Life Without Friends

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous, fabulous book!
Review: Although it's technically a YA book, the only thing "teen" about this is that the protagonist, Beverly, is just about to graduate high school. Having survived an abusive relationship with a boyfriend who was charged with murder, as well as her mother's suicide and her father's remarriage, Beverly is churning with guilt and anger that keeps her from enjoying life. One day, she meets Derek, a 19-year-old groundskeeper for a local park -- essentially, a complete 180 from just about everyone she's ever known. Beverly is initially mistrustful of Derek, but his sense of humor and concern quickly begin to win her over and help her deal with all the demons that follow her daily.

Rating:
Summary: Friendlesss
Review: Beverly is a typical seventeen year old teenager who lives with her father (a Harvard professor), her stepmother (a "hippie child") and her stepbrother Oliver, an adorable 5 year-old. She goes to an upscale private school and used to date one of the handsomest, most popular guys in school. She gets straight A's and is at the top of her class. The only problem is, she is a witness for the prosecution at the trial of her ex-boyfriend for murdering a girl at school and attempting to murder two other students.

This book tells the story of how Beverly tries to live a "Life without Friends" because she feels that she doesn't deserve them. She often wishes that her ex-boyfriend had killed her instead so that she wouldn't have to put her family through the spectacle of a murder trial. However, she accidentally meets a guy in the park named Derek and becomes friends with him. Beverly is very scared of trying to love someone again and pushes Derek away every chance she gets, but she really likes being around him...

Eventually, Beverly & Derek do get together and Ellen Emerson White takes us through Beverly's changing relationship with her father, her stepmother, her new boyfriend and her psychologist and shows us that there are always people who love you, no matter what happens.

Although this book is written for teens and children, I think that it is wonderful and I have read and re-read it many times. Beverly is such a likeable character and most girls will identify with her low self-esteem and her desire to change her life. The characters are well developed and fun to get to know. I especially enjoyed Beverly and her interaction with the people around her. She has an offbeat sense of humor and often makes the reader laugh during the telling of the story. I highly recommend this book for any female who is looking for a nice romance with a more serious undertone.

Rating:
Summary: Did you know there's a PREQUEL to this book?
Review: For all of you Ellen Emerson White fans of "Life Without Friends" don't miss out on the PREQUEL (or as some prefer COMPANION BOOK), "Friends for Life". This lets you see Beverly before she got in to trouble...and from a different point of view. I originally read them in this "backwards" order as well...and still loved them!

Rating:
Summary: Still my favorite book after 12 years.
Review: I am 23 years old, but I am not ashamed to tell the Amazonian world that LIFE WITHOUT FRIENDS by Ellen Emerson White is without a doubt my favorite book. It still holds the place of highest honor on my bookshelf. My poor little paperback is tattered and falling apart now, and I have two other copies in such bad shape that the covers and pages have been taped and re-glued back together and the lines of print are barely visible. I have read this book countless, countless times. Even today, after college and into grad school, I read it whenever I get sad or lonely or depressed, and it never fails to pick me back up again.

Of course, I can't say that this is the best book ever written. But so what? Sometimes you have just have to make room in your life for a story with characters so real and so believable that your own world disappears and you begin to think you were born in Boston and lived in the brownstone next to Beverly, Marianne, and Nick Johnson.

I wished throughout my adolescence that I would wake up in the morning as Beverly; that I would walk down to the Public Gardens to meet Derek for a clandestine cigarette; that I would go home to Marianne and Oliver and a nutritious supper.

And it's funny how my life has sort of paralleled Beverly's: I worked at an ice cream store throughout high school, figuring if it was good enough for Beverly...

My boyfriend of six years smells of motor oil and grass clippings and can create small objets d'art using wood and a swiss army knife. He has a noticeable southern accent, not unlike Derek's Bostonian twang. He is brilliant and more intelligent than you would ever realize just by looking at him, also not unlike Derek...

Although I didn't major in film, I have often dreamed of making this tiny novel which has made such a huge impact on my life into a movie. It deals with real teenage issues and problems on such an honest level, I can't imagine ANYONE not being able to identify with it.

Ellen Emerson White, if you ever start thinking that your work is meaningless, know this: LIFE WITHOUT FRIENDS *literally* altered the course of my life. And I thank you for it.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!
Review: It's my favorite book ever! The characters are so relistic, you just want to hang out with them. Ellen Emerson White is such a great auther I have read other books by her. Beverly and Derek are so funny! I love part at the movie and on the swan boats. I've been Boston every time I have spring or winter break since last year. I've been looking for this book for nearly two years and I can't find it any where. If you ever have the chance read this book I defently recomend that you do.

Rating:
Summary: Did you know there's a PREQUEL to this book?
Review: This book is very good to read for a teenager who can relate to Beverly's situation. This book is about a teenage girl who hasn't really discovered herself and is trying to find her way through. Beverly runs into a problem when her boyfriend kills someone and she is targeted as a witness. Overall, the book is very interesting, and can be inspirational for a teen going through the same problem as Beverly.

Rating:
Summary: Life Without Friends
Review: This book is very good to read for a teenager who can relate to Beverly's situation. This book is about a teenage girl who hasn't really discovered herself and is trying to find her way through. Beverly runs into a problem when her boyfriend kills someone and she is targeted as a witness. Overall, the book is very interesting, and can be inspirational for a teen going through the same problem as Beverly.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read
Review: This book is wonderful,it is a companion book to friends for life .My copy of this book is several years old and quite ragged because I reread it so often. The story is about a girl named Beverly who is dealing with her conscionce.Her inactionin an event indirectly lead to two peoples deaths She travels the gamut of emotion as she learns todeal with her choices and go on with her life .It is truly a remarkable story .