tom is her one true love and not Marcus.
How self-centered could she be? Always thinking about herself, and about how life would have been for her.
That doesn't end there. She grieve's and finds comfort from Tom's brother Will. Who she infatuated on immediately!!!!Like 4 seconds since crying on his shoulder! WTF!!! How much of a whore could she be? Then she sees this guy on secret, sleep with her husband all the while thinking it was Will, and she sleeps with Will. She acts like a teenager FGS!!!
This book is garbage. Don't even bother reading it.
In fact the two things that will make you like this book is,
a.) if you're 40 years old and unhappily married, going through some midlife crisis.
b.) your life is so boring, even a book as nonsense as this would thrill you.
Seriously, avoid this.
You can, if you would try not to post rude comments.
There are some spoilers in this review so if you haven't read this book yet, please don't proceed reading this review.****
*****
****
***
**
*
This book is probably the worst piece of Literature I have ever read.
In fact, I am very much surprise that I was even able to finish it. I'm not narrow minded, but really, I don't see the point in this book. I don't even know how it became a New York Times Bestselling book.
It's crap. Nothing is likable in this book. There's just too much going on. The author tried to fit so many characters and so many dilemmas in one go. It would've been okay if the characters were at least likable or believable. But they were the opposite!!
I loathed Holly's character. She is the most ungrateful, discontented, flirt, childish, selfish and easy to get character I have ever known. She has been complaining about her husband, Marcus (A very conceited lawyer). She says he changed her into someone she's not. She's not the fun, adventure loving and cool Holly anymore. She had been pondering about what her life could have been if she picked her best friend Tom over Marcus. Then she finds out Tom is dead. He died just recently on suicide bombing event. And She actually grieves, not because Tom was her best friend, but because Tom was the life she was not able to have. After years of being married, she admits to herself that Tom is her one true love and not Marcus.
How self-centered could she be? Always thinking about herself, and about how life would have been for her.
That doesn't end there. She grieve's and finds comfort from Tom's brother Will. Who she infatuated on immediately!!!!Like 4 seconds since crying on his shoulder! WTF!!! How much of a whore could she be? Then she sees this guy on secret, sleep with her husband all the while thinking it was Will, and she sleeps with Will. She acts like a teenager FGS!!!
This book is garbage. Don't even bother reading it.
In fact the two things that will make you like this book is,
a.) if you're 40 years old and unhappily married, going through some midlife crisis.
b.) your life is so boring, even a book as nonsense as this would thrill you.
Seriously, avoid this.
January 4, 2016
I'm not sure what happened to Jane Green's writing craft in this book; the POV jumps wildly in and out of various character's heads, sometimes in the same sentence. The tense shifts from present to past and back. I suppose the effect is supposed to be one of sitting over a cup of tea with a good friend and having a gossip about other good friends. Only problem is, the book doesn't come with tea.
The story is Green's version of The Big Chill - a man dies (and why Green chose to make it a terrorist attack on US soil is beyond me; the means of death is very tangential to the story and a car accident would have served the exact same purpose) and his death serves as the impetus for his old school friends, who haven't really seen each other in twenty years, to gather together.
They are your usual collection of stereotypes in reunion stories: the woman trapped in a loveless marriage; the happily married couple who can't conceive; the mousy one; the glamorous, alcoholic film star. No new ground is broken, although the familiar old tropes are trod on over and over.
Still, like all familiar things, there is comfort in visiting and Green's characters, if not highly original, are engaging.
The story is Green's version of The Big Chill - a man dies (and why Green chose to make it a terrorist attack on US soil is beyond me; the means of death is very tangential to the story and a car accident would have served the exact same purpose) and his death serves as the impetus for his old school friends, who haven't really seen each other in twenty years, to gather together.
They are your usual collection of stereotypes in reunion stories: the woman trapped in a loveless marriage; the happily married couple who can't conceive; the mousy one; the glamorous, alcoholic film star. No new ground is broken, although the familiar old tropes are trod on over and over.
Still, like all familiar things, there is comfort in visiting and Green's characters, if not highly original, are engaging.
January 5, 2009
The only reason I'm even writing a review for this book is to dissuade any of my friends who have it listed as a "to-read" to not bother. This book was a total disaster.
