About the Book:
Leaders of a mercurial clique of girls, Celia and Djuna reigned mercilessly over their three followers. One after­noon, they decided to walk home along a forbidden road. Djuna disappeared, and for twenty years Celia blocked out how it happened.

The lie Celia told to conceal her misdeed became the accepted truth: everyone assumed Djuna had been abducted, though neither she nor her abductor was ever found. Celia’s unconscious avoidance of this has meant that while she and her longtime boyfriend, Huck, are professionally successful, they’ve been unable to move forward, their relationship falling into a rut that threatens to bury them both.

Celia returns to her hometown to confess the truth, but her family and childhood friends don’t believe her. Huck wants to be supportive, but his love can’t blind him to all that contra­dicts Celia’s version of the past.

Celia’s desperate search to understand what happened to Djuna has powerful consequences. A deeply resonant and emotionally charged story, The False Friend explores the adults that children become—leading us to question the truths that we accept or reject, as well as the lies to which we succumb.

Book Review: ★★★★★★
I’m still not sure what to make of this book. I have been seeing it on a lot of book reviews lately, and it is in many of the book lists that I receive. And now that I have read it, and started looking over some of the other reviews that are out there, I find that the opinions are all over the place. And there is a lot about this story that is both captivating, as well as a big let down. But I can say that what I liked about the book, I really liked. But I don’t know if I could say that I liked it enough to offset the turn offs once I had finished reading.

What I liked? Well — Ms. Goldberg has an amazing gift for language. There is no question that every sentence is not just written, but crafted. Her ability to describe people, places, events, and something as illusive as relationships is nothing short of breath taking. I found nothing trite or cliche in this book. Every sentence challenges the reader to stay tuned in — not so much to the story or the characters, but to the eloquent use of language. Not only is Ms. Goldberg’s ability to wield an exceptional vocabulary with precision and fineness, but she is also able to use words to their best advantage so as to make the reader stop and take notice of the writing style.

What I didn’t like? Well — simply put the story. I kept thinking that something was going on in this book. I mean either Ceila’s memories were wrong, or everyone else’s memories were. And the book never did quite make it clear what went on to so completely mess up Celia that she had totally blocked out the events of the fateful day in question. Add to that the myriad questions that were raised, and never finalized, such as the issues with her brother, her relationship with Huck, and the strange interactions that she has with her parents — and in the end I just came away wondering if Ms. Goldberg had forgotten to finish the story.

This book does raise some interesting questions on the subjects of memory, and relationships. And the innate desire in individuals to always see what they want to see in those we love. This was clearly demonstrated with Celia and her parents. They could see no wrong in her. Or at least that is the way it appeared in the book. Especially when Huck would provide such a strong counterpoint as an insight into Celia’s character. But, I felt like this could have been much stronger in its use had the story been completed. As it is there is a lot to be said for the illusive nature of memory, and the perceptions that other’s have of us, when compared to how we see ourselves. But there is no hard and fast insight that is gained from this book due to the distracting nature of the unfinished storyline.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Myla Goldberg Website

Author Interview

New York Times Book Review

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