Friends Like Us

In Fox’s latest novel, Willa Jacobs and Jane Weston are best friends and roommates. But when Willa’s high school pal Ben comes back into her life, he becomes romantically involved with Jane. Willa tries to support her two best friends as they find happiness together, but she begins to feel increasingly left out and soon realizes she too has romantic feelings for Ben. Should she stay silent? Should she make a move and risk losing Jane’s friendship? Amy Rubinate’s narration brings Jane to life, capturing her goofy humor, awkwardness, and conflicted feelings. She also deftly voices the book’s other characters; her rendition of Willa’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, Declan, is a standout. And while the pacing of this audio edition drags a bit at times—particularly during scenes in which Willa inwardly frets about the emerging love triangle—Rubinate ably conveys the book’s lovable protagonist and its themes of friendship, love, and confusion. A Knopf hardcover. (Feb.)