It is nearly impossible to keep up with the point-of-view shifts that seem to occur every other sentence. That, coupled with the tense shifts just drove me crazy. On top of all that, the characters were insipid paradodies - let's see, we had the beautiful actress with an alcohol additiction, a mousy animal shelter worker who needs a relationship, a perfect couple who can't get pregnant and a bored housewife who long ago made the choice to give up on love and marry the wrong man... bleh! Don't waste your time - I'm a little angry that I did...
It is nearly impossible to keep up with the point-of-view shifts that seem to occur every other sentence. That, coupled with the tense shifts just drove me crazy. On top of all that, the characters were insipid paradodies - let's see, we had the beautiful actress with an alcohol additiction, a mousy animal shelter worker who needs a relationship, a perfect couple who can't get pregnant and a bored housewife who long ago made the choice to give up on love and marry the wrong man... bleh! Don't waste your time - I'm a little angry that I did...
July 27, 2011
While I enjoy Jane Green's novels, usually, they are simply chick lit--something to pass the time while by the pool, on the beach, on a plane, or just at home on a rainy afternoon. However, this book (while certainly chick lit) falls into another category altogether. I think this is the first and only time that Jane Green's writing addresses real issues that women (and men) go through. The endings in the book aren't always happy and I like that. You don't know from page one, or even page 101, where the book is going to go. The characters are real, down to earth, funny, insightful and, most of all, human. I really, really enjoyed this book! It does remind me of the movie "The Big Chill" in that a group of friends reunites after one of their own dies, but that's where the similarities end. I highly recommend this book. In fact, I would even re read it. Kudos, Jane Green!
Currently reading
January 20, 2025✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*Pre-Read✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
A coming of age book about friends meeting each other again after ages of separation. Would love for some second chance plot points 🫶
A coming of age book about friends meeting each other again after ages of separation. Would love for some second chance plot points 🫶
March 25, 2020
review to follow
January 10, 2016
I really didn't enjoy anything about this book. The only characters I even half-way liked were Anna and Paul. If you enjoy listening to someone whine continually about her husband (a man she choose to marry knowing how she felt about him) then this is the book for you. Otherwise I couldn't get past the selfishness and attitude problems of the characters. In reading other reviews this book is referred to as 'chick lit' and is a good one. I go back to my original foray into chick lit, which is Sophie Kinsella. That is good, silly, fun. This book seems like it's trying to justify adultery. Holly also throws around later in the book that she is afraid of her husband, which is really making light of spousal abuse. He might be rude, or overbearing, but at no time is there actual abuse. Being a 40 year old woman myself, I was embarrassed by the portrayal of women my age in this book. Grow up, put on your big girl pants, stop whining, and take responsibility for your own behavior is what I wanted to yell at the characters throughout the book.
August 8, 2011
Second Chance's by Jane Green is a book I have been meaning to read for some time and finally got around to doing so. The book focuses on four main characters; Holly, Olivia, Saffron and Paul, who were all best friends in school and have been reunited following the death of one of their close friends; Tom. They find themselves not only having to deal with their individual grief but it also causes them to re-examine their lives, leading them all to realise that they need one another.
Even though there are multiple characters in this book, many of which narate at some point or other, it is not difficult to remember and relate to each of the characters due to the way Jane Green has developed them. Even though the subject matter in the novel focuses around the death of a character, the book does not become too sombre and is still light and easy going.
I loved this book, not only because of the way Jane Green narrates and develops her characters but also because this novel holds real meaning for me. Recently one of my school friends mom's died and it brought a lot of us back together agaian to rally around for her. Now we are all closer than ever.
There have been some bad reviews of this book on here, but I have to say I really enjoyed it. I am a big fan of Jane Green having read most of her previous novels and this one did not disappoint. There is so much more to this book than just your usual chick lit novel. Read it.
http://chicklitaholic.blogspot.com/
Even though there are multiple characters in this book, many of which narate at some point or other, it is not difficult to remember and relate to each of the characters due to the way Jane Green has developed them. Even though the subject matter in the novel focuses around the death of a character, the book does not become too sombre and is still light and easy going.
