When life is hard, sometimes fantastic friendships are all that keep us going. The six book recommendations on this list feature main characters facing serious problems–depression, murder, abuse, natural disaster. In each book, it’s a friendships that pull the characters through the toughest spots. Read one of these books and then call a friend to tell them how much you appreciate them.
“The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.”
Perks of Being a Wallflower is in my top 10 books of all time. It is considered YA, but given that it is set in the 1992, I’d argue that plenty of middle-aged adults will nostalgically connect to it . The novel beautifully captures the roller coaster of teen friendships and first love (for other first love books click here). Perks of Being Wallflower also touches on some important topics like sexuality, suicide, drugs, and sexual abuse.
“In 1969, Ginny Richardson’s heart was torn open when her baby girl, Lucy, born with Down Syndrome, was taken from her. Under pressure from his powerful family, her husband, Ab, sent Lucy away to Willowridge, a special school for the “feeble-minded.” Two years later, when Ginny’s best friend, Marsha, shows her a series of articles exposing Willowridge as a hell-on-earth, she knows she can’t leave her daughter there. With Ginny’s six-year-old son in tow, Ginny and Marsha drive to the school to see Lucy for themselves. What they find sets their course on a heart-racing journey across state lines—turning Ginny into a fugitive. Keeping Lucy is a searing portrait of just how far a mother’s love can take her.“
Keeping Lucy is the kind of book that tugs at your heartstrings. What’s not to love? A mom trying to do right by her child in the face of backlash from her family and the law. A darling little girl with Down Syndrome. And a fantastic best friend who risks everything to help. It’s a road trip, a family saga, and historical fiction all rolled into one well-written package. Keeping Lucy was also featured in my post on books recommended for Mother’s Day.
“A murder…A tragic accident…Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.
Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.
Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.”
Also a hit show on HBO, Big Little Lies is a page-turner that will have you up all night. So many delicious secrets, so many intrigues, so much drama. And of course, a true friendship through it all which gives hope and grounding to the main character (and the reader).
“Angelina returns to her father’s hometown of New Hope to complete her dissertation on the Carnegie libraries, just as Traci and Gayle arrive in town—Traci as an artist-in-residence at the renovated Carnegie Arts Center and Gayle as a refugee whose neighboring town, Prairie Hill, has just been destroyed by a tornado. The discovery of an old journal inspires the women to create a library and arts center as the first act of rebuilding Prairie Hill after the tornado. A Full of Kansas history—from pioneer homesteaders to Carrie Nation to orphan trains— To the Stars through Difficulties is a contemporary story of women changing their world, and finding their own voices, powers, and self-esteem in the process.“
I mentioned To the Stars Through Difficulties in a previous post, 10 Books about Striving for a Better World. It was so perfect for this list though, I couldn’t leave it off. The book features three new friends who lean on each other as each faces her own crisis.
“Sometimes the most enviable life is really a private hell. On the surface, Sarah Jenkins appears to have it all: a handsome, wealthy and successful husband, a precocious five-year-old daughter, and a beautiful home in an affluent Seattle neighborhood. Her quirky best friend and fellow high school teacher, Maggie, marvels at her luck—and envies her happiness. But Sarah is far from happy. She feels empty and on edge, harangued by a critical inner voice—and as the truth about her marriage and details of her past emerge, her “perfect” life begins to crumble. But just when it seems all is lost, a long forgotten, unopened letter changes everything, and with the support of friends, Sarah begins to rebuild her life. “
Better Than This follows Sarah’s journey through a crumbling marriage. Two friends provide the emotional support and honesty which pull Sarah through the breakup and just as importantly logistical support (child care). This a book celebrates “chosen families”.
“Rosemary has lived in Brixton, London, all her life, but everything is changing. The lido, an outdoor pool where she’s swum daily since its opening, is threatened with closure by a local housing developer. It was at the lido that Rosemary escaped the devastation of World War II; here she fell in love with her husband, George; here she found community during her marriage and since George’s death. Kate has moved to Brixton and feels desperately alone. That is, until she’s assigned to write about the lido’s closing. Soon Kate’s portrait of the pool focuses on a singular woman: Rosemary. And as Rosemary slowly opens up to Kate, both women are nourished and transformed in ways they never thought possible.”
Mornings with Rosemary by Libby Page is a simply charming novel about an unlikely friendship between a twenty-something year old and an eighty-five year old. Page writes about a pool with such poetic beauty that she makes this perfectly normal pool seem magical. This a beautiful novel with a richness that brings the story, the pool, and especially the characters alive.