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These Girls
Sarah Pekkanen
I've loved Sarah Pekkanen since she came onto the writer's scene with The Opposite of Me and she once again sealed it for me with her sophomore book Skipping A Beat. So when her third book, These Girls, came out, of course, I had to get my hands on it. I zipped through it with a frenzy and fell in love with these girls like you wouldn't believe.
There are three main characters in These Girls and it's such a great book because they're all equals - not one character takes the stage. You've got Cate, who has just been promoted to features editor at Gloss magazine, a girl who doesn't have to try to maintain her size 4 figure, but who feels like she has to prove her spot at her job. She's also keeping a secret that might very much jeopardize her new position.
Then there's beloved Renee, who is everybody's friend, a size 12 curvy girl, my type of girlfriend, the girl at the party everyone knows, everyone wants to be friends with. She's trying awfully hard to win the job of beauty editor, but has doubts because of her weight, and falls into some serious trouble when she discovers a quick weight-loss tactic. But will the fact that she's losing weight be the end-all to her woes, or will it just cause further problems? She's also dealing with the fact that her parents are having problems of their own, and a mysterious new family member reveals herself to Renee to stir up even more doubts about herself and her family.
Abby - what can I say about Abby - Abby just wants to be loved and have a family. She's escaping from something terrible, but even she's not exactly sure what she's running from - a secret from her past? The fact that she had infiltrated herself into the family she was nannying for just a little too much? She runs to NY to her brother, Trey, for help.
Of course, there's Trey, hottie Trey. Renee dated him briefly, but things didn't quite work out the way she had hoped, and now there's a teeny spark brewing between him and another character. I love how Sarah brings in just enough romance to keep the pages turning, but not too much to take away from the story.
The way Sarah Pekkanen brings these three women together is a perfect story of friendship. All three are in need of something they each don't know how to get. I think they're all looking for acceptance of themselves, and acceptance in their jobs, in other women, in the men they choose to be with.
As Sarah herself has said in interviews, her stories always have surprises in the end, and These Girls' ending did surprise me a bit. I may at first have wanted a little bit of a different ending, but after I closed the book, I thought for a few minutes. I thought about what the story was about. I thought about WHO the story was about. I realized the title of the book is THESE GIRLS. And then I knew that it was the most perfect ending for another wonderful book by Sarah Pekkanen!
ALSO--If you've never checked out Sarah's SHORT STORIES, if you have a spare hour during the day, check out ALL IS BRIGHT and LOVE, ACCIDENTALLY -- you will absolutely LOVE them -- they are just 99 cents each and they are so very sweet! Don't miss out on these two awesome stories!
To win a copy of These Girls, tell me a BEST FRIEND story - it can be from last week or from kindergarten, but something memorable!
Don't forget to check the last books to enter them if you haven't already -
The Wedding Beat
You Are What You Wear
How To Eat A Cupcake
Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE PREVIOUS POSTS as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books.
One entry per person as always! Please include an email address or a uniquely identifying user name when entering to win!
65 comments:
My best friend and her husband had been trying to get pregnant for a while..... so I almost felt guilty when I told her I was pregnant with my second. She was a little depressed but happy for me none the less. The day I brought my daughter home from the hospital she found out she was pregnant! She's due next month with a girl.... our baby girls will be 9 months apart. They will have no choice but to be best friends!!!
kndyer
My bf just had her first baby this week, after many years of struggling, and of course, told me that her baby isn't very photogenic and looks way better in person. She just makes me laugh. Melissa Rem
My bf inadvertently introduced me to someone who think I may be falling for.....
Qweska8402
My best friend and I have so many childhood memories of lazy days sitting in the sun playing what if... So cool now to see how our lives are turning out!
I met my best friend my first day at freshman orientation in college. I was kind of an "outcast" and I saw her sitting outside and I walked up and asked her if she hated preppy's. She said yes, and that was all it took. hahaha been 15 years now and we are growing strong. Don't have the hatred of preppies anymore though. More open minded thankfully.
My best friend from high school just reconnected with me via Facebook. After 30 plus years. Priceless.
My best friend inspired me to travel. She had traveled all over the world and had moved from country to country. We lost touch for a few years and were reunited just before my trip to Australia. It turns out she was living in Hong Kong so I took a week to visit on my way back and we've been in touch ever since.
Margaret(singitm)
I have a group of best friends from my home town. We get together every time I go home, which is about once a month. It's so nice being able to let loose with them and say anything.
My BFF's & I all met through an online support group!
LOVE her books! so excited for this one... my BFF introduced me to my now hubby...we are forever connected and its a fun story for our kids :-}
I knew my best friend was gay before he came out and when he asked me out on a date, I had to tell him I knew that he didn't have feelings for me like that and that I knew he was gay. He came out to all his family and friends that weekend and we've stayed strong friends since.
