The False Friend

(Paperback)

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The bestselling author of Bee Season brilliantly explores the cruelty of children, the unreliability of memory, and the unpredictable forces that shape our adult selves.. "Haunting.... A compelling exploration of the fallibility of memory, explored through richly drawn characters."-San Francisco Chronicle Twenty years after Celia's best friend, Djuna, went missing, memories of that terrible day come rushing back-including the lie Celia remembers having told to conceal her role in Djuna's disappearance. But when Celia returns to her hometown to confess the truth, her family and childhood friends recall that day very differently. As Celia learns more about what may or may not have happened, she becomes increasingly uncertain whom she should trust.

Reviews

Haunting. . . . A compelling exploration of the fallibility of memory, explored through richly drawn characters.
San Francisco Chronicle

Riveting.
Richard Russo, author of That Old Cape Magic

Suspenseful and smart. . . . A timely take on the fraught emotional terrain of American schoolgirls.
People

Fascinating and fresh. . . . Written with psychological shrewdness, generosity and a sure hand.
The Washington Post

Goldbergs intelligence and psychological acuity are evident on every page. . . . Shes a smart, witty, highly observant writer, and in her latest, the authors prose is as exceptional as ever.
The Dallas Morning News

Cinematically weaving together Celias uneasy present with her disturbing past, Goldberg explores the intensity and volatility of friendships between young girls as well as the slipperiness of fidelity and memory.
The Village Voice

Personal and authentic. . . . Deep and emotionally complex. . . . Goldbergs portrayal of Celia and Djunas friendship is insightful and powerfully resonant.
Associated Press

Goldberg does a scarily fine job describing the mean dynamic in a clique of five 11-year-olds. . . . Tense and marvelous.
Entertainment Weekly

There is nothing as obsessive and cruel as the intimate friendships of young girls. Myla Goldbergs magnificent new novel mines this terrifying but exhilarating territory with precision, insight, and honesty.
Ayelet Waldman, author of Red Hook Road and Bad Mother

Wondrous. . . . A constantly surprising story. . . . Goldberg draws readers into a world in which people dont have single, lifelong identities. They morph.
The Asheville Citizen-Times (North Carolina)

Captivating. . . . Pitch perfect. . . . An irresistible story of a woman trying to reconcile her ever-warping memories, memories that ultimately are proven to be the most False Friend of all.
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)

Celias journey causes us to examine the impact of our words and deeds, the reliability of our memories, and how these things shape the people we ultimately grow to be.
Bay City Times (Michigan)

The term mean girls is elevated to a new level in Goldbergs moody novel. . . . This is a layered, understated novel about the complex, ambiguous nature of memory and its effect on the dynamics of relationships. Great fodder for reading groups.
Library Journal (starred review)

Author Bio

MYLA GOLDBERGis the author of several books, including Wickett's Remedy and the bestselling, critically acclaimed Bee Season, which was widely translated and adapted to film. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.