Review of Friends Like These by Meg Rosoff

“What you see, she thought, is not what you get. What you see is what you see.”

— Meg Rosoff

I have never read Meg Rosoff’s work before, but when I saw the synopsis for Friends Like These, I was really curious about what the book might end up actually being about.

I will say, when I was reading it, I didn’t really think it was a young adult novel, but it wasn’t until I was sitting down to write this review that I thought of it in that way.

It reminds me of another book that I absolutely loved, When I Call Your Name (although that book is an LGBTQIA+ YA novel set in the New York), due to how they’re both starting as a coming-of-age story about a young person moving to New York City in search of new opportunities.

That said, I have so much gratitude for being sent an advanced reading copy of the book from the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada and Tundra Books, through NetGalley.

I sat down and read the book across two days, and I thought that it was pretty easy and accessible to read. It didn’t take me too long to get through the book, and I read it from start to finish without feeling the need to skim some sections. That means it kept my attention pretty well.

Onwards with the review!

In 1982, Beth arrives in New York City ready to start an internship and the next chapter of her life.

The year is 1982 and Beth has won the opportunity of a life time. Immediately after graduating from high school, the eighteen-year-old has received the opportunity to come to New York City and intern at a newspaper, getting hands on experience that many her age aren’t able to have access to.

Beth would be a fool to pass up this learning experience, so she arranges a sublet in the Village, but when she arrives to her new home for the summer, she finds out it’s basically a dump. Even the lock on the front door is broken, and while this might be discouraging at first, this isn’t going to stop Beth from achieving her dreams.

First day on the job and she meets her fellow interns who also were given spots at the paper: there’s Dan, an overachiever who went to an Ivy League and older than her, Oliver, who comes across as major WASP vibes, and finally there’s Edie, a native New Yorker who strikes a friendship with Beth immediately.

The two increasingly begin hanging out, with Edie telling Beth all the things she needs to do while in New York. Edie is wealthy, a product of a Jewish family living on the Upper West Side, while Beth seems like the exact opposite of her new friend.

Beth is also Jewish, but there’s something important to note about her status compared to her fellow interns: her parents are survivors of the Holocaust. As Beth mentioned throughout the novel, they have seen unspeakable horrors, things that they don’t even want to talk about years later.

All four of her grandparents died in the camps, she knows that, and that her aunt was one of the only survivors and ended up killing herself. For a young adult novel, there’s a lot of maturity in Friends Like These.

There’s quite a bit of discussion about sex and what it means to be seen as an adult, as Evie sometimes comes across as trying to be someone she really isn’t, and that people will conceal their true intentions to get what they want.

But as we quickly begin to learn throughout the novel is this: sometimes when we have friendships that spark that quickly, they can easily die just as quickly if they’re not cultivated well.

Some things are too good to be true, and as we learn from Beth’s experiences, Edie isn’t exactly the most reliable or trustworthy person. By the novel’s end, these are all learning experiences to help us move forward in the next experience of our lives, allowing us the knowledge to know better next time.

Overall Thoughts

I actually enjoyed Friends Like These despite not coming in with very high expectations. I tend to enjoy books set in New York City and are a coming-of-age story, and Beth coming from outside of the city and experiencing life at full blast definitely has some learning moments.

I did the same thing at her age, although I moved to NYC for college at the Fashion Institute.

The setting feels very New York, the actions the girls are doing very much in the moment of the city during the eighties. There’s a lot to emphasize with when it comes to Beth and how she approaches situations, especially considering her upbringing, experiences, and socioeconomic status.

Lots of learning moments for an eighteen year old in this book, that’s for sure. Towards the end it begins to remind me of Batuman’s The Idiot, as there is quite a bit of self reflection and understanding that implies the speaker is looking back on the events that have happened.

All in all, I recommend this book for anyone who seems even vaguely interested in the setting, character, or YA/coming of age elements.

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