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aliliz26's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. So many ways in which every reader can relate. It's my first recommendation to any of my friends.
jmlangan's review against another edition
3.0
The story of 10 girls who remained friends from elementary school into their mid-forties. While there wasn't anything climactic about the story, I enjoyed their reflections on how they were raised vs. how they are raising their own children....and mostly, that we're all doing it wrong. Impressive that theses women were able to maintain such a close friendship over many decades and many miles. I'm so thankful for the friends I have now; even if I've only met them over the past few years.
tjgreads's review against another edition
3.0
A dear friend of mine recommended this one after she read it for her all-women book club, saying that the relationships among these 10 women reminded her of our friendship with a group of girls from college.
I thought this book was very interesting, but I was drawn more to the little scientific bits about studies on women's friendships than the relationships of the women featured. I found it a little difficult to buy that a group that large (10 now, 11 as children - one girl passed away in her twenties) could really all be that close to one another, and the more I read of the book the more convinced I was that there were powerful connections between some of the women within the group, but as a whole, not every single woman was great friends with every other woman. I guess this is to be expected.
I did think the story was a good one and it really made me miss my good friends. We are all spread out around the country and communicate mainly by e-mail and text message, which is similar to the Ames girls.
Another note - the author, Jeffrey Zaslow, had an odd voice at times as he was describing the friendship of this group of women. It was clear he was an outsider, and his point of view could be strangely technical, which, for me, threw off the pace of the book. His at-a-distance, documentary kind of style really wrung a lot of the passion out of the topic, and I think a lot of the beauty of this story got lost in the telling. I liked the story of these women and their journey together, but I sensed that the magic was lost in the way it was told.
I thought this book was very interesting, but I was drawn more to the little scientific bits about studies on women's friendships than the relationships of the women featured. I found it a little difficult to buy that a group that large (10 now, 11 as children - one girl passed away in her twenties) could really all be that close to one another, and the more I read of the book the more convinced I was that there were powerful connections between some of the women within the group, but as a whole, not every single woman was great friends with every other woman. I guess this is to be expected.
I did think the story was a good one and it really made me miss my good friends. We are all spread out around the country and communicate mainly by e-mail and text message, which is similar to the Ames girls.
Another note - the author, Jeffrey Zaslow, had an odd voice at times as he was describing the friendship of this group of women. It was clear he was an outsider, and his point of view could be strangely technical, which, for me, threw off the pace of the book. His at-a-distance, documentary kind of style really wrung a lot of the passion out of the topic, and I think a lot of the beauty of this story got lost in the telling. I liked the story of these women and their journey together, but I sensed that the magic was lost in the way it was told.
sternyblossom's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good book. It's a true story that details the lives of 11 women from Ames, Iowa and their friendship with each other.
gryphonmage's review against another edition
2.0
The women were interesting - the book was not. I felt like Zaslow was condescending towards the friendships of the women featured in the book - and towards women at large.
jessilite's review against another edition
1.0
This book was literally the worst. The only reason I finished it was because I'm reading it for book club. I have no idea what the point of the story was and the only one who would be interested in reading it is family members of the people in the book. It read like a really long, really boring, really stupid essay.
jmack491's review against another edition
4.0
A really good book about a lifelong friendship between 11 girls. Makes me wish I had taken better care of my own friendships.
karenv25's review against another edition
1.0
So far . . . okay. Not extremely well written, but interesting 'cause I actually know people mentioned here from my days at Iowa State.
sweetiowagirl's review against another edition
4.0
Are you kidding? Of course I loved this book! It was like reading an account of my early childhood. Boyd's ice cream on Duff. Drinking in cornfields. Your closest friends being people you've known since you were in second grade. This book could have been written about my life and friendships. Is that an Ames Girl trait? I don't know what other people not from Ames will think, but I would be curious to find out.
khagan16's review against another edition
3.0
Good stories, interesting people, fun connections to Ames and Iowa. Not a fan of the writing style, however.