19 Books About Friendship for Adults

Book Summary

Eight years ago, a tragic accident changed Mo and Chloe’s lives forever. Now, the friends are in their mid-twenties. Together with their third roommate, Hazel, they share an apartment in San Francisco and are navigating the daily challenges of early adulthood. 

When Hazel disappears after being sexually assaulted, Mo and Chloe’s lives are ripped apart. The two are no strangers to tragedy, but the search for Hazel will test their friendship in ways they never imagined.

Book Summary

When looking at one of the most famous paintings in the world, it’s easy to miss the three tiny figures in the corner at the far end of the pier. You might even think they’re just part of the sea. But 18-year-old Louisa, an artist herself, noticed them. The painting has unexpectedly been bequeathed to her, and she’s determined to find out the story behind the enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years ago, a group of teenage friends spent their days hanging out and laughing out on the pier to escape their complicated lives at home. Joar never backs down from a fight. Bookish Ted is mourning his father. Ali’s dad never stays in place for long. And then there is the boy who hoards sleeping pills and doesn’t want too much attention, but who has an extraordinary talent for art.

Louisa sets out on a cross-country journey to learn more about the work of art. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more she feels compelled to unleash her own artistic spirit.

Book Summary

This historical fiction novel is based on the real life of Margaret Fuller, an extremely intelligent, well-read, hard-working writer. She was one of the first feminist icons in the United States.

As a young women, she is invited to the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson to meet his coterie of enlightened friends who are shaping a nation. These connections fuel her passion for education and inspire her to host the first women-only literary salon for students like Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

She never takes no for an answer, and her days include everything from sparring with Edgar Allan Poe to reporting on the writings of Frederick Douglass. Her work earns her a job for Horace Greeley, where she makes history yet again by being the first female foreign news correspondent.

Book Summary

Lily is a great writer, has a reliable job, and has great friends. But she’s also 32 and single… which is all her mom can seem to focus on. It’s especially hard to ignore her relationship status when everyone else around her is getting married – she’s a bridesmaid in five weddings in six weeks.

She’ll go to any length for the love of her friends, but she also needs a place to vent. Which is why she starts an anonymous blog called Bridesmania where she dishes on mom-zillas, wicked bridesmaids, body-shaming dress clerks, and even her 88-year-old Granny (who she’s recently been deemed the guardian of) who prefers to enjoy her morning mimosas in the nude. Of course, we all know that secrets are hard to keep on the internet…

Book Summary

In 1950s Tehran, Ellie lives a priviledged life. However, her whole world changes when her father unexpectedly passes away, and she and her mother must move to a tiny home downtown.

On her first day at her new school, Ellie meets Homa, a kind, brave, and passionate girl who becomes her best friend. They spend all their time together learning to cook, playing games, and wandering the Grand Bazaar.

But then Ellie’s life flips again when she’s given a chance to return to her privileged life and attend the best girls’ high school in Iran. Over time, her thoughts of Homa fade, and she embraces her bourgeois life. When Homa suddenly reappears, the course of both of their lives is changed forever. The rising political turmoil in the country complicates things even further.

Book Summary

Set in a small Irish village, this is the story of three women from different backgrounds, each in a different stage of life. Together, they find that there’s no better way to distract from their worries than a midnight dip in the cold waters of the Atlantic. As they swim, they form a close bond and provide support to one another.

Book Summary

Loretha is about to turn 68-years-old, and she has no intention of slowing down. She heads a booming beauty empire and has a wonderful group of lifelong friends and a husband she loves. She’s determined to prove to her family – including her mother and twin sister – that her best days are not behind her because she’s getting older.

But when an expected loss rocks her world, Loretha must dig deep to keep thriving and pursuing joy. With help from her friends, it will take every bit of her strength and resourcefulness to create a new path for herself.

Book Summary

Albert Entwistle is a 64-year postal worker in the UK. He has no plans of retiring but receives a letter informing him that his mandatory retirement is just around the corner on his 65th birthday.

Albert’s only friend is his cat, and although he isn’t chatty with others at work or on his routes, he still dreads being home alone without a job. When he’s reminded of his only romantic relationship, which happened 50 years prior, something begins to stir in Albert. Perhaps it’s not too late to find happiness after all?

With the help of some unexpected new friends, Albert sets off to find George, the man he hasn’t seen since they were teenagers.

Book Summary

This novel centers around Hollis, a popular food blogger who loses her husband to a car accident. The fight she had with him right before he drove away drives an even deeper wedge between her and her teenage daughter, Caroline.

After learning about a trend called a “Five-Star Weekend,” where one woman organizes a trip for her best friends from each phase of life, Hollis decides to host her own. But gathering her best friend from each decade from childhood through midlife doesn’t turn out to be the joyful Hallmark movie she’d envisioned. But it will definitely be a weekend she’ll never forget.