I loved this book, not only because of the way Jane Green narrates and develops her characters but also because this novel holds real meaning for me. Recently one of my school friends mom's died and it brought a lot of us back together agaian to rally around for her. Now we are all closer than ever.
There have been some bad reviews of this book on here, but I have to say I really enjoyed it. I am a big fan of Jane Green having read most of her previous novels and this one did not disappoint. There is so much more to this book than just your usual chick lit novel. Read it.
http://chicklitaholic.blogspot.com/
April 29, 2009
Found this book predictable but enjoyable as the characters were real and the themes of death and divorce, universal.
Favorite passage about grieving:
"The problem with grief is that it doesn't go away. As time ticks on, the rawness dissipates somewhat, and you find yourself settling into the pain, becoming accustomed to it, wearing it around your shoulders like an old, heavy scarf....And life has to go on. There are children to look after, meals to cook, cards to illustrate, playdates to arrange. Grief has to be filed away, compartmentalized, allowed out only when the rest of your life is sufficiently organized when you can have time to yourself to give in to the pain."
Experiencing losing a friend this week, I thought, I don't have time for this feeling right now, I don't have the energy to feel this. I have things to do.
And on divorce:
"For this, she realizes, is why you lose friends when you get a divorce. ... because in getting divorced you force people to question their own marriages. And we never know what goes on behind closed doors. We may assume that our friends' marriages are strong and sacred, but when people listen to the reasons why you left and how you knew it was wrong, they realize that their own marriages aren't so strong. And if it can happen to you, then it can happen to them too."
Favorite passage about grieving:
"The problem with grief is that it doesn't go away. As time ticks on, the rawness dissipates somewhat, and you find yourself settling into the pain, becoming accustomed to it, wearing it around your shoulders like an old, heavy scarf....And life has to go on. There are children to look after, meals to cook, cards to illustrate, playdates to arrange. Grief has to be filed away, compartmentalized, allowed out only when the rest of your life is sufficiently organized when you can have time to yourself to give in to the pain."
Experiencing losing a friend this week, I thought, I don't have time for this feeling right now, I don't have the energy to feel this. I have things to do.
And on divorce:
"For this, she realizes, is why you lose friends when you get a divorce. ... because in getting divorced you force people to question their own marriages. And we never know what goes on behind closed doors. We may assume that our friends' marriages are strong and sacred, but when people listen to the reasons why you left and how you knew it was wrong, they realize that their own marriages aren't so strong. And if it can happen to you, then it can happen to them too."
April 13, 2008
4 friends (Paul, Holly, Olivia & Saffron) are reunited after their friend Tom dies in a terrorist attack. These friends have not seen each other in 20 years, yet when they come back together they are able to bond and share their life stories.
Each of the 4 characters is likable and the reader can stay interested in the story lines of the characters.
Holly is a mother of 2; she adores her children, but is married to a man who she really doesn't love. Will she stay married for the kids sake, or will she get a divorce so she can try to be happy herself.
Paul and his wife Anna have been trying to have a baby with no sucess, even though they are happy in every other aspect of life. Will they become parents or will they have that void forever?
I really liked this book and I would actually like to read some more of Jane Green's novels.
Each of the 4 characters is likable and the reader can stay interested in the story lines of the characters.
Holly is a mother of 2; she adores her children, but is married to a man who she really doesn't love. Will she stay married for the kids sake, or will she get a divorce so she can try to be happy herself.
Paul and his wife Anna have been trying to have a baby with no sucess, even though they are happy in every other aspect of life. Will they become parents or will they have that void forever?
I really liked this book and I would actually like to read some more of Jane Green's novels.
May 1, 2021
Four friends get together after one of their high school friends is tragically dies in a terrorist attack. Soon we learn that life doesn't always turn out the way you plan.
Holly is married to Marcus whom she has never loved. Olivia has become pregnant from a one night stand and isn't sure if she wants to keep the baby. Saffron is in love with a married man. Paul and his wife Anna have been trying to get pregnant with the help of expensive fertility injections.