Eloisepeaches
Had a great group I met when my oldest was a baby. We have all moved and drifted apart. :-(
Iambtinrb
My BF and I lost contact when he got married, his wife felt threatened by your friendship. :(
My bestfriend cleaned me and my house up at 3 am when I had too much to drink in college.
One of my best friends is getting married this summer. I'm a bridesmaid, and her bridal shower is this weekend!
One of my best friends is getting married this summer. I'm a bridesmaid, and her bridal shower is this weekend!
I have a small group of close friends from high school who get together whenever we are all in town. My BFF from high school only lives 5 miles away and yet we rarely see each other :( I need to make more of an effort!!
My best friend and I have known each other basically all of our lives. In high school, I found out she hated me when we were kids. Now she won't go away!
-Denise F.
Even though we don't always see eye to eye, my best friend and I love and support each other through everything and will be bridesmaids in each other's weddings (her-2012, me-2013) :)
I have a couple of BFF's and they were there for me when I was going thru my divorce and my many issues still dealing with my ex in relation to our daughter. the best therapy by far.
My BF and I act like silly teenage girls when we are around each other! We have silly, funny sayings that we say all the time, and we laugh really loud and don't care what others think about us! She moved 2 hours away in the fall and we don't get to see each other quite as often, but we talk all the time and still have a blast! Next weekend is her Bachelorette party, and it's gonna be a HOOT!!
i married my best friend. :) every day is full of stories, some fuuny, some not.
My best friend is my sister. We are very close in age and so we do just about everything together. There are not many stories that do not include her. We love the tv show FRIENDS, and anytime we can quote something from the show we do! Funny and annoying =)!
lizett34@yahoo.com
My best friends & I used to drive around at night until our curfew just chatting & driving by boy's houses. LOL We used to call it cruising the hood. :)
In 1988-ish, whatever year the winter Olympics would have been, when we were about 8, my best friend and I re-enacted all the events in my living room. The two-man luge was the best - our crash was spectacular!
I met my best friend in math class in college and she's keeps me grounded!
Reconnected with my bff from pre-k on FB. she moved and changed schools the next year so I hadn't seen her in almost 20 years!!
crystal717
My best friend in elementary school and I became so notorious for our "fights" during the school day that our 2nd grade teacher used to tell us to go into the hall after recess sometimes to work things out. After that, I'd sometimes tell the teacher we had had a fight so we could go in the hall and I'd ask if she wanted to come sleep over. Ha!
Emily116
When we were in college in Michigan, my best friend and I took a last-minute road trip to Chicago. This was in the days when before internet mapping got really big and we ended up lost on the south side. A police officer pulled us over and then escorted us back to the highway (apparently we were in a pretty bad area). Long story short, we had a wonderful weekend and a now funny (then scary) story to tell on top of it all :)
My BFF has been my BFF since we were 8 years old and we turn 40 this year. We text regularly, but on the rare occassion we actually get to see one another it is just like we saw each other the day before...It has always been this way! We are so lucky!
I met my BFF in a Mom/child swim class. Her son and my daughter share a birthday, so we referred to them as twins with different mothers! The "twins" are now almost 23. They don't see much of each other anymore, but we try to get together as often as we can.
Bev V. (shaggy552@gmail.com)
I met my best friends in high school. We're in our 30's now so we've pretty much been through it all together, single life, marriage, the birth of kids, and the loss of parents. I have so many great memories with these people...I wouldn't trade them for the world! :)
My best friend had a verbally abusive dad, I had a verbally abusive mom, and we found our friendship in one another... to this day, 28 years later we are still best friends.
My best friend and I have children 8 months apart.
kyfaithw at aol dot com
I had dinner with my 2 best friends last night, at which point we did the math and learned that we've been besties for 31 years.
My best friend is loud, nutty, and the life of a party. I am quiet and shy. How we managed to become friends is still a mystery to me but we have been friends for a very long time. We have supported one another through births, funerals, and everything in between. For the past 1 1/2 years she has been battling cancer and undergoing surgery and chemo. It has been very difficult to stand by and watch her suffer both physically and emotionally. I don't know if I could be as brave as she has been over the past months. I admire her and love her and will stand by her through this awful disease.
wjzerangue at cox dot net
I met my best friend in nursery school. She beat me up because she thought I stole her penis. True story.
Two of my best friends flew out to Pennsylvania (from Wisconsin and Indiana) to be with me for two of my chemo treatments. That's true friendship! (Especially since one of them had three small children back home.)
bjoneill@hotmail.com
i had invited my best friend over for a new year's party when i was still in high school and she had never met my boyfriend...she asked if he was one of my younger brother's friends! we stayed up all night talking after all the other guests went home :)
My best friend from high school was on our reunion committee and called me to check my contact info when they were planning our 10th reunion. I ended up on the phone with her for 3 hours and it was like no time had passed. Now - another 10 years later (we just celebrated our 20th reunion), we talk almost every day. Amazing how some people are just meant to be in our lives no matter what!
