Between Friends [Mass Market Paperback]

Debbie Macomber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Debbie Macomber tells the story of a remarkable friendship -- and tells it in a remarkable way. Between Friends is a story in which every woman will recognize herself . . . and her best friend.

The friendship between Jillian Lawton and Lesley Adamski begins in the postwar era of the 1950s. As they grow up, their circumstances, their choices -- and their mistakes -- take them invirtually opposite directions. Lesley gets pregnant and marries young, living a cramped life defined by the demands of small children, not enough money, an unfaithful husband. Jillian lives those years on a college campus shaken by the Vietnam War and then as an idealistic young lawyer in New York City.

Over the years and across the miles, through marriage, children, divorce and widowhood, Jillian and Lesley remain close, sharing every grief and every joy. There are no secrets between friends . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The prolific Macomber follows up Thursdays at eight with this scrapbook-style novel, which relies solely on letters, newspaper clippings, diary entries and even school essays to tell the story of a friendship spanning more than half a century. Born in 1948 in the same Washington State town, Jillian Lawton and Lesley Adamski have vastly different backgrounds. Wealthy Jillian is on a trajectory to become a lawyer like her father. Just as smart, but from the wrong side of the tracks, Lesley is destined to remain in their native Washington; like her mother, she becomes pregnant at a young age by an alcoholic philanderer. Despite their different circumstances, Jillian and Lesley forge a grade-school friendship that lasts a lifetime and is evoked in their various communiques. Macomber's storytelling is undermined by the ambitious choice of format. Rather than providing intimacy, the "just a short note" conceit deals superficially with the most significant events of the last 50 years (a quick perusal of the half-page e-mail devoted to the World Trade Center attack will be enough to confirm this) and with the characters themselves, who are somewhat thinly drawn. As for the lessons learned - it's generally easier to be rich than poor, it's never too late to take up golf - there's not much that's revelatory. Still, while this book is unlikely to win her new fans, Macomber's old ones will give it a chance.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Prolific Macomber's latest traces the lives and friendship of Jillian Lawton and Lesley Adamski through their letters, diaries, and other correspondence. Jillian, the only child of wealthy parents, and Lesley, one of many children born into a poor family, meet when they are in grade school and are immediately taken with one another. Both girls are extremely smart, but Jillian's family wealth opens doors while Lesley must scrimp and save for everything. Jillian graduates from high school as valedictorian while a pregnant Lesley prepares for marriage. Jillian goes on to prestigious colleges and eventually becomes a lawyer and later a judge, while Lesley's family grows to four children and she gives up on her hope of becoming a nurse. Both women experience loss, from men to dreams, but through it all they remain the truest of friends for 50 amazing years. Although the correspondence format can grow tiresome, best-selling Macomber, with more than 100 romances and woman's fiction titles to her credit, sure has a way of pleasing readers. Megan Kalan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Mira (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155166674X
• ISBN-13: 978-1551666747
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With more than 100 million copies of her books sold worldwide, Debbie Macomber is one of today's most popular authors.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author is best known for her ability to create compelling characters and bring their stories to life in her books. Drawing on her own experiences and observations, Debbie writes heartwarming tales about small-town life, home and family and enduring friendships. Every book features the delightful sense of humor that readers around the world clamor for.

Debbie is a regular resident on numerous bestseller lists, including the New York Times (55 times and counting), USA TODAY (currently 63 times) and Publishers Weekly (23 times to date). She is the first-ever recipient of the "readers' choice" Quill Award for Romance Fiction, for 44 Cranberry Point, the fourth book in her highly popular Cedar Cove series. Debbie has also been honored with a RITA® Award, a Romantic Times BOOKreviews Career Achievement Award and is a multiple winner of both the Holt Medallion and the B. Dalton Award.

Her recent books include 92 Pacific Boulevard, 8 Sandpiper Way, 74 Seaside Avenue and Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook, as well as Twenty Wishes, A Cedar Cove Christmas, Summer on Blossom Street and The Perfect Christmas.

For more information on Debbie and her books, visit her Web site: www.DebbieMacomber.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just between us, this is a wonderful book!, October 13, 2002

By 

Nancy R. Katz "NancyK18" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Between Friends (Hardcover)

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 wife
Jillian is afforded a life filled with a beautiful home, wonderful trips, pretty clothes and her own car at 16. Jillian is able to attend college in New York and becomes a fast paced lawyer although a high school romance will leave her heart broken and unable to move on with other men.

Throughout the years, through good times, bad times, victories and tragedies the friendship of these two women help to anchor and sustain them no matter what life throws their way. They manage to always be there for one another even when they are miles apart from one another. At first we watch them as young girls writing notes in class to one another, then as teenagers writing in their journals, as young wives and mothers in letters crisscrossing the country and finally as middle aged women corresponding through electronic mail. We are also privy to other pertinent correspondence in their lives like graduation invitations, wedding invitations, birth

announcements, telegrams from overseas and obituary notices. And as we read the lives of these two women lay out before our eyes and we get to know them as if they are our family.

I really loved the characters from this book and the time period when it was set. From the two women's writings the author also touches on many historical events. From the civil rights movement to the assassinations of the 60's to the tragedy of 9/11/01, this book is a wonderful representation of what it was like to grow up in the 60's For me, a child of the 60's and the same age as Lesley and Jillian, this book was a walk down memory land which I won't ever forget.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I FEEL LIKE ONE OF THE FRIENDS!, June 24, 2002

By 

JJ Stark (Cicero, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Between Friends (Hardcover)

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. Sometimes funny, plenty reminiscent, but mostly heartfelt, this story will stay with you forever and I guarantee you will return to this book again and again over the years if for no other reason, then to relive some point and time in our history that may have had a similar affect on you and your life as it had on Lesley and Jillian. Bravo Debbie Macomber - it will be difficult to top this one! (but I know you'll try!)

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of My New Favorite Books!!!, July 15, 2005

By 

Mercedes L. Johnmeyer "The Most Happy" (Summerville, SC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Between Friends (Hardcover)

I loved this book! I loved everything about it, the format, the women, the secondary characters, all of it. This is Jillian and Lesley's story about friendship and changing times. Formatted as diary/journal entries, notes, letters, newspaper clippings, and e-mails, we see these two women from the time they were born (1948), all through their school days, marriages, wars, children, lost loves, acts of terrorism, and medical scares.

Though they are both so different (Jillian's family is very wealthy, while Lesley's is just the opposite) they manage to always be their for one another. Even after Jillian moves from Washington State to New York for school, and eventually her job.

Lesley got pregnant and married young (to a dead-beat lowlife) and never left their little town, while Jillian was off to the city for school and big dreams. There was not a part of this book I didn't like. I read it every chance I could get, and now that I'm finished, I'm mailing it to my best friend back home. I definitely recommend this book for women, and I can't wait to read more from Ms. Macomber!