Holly is married to Marcus whom she has never loved. Olivia has become pregnant from a one night stand and isn't sure if she wants to keep the baby. Saffron is in love with a married man. Paul and his wife Anna have been trying to get pregnant with the help of expensive fertility injections.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2015
I so rarely read books about ordinary people doing ordinary things, so it always gets to me when I realize that I actually enjoyed it very much. I think I had that experience with the first Green novel I read. The characters in the book are normally very down to earth, people you could imagine knowing at some point in your life. They typically have very ordinary problems that you don't think will make for a good read, but then they do, because they're so believable. It's honest to think that when you get to your forties, you will have problems similar to those the characters in the book faced. That being said, I did find the tragedy in the novel unnecessary, and the addition of his little brother into the mix kind of... Flat. One noted. Because essentially, his relationship with the basic main character (Holly's life is discussed the most throughout the book) isn't exactly important. One could argue that he allows Holly to break out of an unhappy marriage, but the truth is that it didn't have to be him, specifically. She could have had an emotional (and ultimately physical) relationship with anyone and it would have been the same deal. The only thing that the tragic death did was allow these friends to get back together with one another, but it wasn't ultimately necessary...
Still though, I did actually enjoy the story and while I am quite a bit younger than the characters in the book, I feel like it's an honest description of possible life scenarios.
Still though, I did actually enjoy the story and while I am quite a bit younger than the characters in the book, I feel like it's an honest description of possible life scenarios.
November 21, 2008
... I wouldn't have grabbed this off the shelf if I'd paid attention to the fact that it's Brit lit. I typically find that stuff too cynical, drugs, smoking, abortion :(, adultery, premarital sex all seem to abound in popular British literature. It's always interesting to read how Americans are portrayed but the rest is such a downer.
This was OK. Better than some others I've stumbled across. It was readable, but not something I couldn't put down. I had to focus on getting it read.
Ah, also, to quote cyears, "I'm not sure what happened to Jane Green's writing craft in this book; the POV jumps wildly in and out of various character's heads, sometimes in the same sentence. The tense shifts from present to past and back."
I agree and also noticed several obvious typos that threw me off a bit.
This was OK. Better than some others I've stumbled across. It was readable, but not something I couldn't put down. I had to focus on getting it read.
Ah, also, to quote cyears, "I'm not sure what happened to Jane Green's writing craft in this book; the POV jumps wildly in and out of various character's heads, sometimes in the same sentence. The tense shifts from present to past and back."
I agree and also noticed several obvious typos that threw me off a bit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2010
I was disappointed in this book. Firstly, there were so many characters introduced and I found that I only really cared about Holly. So much time was spent on the other characters and they really weren't all that interesting. Secondly, the HEA (happily ever after) at the end for Holly was really lacking. It seemed like the author just got tired of writing the book at the end and wanted to wrap it up with a relationship that was explained in just a couple paragraphs. The whole reunion scene at the end was not exciting to me either. Thirdly, what happened to Will? Who knows? I was totally falling for Will, too. I suppose the book was interesting enough for me to read the entire thing, but it was rather depressing. It really could have been better if the ending wasn't so dreadful.
December 5, 2010
Second Chance
By Jane Green (Penguin, Michael Joseph)
JANE Green has a profound insight into people’s lives, relationships and loves, which she captures beautifully in Second Chance.
A group of old school friends are reunited 20 years later when Tom, the one in the group who kept in contact with all his mates, dies. After the funeral the four friends decide to keep in contact with each other.
I would not class myself as a chick lit fan but I became totally absorbed in the characters’ lives and how they provided some much needed comfort through each other’s personal dilemmas. The friends were amazed at how easily it was to pick up their friendship after so many years.
An un-put-down-able read. — Nicolette Scrooby
(Published in the Daily Dispatch on January 12, 2008)
By Jane Green (Penguin, Michael Joseph)
JANE Green has a profound insight into people’s lives, relationships and loves, which she captures beautifully in Second Chance.
A group of old school friends are reunited 20 years later when Tom, the one in the group who kept in contact with all his mates, dies. After the funeral the four friends decide to keep in contact with each other.
I would not class myself as a chick lit fan but I became totally absorbed in the characters’ lives and how they provided some much needed comfort through each other’s personal dilemmas. The friends were amazed at how easily it was to pick up their friendship after so many years.
An un-put-down-able read. — Nicolette Scrooby
(Published in the Daily Dispatch on January 12, 2008)
May 24, 2012
The second book I read in English.
