Bad Friend by Tiffany Watt Smith offers a sharp and thought-provoking exploration of the complexities and messiness of female friendship. Through personal reflections and cultural analysis, Watt Smith critiques the idealized narratives of girl power and perfect friendships, acknowledging the challenges, betrayals, and imperfect connections that often define real relationships. This memoir provides a refreshing perspective on the struggles of friendship, seeking a new understanding that embraces both the highs and lows of female bonds.

This book is a thoughtful and fascinating deep dive into the complexities of female friendship and it’s definitely not your usual uplifting narrative. Smith blends memoir with history in a really engaging way, dissecting the “best friend” trope and showing just how layered, emotional, and sometimes fleeting these relationships can be. Female friendships are often romanticized or demonized so it's wonderful to see a take that acknowledges the complexities of friendship and specifically female friendships. Although the tone was a bit more sad or pessimistic than I expected, the research and insight made it a worthwhile read. I’m not sure that I agree with all of the author's perspectives and insights into friendship but certainly think this is a really engaging and interesting read.

Thanks to netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book about looking at female friendships through history has an interesting, and effective format. Set up as historical essays with a bit of personal essay weaved in. Gives an overview of how women's friendships have evolved and in some ways how women come together when the prevailing pressure is to stay apart. Not as hopeful and uplifting as I would have liked/expected, but overall good.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I think this was more of a three star for me but I jumped it up to four because I thought it was really well researched and written.

Overall though I found the tone to be sad? Maybe I have an idealized vision of friendship but I certainly have a different vision than the author. It’s hard to explain but her tone, and end of chapter summaries, just felt very sad to me. I can agree that friendships, especially with other women, can be complex and emotional. But I also inherently approach from a place of “this is a person I want to bring into my life and I will assume the same in return”, while the author seems to approach her life, and by extension friendships, with hesitancy

A fascinating intimate raw look at female friendships friendship.?This pulls the c overs off the idolized version of female best friend the author shares the drama the tensions the ups and downs of some friendships.The author takes us back in history to follow these friendships.As I’ve learned from difficult friendships sometimes you just need to walk away.#netgalley #celadonbooks

Thank you to #NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC!

This is a fascinating and relatable take on female friendships. Part historical essay, part memoir, Tiffany Watt Smith provides an in-depth and well-researched consideration of women's friendships and how women's friendships have been viewed between women and by society over time.

Overall, this book is thought provoking and highly relatable. It was well worth the read and very appropriate for women's history month. This would make a great book club pick!

I'm glad to be reading more about female friendships that aren't all roses and rainbows. Friends can come and go and the exploration of this topic is important. I think Smith covered a great deal of information and research in this new book. I hope a lot of people read it and get a better understanding of why some friends are only with us during certain periods of our lives. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A compelling counterpart to recent works such as Lilly Dancyger's First Love: Essays on Friendship and classic memoirs of female friendship such as Ann Patchett's Truth and Beauty. I particularly enjoyed the "coven" chapter on groups of women living communally. That aspect of the book also called to mind the new wave of divorce lit (https://www.bookforum.com/print/3103/reader-i-divorced-him-61586) .