Customer Reviews

Friend or Frenemy?: A Guide to the Friends You Need and the Ones You Don't

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Friend or Frenemy is the type of book that anyone can relate to. I felt like I was reading my life! Girls have a different relationship with their friends than guys do, and reading this book puts every girl in your life into a perfect category. I loved loved loved the book.

This is the worst book I've ever read. The authors spent more time cracking jokes in EVERY paragraph than making a point. I found the book childish and seemed like the only person who would benefit from reading it would be someone who was living alone, in an underground bunker for the first 20 years of their life, it's all COMMON SENSE. I was given this book, but NEVER would have picked it for myself, or anyone else!

This book gives you lots of hints on people. It's a very important guide for those who want to know how to deal with different situations and people in their lives.
It's a fun reading as the authors show the hilarious types of friendships and the awkward, difficult, not-so-comfortable moments they have.

I might have given this book two stars if it had been marketed in the greeting card section as a novelty item.

Friend or Frenemy is so filled with in-the-moment references that most (if not all) of the tongue-in-cheek humor now falls completely flat. Really -- who cares about Britney Spears pathetic performance at the 2007 Video Music Awards? If this book was published this year (2010), I have no doubt it would be filled with snarky observations and comparisons about Lindsey Lohan's legal drama and Bravo TV's dismal lineup of "real housewives."

The advice in this book is silly bordering on ridiculous. The book takes itself too seriously to be an out-and-out humor book, but it's also too shallow to offer any helpful advice or insight about friendship.

This was such a fun, light read! It was like having an iced coffee with a really trendy friend that is really "in the know" about pop culture. This book isn't deeply introspective, but I wouldn't call it simple or shallow or simplistic . . . or maybe it was, and that's exactly what makes it such a fun read!

Friend or Frenemy?: A Guide to the Friends You Need and the Ones You Don't
Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

Lavinthal and Rozler divide their 230-page book into three sections, "Friendly Conversation," "Your Buddy List: The People in Your Social Stratosphere," and "That's What Friends are (And Aren't) For." Honestly, this is a frank, straightforward, and very practical approach to friendship; however, what makes it truly a pleasure to read is the wit and charm the authors add. With just a dash of sarcasm, irony, and cynicism, the authors make this a must read for all those looking for, involved in, or just getting out of a friendship. Lavinthal is an editor at Cosmopolitan magazine, and Rozler works in book publishing and their experience in writing is obvious in this young, hip, and totally cool book. Here is a typical example of their approach: "No matter how many times a particular male friend has said to you, `You're like a sister to me,' a part of him can't help picturing you naked. (Gee, we wonder what part.) His crush might seem harmless at first -- that is, until he buys you a white suede outfit to replace the one you borrowed from your mom in exchange for pretending to be his girlfriend.'"