Hyacinth Girls

The particular cruelty that can arise in female adolescent friendship is explored in Frankel's engaging but somewhat convoluted debut. Its problem arises from two interesting but complicated stories that vie for the reader's attention. Callie's story is primary%E2%80%94a 13-year-old orphan raised by her mother's best friend, Rebecca. The seemingly carefree girl is suddenly accused of bullying someone in her class, and shortly thereafter Callie's life unravels. Rebecca, %C3%BCber devoted to her charge, can't help but get involved and reflect on her own problematic teen friendships%E2%80%94notably the bond she had with Callie's free-spirited mother, and a debacle with her other close friend Lara, who ended up marrying Rebecca's cousin, Curtis. The contrast between Rebecca inadvertently antagonizing Lara years earlier (she made fun of Lara's stuttering, not knowing Lara was within earshot) and what's now possible in the age of social media is eye-opening, and Frankel perceptively depicts a spiral of brutality that would have been unheard of just a decade ago. But the combination of these story lines results in unnecessary melodrama and undermines the impact of Callie's riveting story. (May)