Book Review: My Best Friend’s Girl by Dorothy Koomson

*There’s a spoiler alert towards the end of the review before the puppy picture*

My Best Friend’s Girl is a great example of why nobody should ever ‘judge a book by its cover’ – literally.

Looking at the cover, I am sure most people would guess that the book is typical chick-lit – light-hearted and slightly silly. I assumed that too, so I was actually quite surprised by the depth of the story. It is extremely moving in parts and it tackles issues that you wouldn’t typically find in the chick-lit genre.

The book begins with Kamryn Matika’s 32^nd birthday - a day when she wants nothing more than to enjoy a glass or two of champagne and hit the town in a sparkling gold dress. Then, she opens the birthday card that will change her life forever. Her former best friend Adele is dying of cancer and she begs Kamryn to adopt her young daughter. Kamryn and Adele used to be inseparable, until Adele betrayed Kamryn by sleeping with her fiancé, Nate. Adele fell pregnant with Nate’s child and when Kamryn found out, she cut them both out of her life. Despite Kamryn’s anger and her plan to never have children, she quickly realises that she can’t abandon Adele’s daughter, Tegan, who is being neglected by her abusive grandparents.

The focus on the book is Kamryn’s journey, how her life drastically changes and how she learns to become a mother to five-year-old Tegan. There is a love triangle, involving her ex-fiancé and her new boss, but it’s actually only a small part of the story as a whole.

I liked the way the story kept me guessing right until the end. Just when I thought I'd figured out exactly what would happen, there was another twist and turn. Dorothy Koomson is an incredibly talented writer and the book really is heart-breaking at times.

The story of My Best Friend's Girl examines friendship and forgiveness, betrayal and grief, responsibility and change, but ultimately, it’s about happiness. As a reader, you start to think about life and how you never know what could be just around the corner. 

*Spoiler/puppy alert* *Don’t read on if you don't want to know how it ends!* 

Here’s a cute puppy pic so you don’t accidentally see the first paragraph and resent me forever…

I'll be honest, I wasn’t completely convinced about the ending, which was a little disappointing. I didn’t really want Kamryn to end up with Luke, as she obviously wasn’t actually in love with him. I am glad she didn’t get back together with Nate though, as that would’ve been way too predictable. I actually thought the ending might’ve worked better if it was Kamryn and Tegan – just the two of them. After all, that was how their journey started.

I was also a bit miffed that the abusive grandparents didn’t get their comeuppance. I really wanted that to happen, as it was a horrible part of the story. I hoped that by the end, perhaps they would see the error of their ways, or they would be found out somehow, but sadly not.

Despite the slightly disappointing ending, I’d definitely recommend this book. It’s a really different, interesting read and the story takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions.

If you’ve read My Best Friend’s Girl, let me know what you thought (especially about the ending!) x