I came across this book by chance when I was looking around at newspaper's at the airport. I just read into it and I found it interesting that the main characters are the same age as I am and they are all somehow rethinking and evaluating their lives, like I also often do.
Actually they used to be class mates or at the same form and they get together because one of their friends died abruptly. The very old friendships prove to be alive and partly because of losing such a close friend, partly because of their age and partly because of their life situations they start to reflect on their lives, which is much easier having close friends around you. I found it interesting that the characters are all in very different life-situations.
I came across this book by chance when I was looking around at newspaper's at the airport. I just read into it and I found it interesting that the main characters are the same age as I am and they are all somehow rethinking and evaluating their lives, like I also often do.
Actually they used to be class mates or at the same form and they get together because one of their friends died abruptly. The very old friendships prove to be alive and partly because of losing such a close friend, partly because of their age and partly because of their life situations they start to reflect on their lives, which is much easier having close friends around you. I found it interesting that the characters are all in very different life-situations.
July 6, 2008
I'm about halfway through and just totally love it. I am not usually into "chick lit," but then again this book doesn't seem to fit in this category.
I've had a couple of issues with the editing of the book (found one paragraph that looks like it should have been taken out - there wsa basically the same paragraph down the page, just worded differently. Weird), but the story is really good. It's basically the Big Chill, but for some reason, I identify with these characters a lot. Maybe because one of them - Holly - is like the bizarro-me.
Anyway, I recommend it to anyone.
I've had a couple of issues with the editing of the book (found one paragraph that looks like it should have been taken out - there wsa basically the same paragraph down the page, just worded differently. Weird), but the story is really good. It's basically the Big Chill, but for some reason, I identify with these characters a lot. Maybe because one of them - Holly - is like the bizarro-me.
Anyway, I recommend it to anyone.
April 25, 2016
This is a book about friendship - and truly great friends they all were. It is also about a marriage that is no longer viable, people looking for love and wanting to be their true selves. It is about loss too and the desire to have children and the difficulties with that. This one did not grab me like Summer Secrets did.
November 13, 2011
I have enjoyed all of Jane Green's books. She writes to things we know, deal with, see, hear about, daily life. This book was about friends that hadn't seen each other in years and was funny, sad and enlightening on how we change over the years and how it only enriches our friendship with others.
October 12, 2017
I wanted to love this book. I read and loved Jemima J when I read it many years ago. This book had all the potential for a great story, but in many places it just fell flat. It got good and intriguing and I couldn’t put it down about 200 pages too late. It starts out very slow and ended too predictably. I had such high hopes for this book and they just weren’t realized.
December 13, 2019
A death of a friend,reunites the other 4 friends.Each one of them seems to have the perfect life on the surface,but under their mask,hides the truth of their lives.Each one has to find their strength and support each other as they go where life leads them.Was an okayish book,a bit of a hard read though
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2025
I listened to it and the narrator sounded so much older than the characters. I also thought it could have used some editing, a lot of rambling descriptions and side notes were unnecessary. Marcus was like a cartoon villain and the first part with them all dealing with grief was so depressing and a total drag. I'm glad everyone had a happy ending but I did not really like them.
December 23, 2024
Not the worst book but definitely not the best. The main character, Holly, is unbelievably annoying and whiny. However, the other characters are pretty likable and the basis of the book - friendship- is pretty cute.
July 4, 2018
A good (but not great) beach read
June 3, 2019
This was a very long drawn out story which quite frankly, if you have a depressive nature, I wouldn't bother reading.
Whilst I understand the turmoil grief can cause it went on about it for too long when the best friend (Tom) of the characters gets blown up.
The last half a dozen chapters were a bit more interesting if you can persevere with it.
Whilst I understand the turmoil grief can cause it went on about it for too long when the best friend (Tom) of the characters gets blown up.
The last half a dozen chapters were a bit more interesting if you can persevere with it.
July 26, 2022
Ehh. I cried a little but other than that I don’t have anything exciting to say about this book.
July 3, 2025
A very good read of friends all getting a second chance
August 8, 2025
This isn’t light and fluffy but a portrayal of where 4 high school friends lives led them til they reunited around 40
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