When I found out I had gotten tickets to Oprah (in her last season!) I called my best friend screaming and she almost wrecked her car! We, along with two other of our closest friends, had the adventure of a lifetime in Chicago and I'll never forget standing next to her in the audience when Oprah walked by and shook our hands. One of our greatest bff memories!
When I was a kid, my best friend and I used to love to hang out at her house and blast the music while singing our favorite songs from the movie, Footloose.
My best friends and I always go away for a moms weekend a few times a year. It's just catching up, hanging out, not worrying about kids schedules or husbands schedules. It's a blast and all women need that time.
Nicole
my bff & I have the best drunk talks. LOL Nothing you can share after partly becuase you don't always remember everything & partly because it shouldn't be shared!!! :)
A few years back , my best friend left a new Pearl Jam CD as a surprise in my car's cd player one morning - I had been feeling down and it was the best pick-me-up! Jill Fay
I married my best friend. My girlfriends and I have grown apart over the years, we still talk, but it's not the same.
Sarah
I am working on my Master's in Special Education (in order to open up more job opportunities) in addition to my certification in Autism. About half was through my program my best friend's oldest son was diagnosed with Autism. It felt like I had been meant to take these courses just so I could be there for my best friend as she goes through this journey.
Carly H
my 'best friend' oriented me to my job...many years ago :)
karenk
kmkuka at yahoo dot com
You know you have a loyal friend when you threaten to throw one another out of a moving car, and still be in their wedding. But I do think that women have very, very few true friends.
The day I brought my oldest son home from the hospital after many hours of labor then a C section my family left me home with the baby alone. I couldn't sit up straight to even change a diaper. I called my best friend who came right over and stayed with me. Then that night my brother in law had a motorcycle wreck so she spent the night with me while everyone was at the hospital.
One of my best friends (Holly) and I text constantly throughout the day - even when we should be working or mothering. :) We have the most hilarious conversations. God forbid anyone ever looks over our text history!
Terri M.
My best friend from high school is the person I still call my best friend even though we don't talk that often and I haven't seen her since last year. Whenever we do get a chance to talk or hangout, it's always the same, like we just saw each other yesterday.
my sister was my best friend growing up
My best friend and I, as girls in grade school, many years ago, would sit in her pear tree almost all summer. Talking, laughing and eating pears, of course.
In kindergarten, my best friend and I used to exchange shoes every day. I would tell her which shoes to wear the next day because those were the ones I wanted to wear, and she would tell me which ones to wear. I don't remember how this started but it's funny to think about now!
ChristinaL
My best friend can always make me laugh - it is a great skill to be able to call on when I am blue.
BFF from high school slipped away about 15 years ago and I never pursued it.
Last month, she found me on. . you guessed . it FACEBOOK .
and we have reconnected with much laughter.
FB good for something I guess, lol
Me and three of my best girlfriends went out for mexican the other night, a rare treat indeed. We talked and laughed for a couple of hours, then laughed harder when the guys at the next booth basically confirmed they had been listening! Of course, there was a pitcher or two of margaritas involved...they got an earful ;) LeslieGC
My father got sick two years ago, cancer, and six months after that, I had to move and had to do it in about a day. I luckily found a place right away but was terribly stressed. It really helped that my best friend immediately took time off of work and helped me pack and move!
I'd love to win this book as I am a HUGE Sarah Pekannen fan.
queenofcrunk at gmail dot com
When I was in the hospital for the umteenth time, my best friend brought me on a visit, a beautiful Vera Bradley purse. She, my BFF, knows my favorite colors. It was beautiful cheering up gift. I was happy to see her and chat for a long period of time.We laughed and talked about a lot of subjects.
Cyndee Thomas
cyndee.thomas0@gmail.com
My best friend growing up lived across the street from me. Strangely we looked like twins. People used to mix us up all the time. There are some old pictures where I can't tell who is who in.
My best friend and I have gone through our teen years together but what has kept us together is the fact we were born on the same day to the year so we end up celebrating together every year for the past 20 years.
Msl1019@aol.com
I remember when I was in high school, my best friend and I were giggling uncontrollably when I sniffed a daisy and the petals went up my nose.
-Donna W.
My bf story is that my bf and I have been Bff's since 4th grade we are now 40 and can not believe all that we have been through not to mention we went our own way in HS not enemies just not wanting to hang with the same crowd. I went away to college she remained home. Upon my return from the first year of college and way too much parting ( why I was back)we some how reconnected and have stayed think as thieves ever since :)
There are always the BIG things... but the small things, when your friends are THERE when you need them most ... they are THERE for you! You remember and treasure those moments.
writeoncindy (at)yahoo(dot)com
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