Among Friends Book Review In this mysterious novel, Among Friends, written by Caroline B. Cooney, Jennie is perfect. What matters most to her is demolished when she tries to outshine everyone with her perfection. Her friends are filled with jealousy and rage over her. They feel like she is leaving them behind, already planning her career and the future ahead already laid out. With that Hillary and Emily leave Jennie out of everything they do watching her burst. What price do you have to pay to be number one? Will Jennie explode or will she keep quiet about what’s happening? In the book, Among Friends, Jennie is the main character. Jennie is a determined person. She never gives up. Jennie always wants to do spectacular things such as making a laser science project and making two plays by herself. She tries to impress everyone, but the teachers are the only ones awed every time by her work. Jennie is puzzled throughout the whole book about why everyone avoids her. In the end she finally understands why people do that. She does a terrible thing to herself making everyone sad. Jennie is a multi-dimensional person because her feelings change a lot during the book. Among Friends is a very descriptive book because they write what happens to each of them and also their actions. They each keep a journal for ELA and their journals are put in a book. They write about their lives from their point of view. It’s an original and unique novel. I have never read a book about two girls who are jealous because their friend is better than them. This novel is for readers who enjoy reading mystery books. I think this book is for reader from the age of 11 to 13.
2.5 stars. Among Friends uses the "our English teacher is making us keep a journal" device, and the story weaves together six juniors' entries. There's The Awesome Threesome, the mysterious new boy, and the preppy couple. The Awesome Threesome has grown up together, but now Jennie has pulled ahead as a genius, composing, writing, and making costumes for the school pageant. Emily and Hillary are jealous, and life has no meaning unless you have friends to share it with. (1980s rich Connecticut kids go skiing in Vermont or to NYC for the day, and one even drives a Porsche to school.)
What do You think about Among Friends (1988)?
Loved this as a teen, more for the way it was written than the actual story itself. I love the different perspectives of the six characters as told through their journal entries. The author does a good job of making each student unique and we get to see each of them through their own and their peers' eyes. While the main crux of the story involves a threesome of best friends drifting apart, the tertiary characters are actually more interesting to me. I wound up liking Ainsley, Jared and Paul far more than the three original characters. Paul's ordeal was hardly original, but his character improves and grows quite likable. Ditto for Ainsley and Jared, at first glance they are pretty dull preppy types but actually grow into something more.
—Catherine Spaulding
First off, Caroline B. Cooney's books are really good. And this is just another on of them. Summerized-Three VERY VERY popular friends who ruled the school break up...because one of them started writing plays and songs and doing amazing things that made her even more popular, leaving the other two off her track. But the truth was, this play writing, singing, very talented girl did not have the life that less popular ppl imagined. Written through journal entries of MANY PEOPLE (lang. arts teacher made them keep a journal...like so many other books) you have to realize-being popular isn't all that wonderful. The End :
—Maria
