Daphne Berg and Drue Cavanaugh were once best friends until that one day where Drue pushed Daphne just way too far. They haven’t spoken since. Looking back, Daphne realizes the friendship was a little one-sided and had a slight frenemies vibe.
Six years later, Daphne has moved onffrom her friendship with Drue. She’s made a comfortable life as a social media influencer, she just made a major plus-size brand deal and she’s feeling comfortable in her body.
Then Drue pushes back into her life. Drue is getting married and has not made a lot of friends since high school. Desperate to have someone standing up on her side of the wedding, Drue begs Daphne to be a bridesmaid. Daphne is a little hesitant, but she’s no longer the doubting little teenager…but somehow being with Drue brings back all the high school memories. There’s also the promise of additional views to her Instagram posts by being part of a high profile wedding. Daphne decides to agree, confident she can stand up to Drue now.
Daphne begins to see a different side to Drue and the pressures that come with celebrity and wealth. Then Drue is found dead the morning of her wedding and everyone is a suspect! You read that right – a murder mystery!
This isn’t your typical Jennifer Weiner novel. It starts as one thing, and morphs into something else completely along the way. Weiner includes strong narrative around themes of body image, female relationships, and the expectations that our society puts on females in general. Daphne’s attempts to solve the mystery felt a little forced and comedic but the main character won me over.
Daphne had insecurities and body issues that so many woman have but Jennifer Weiner does a good job of not making her a melancholy mess. She doubts herself like we all do or doubts others’ intentions but she somehow accepts herself for who she is. I love that we get to see a plus size girl not on a diet throughout the book, not being self deprecating for 200 pages and not ending up 50 pounds lighter and happier by the end of the book.
I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend.