Grand Avenue - Joy Fielding

Title: Grand Avenue
Author: Joy Fielding
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 399
Date read: April, 2009

Summary: Looking back, it seemed like paradise: livesfilled with the blessings of friendship, marriage, children, and career. For twenty years, four friends -- Chris, Barbara, Susan, and Vicki -- shared everything and faced the challenges of life and love head-on. Now, one sits alone to ponder the strange twists of fate and circumstance. Now, she must sift through the past to discover exactly what went wrong, how dreams turned to nightmares as friendships faded and lives were destroyed....

Review: I went into this book thinking it would be something The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney (which I LOVE), and I think that's why I ended up being somewhat disappointed by it. The Saving Graces is a heartwarming, life-reaffirming novel about friendship, Grand Avenue... not so much.

From the very beginning you know that it's going to end badly, but not how or why, which makes for discomforting reading. The label on the back says, "Warning! You won't be able to put this book down till the last page is turned." and that is very true - you HAVE to know what happens next. It's a powerful book, and extremely well written, even if some parts made me want to turn my head away in disgust and/or horror.

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