I appreciated the balance of historical research, sociopolitical analysis, and personal anecdotes. I think female friendships are uniquely intense (in both positive and negative ways) and that the idea of being a bad friend is a more common fear than we may realise. This book will definitely shift the way I think about my friendships, the concept of friendship in general, and the ways that patriarchy and social norms influence our friendships.

I think the way this was laid out just didn't work well for me. I couldn't really get into it because I just didn't get it. I have been looking for a book that analyzes female friendships that match with my experiences, and I thought this one would do it. But this book starts with a lot of stories, both the author's own and historical ones, that show friends not being the best to each other. I think it was more memoir than I would like and less sociological analysis than I wanted. From other reviews it seems it was more of a me issue than the book's.

This was an interesting listen. I could relate to a lot of the topics discussed throughout the book. Friendships can be so many things to so many different people. I've always been fascinated by the different dynamics within large friend groups.