The Story of Our Lives: A Novel

Sophie, Melissa, Amy, and Emily have been friends forever. Every year, they take a girls’ weekend away, just for themselves. As the years go by, the women share secrets, hurt each other, laugh with each other, and grow up together. The book begins in 1997 and ends in 2012.

The main strength of this book is the unusual way it’s organized. Each chapter is a new year and another girls’ weekend. The reader catches up on the characters’ lives from the past year at the same time they do. As the years go by, their lives become increasingly dark. These four friends confront an unrealistic plethora of major problems. This is not a fluffy beach read, nor is it all doom and gloom. Although the odds of any one group of friends encountering so many horrible problems seems very implausible, the actual writing is handled well and most of the characters are sympathetic. It’s an interesting new take on an often written tale, the enduring friendships of women. It also packs a couple of twists that readers may be able to see coming as the women’s lives unfold, but they aren’t obvious. It will keep you reading to the end to find out what will happen to everyone.