Book Summary

Skeeter has returned home from college to her family’s cotton plantation where – despite trying to act like a proper Southern lady – she seems to constantly disappoint her mother. 

Her true ambition, however, is to be a writer. The only job she’s able to find is one she is completely unqualified for – writing a housekeeping advice column for the local paper. Having virtually no experience of her own with housekeeping, Skeeter turns to her friend’s maid, the very poised Aibileen, for help. 

As she gets to know Aibileen and Aibileen’s friend, the very sassy Minny, more intimately, Skeeter is inspired to help tell their stories, and she pitches the idea to write the narratives of 12 Black maids – a very risky project for all of them. It’s an unlikely friendship, but this group shows that true friendship comes in many forms.

Book Summary

Forty-something Emma realizes that her life might have gotten a bit too hectic and tiring when she wakes up after falling asleep in an IKEA showroom. Between trying to be a good mother to her kids, a good daughter to her ailing mother, and a good wife, she’s struggling to keep up. Thank goodness for her best friend, Roz, who keeps her sane. But when Roz climbs through her bathroom window one day with terrible news to share, Emma loses all confidence in her ability to keep it together.

Thurston’s once-full life is empty these days. He’s recently widowed, and without his wife of sixty-two years, he no longer finds joy or purpose in his life. When driving his niece to work one day, Thurston has a chance encounter with Emma and quickly gets drawn into the whirlwind of her chaotic life.

Thurston has a calming presence that helps Emma put her problems in perspective, and soon, the two form an unlikely friendship.

Book Summary

Fiona had plans to marry her fiance when he returned from WWII and settle down in the Boston suburbs. But when he is reported missing after being shot down in Germany, her plans are shattered. 

Determined to learn his fate, Fiona volunteers as a Red Cross Clubmobile Girl in Europe and convinces her two best friends to join her. The trio isn’t prepared for the challenges of war, but their courage and friendship will carry them through. However, reviewers warn to keep the tissues close by!

Book Summary

From 8th grade, Kate and Tully cycle through the highs and lows of long-term friendships as they try to figure out what they want from the world and what they need from each other.

Tully seems to have both beauty and brains, while Kate feels doomed to be uncool forever. However, Tully doesn’t have it all. She longs to fill the void left when her mom abandoned her, and she funnels all her feelings into ambition at work. Kate is equally driven, but her life looks different as she becomes a wife and mother.

In Firefly Lane, Kristin Hannah uses the descriptive talent you know from her historical fiction books to share the story of three decades between friends.

Book Summary

Sisters Hadley and Kitzie have been hired to plan a reunion on St. Simon’s Island for the descendants of three men who became unlikely friends during WW2.

Before the war, Will was a farmboy from Tennessee, and Dov was a Jewish student at Cambridge. During the war, they meet Hans, a German POW. The trio not only became close friends, they founded a business together after the war.

But 80 years after they met, their descendants are now fighting over control of the corporation. As Hadley and Kitzie investigate the men’s backgrounds to better understand the reunion, they uncover the life of the courageous young woman who links them all together.

Book Summary

For years, Phoebe has dreamed of visiting the iconic Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island. She looked forward to shucking oysters and sailing into the sunset with her husband. But instead, she arrives alone and plans to stay in the most expensive room for one night.

As it turns out, Phoebe is the only guest at the Inn who is not a part of a big wedding party. The bride, Lila, thought she had accounted for every possibility in her effort to host the perfect wedding, but she couldn’t have predicted Phoebe’s arrival.

Phoebe and Lila are complete opposites, but sometimes chance meetings turn into the most unexpected friendships.

Book Summary

Betty Stern turned 18 in 1951 and was looking forward to her last summer at her grandparent’s Jewish summer resort before heading off to college. She had big dreams of becoming a fashion editor in NYC.

During that life-changing summer, Betty collapses at the end of the beauty pageant, which ends up being the last time the pageant is held. In 2020, a financially-struggling manicurist decides to bring it back. By this time, Betty is in her late 80s, and no one knows she was the last winner or why the pageant ended.

Book Summary

Neighbors Celeste and Wendy are both moms. As far as they can tell, that’s the only thing they have in common – other than their mutual disdain for each other!

Celeste is a stay-at-home mom who spends her days volunteering and creating a Pinterest-worthy life that makes other moms despise her. Wendy is a career-driven working mom who lives by her minute-to-minute schedule as she balances her business and keeps things afloat at home.

After a bit too much sangria at a softball potluck, Celeste and Wendy wake up in each other’s bodies – Freaky Friday style. Soon everything they thought they knew about the other is turned upside down. Their messy lives are about to get a whole lot more complicated, but along the way, they’ll discover they might not be so different after all.