Book Review
Title: My Best Friend's Girl
Author: Dorothy Koomson
Publisher: Bantam Discovery
Publication Date: March 25, 2008
Number of Pages: 480
ISBN: 055359141X 

Reviewed By: Karen O'Connor - Okinawa Correspondent - Japan)

What would you do if your fiancee and your best friend had an intimate night, only once, years before, but you accidentally found out and were only a couple of months away from marrying him?  What would you do if you found out the one-night stand produced a child whom you had unknowingly loved unconditionally, because you believed that your friend was alone in the situation?  What would you do if, two years later, your friend was dying and asked you to adopt her child after she was gone but you never ever wanted children of your own?  Well hopefully this scenario hasn't and won't happen to you but in My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson, it happens to Kamryn Matika. 

I LOVED this book!!  I picked it up a week ago and finished it last night.  It was well paced and told in first person from Kamryn's point of view.  The characters popped off the pages and into my imagination right from the start and the plot had great twists and turns that took the characters into some situations that I never envied.  Now, during the dating chapters of my life I have experienced the devastating feelings of being cheated on.  The first time I was young and afraid of losing him so I turned a blind eye but in my mid-twenties I let him have it.  Then I met the hubby and was worry free and very happy and have been for seven years now (four of which have been in marital bliss).  But for a life to come out of one night of weakness would have been the worst to deal with. 

Kamryn makes great decisions, is a tough lady and is very believable.  She had built a sturdy life for herself before her world ending, and was content with never seeing or speaking with the people who had ripped her heart out of her chest ever again.  It's funny how things happen for a reason though.  She learned that she was capable of raising a child, loving them unconditionally even though every time she looked at their face she saw her best friend and her fiancee.  

Though I have never been to England the author did a great job of describing the settings so I was ready to hop on a plane and have dinner at this one restaurant and make pizza with the kids class in another.  I wanted to hang out in Kamryn's flat and go to the park and play on the jungle gym.  There are dark moments in the book that made me catch my breath with the severity of what was happening to the character. 

If you are looking for a quick but substantial beach/weekend/week or commuting-on-the-bus/subway-because-gas-prices-SUCK-book, read than this is the book for you.  If you want to get to know some characters that are appealing and have some depth, than this is the book for you.

Karen O'Connor's Blog: Planet Books