Excellent. Recommended By a Platonic Friend

books:


	• A Line Between Friends Michele, VanOrt Cozzens McKenna Publishing Group, 2006 - 244 pages average customer review:based on 21 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Friends and Lovers

I stumbled upon the reviews for this book while looking for another novel. I am glad that I took the time to order it and read it. This is my first time reading anything by this author, but I definitely enjoyed it.

This is the story of Noelle and Joel. It is told in both of their voices which I really liked. I like being able to see what both characters are thinking of the same situation. Noelle and Joel are exploring a relationship, one that started out as friendship, turned into something more and then because of circumstances and timing, kept on going as friendship. They never really get out of one another's systems though and they continue their relationship, a platonic one, through cards and letters. That is until Joel writes Noelle and tells her that they have to stop all contact. Here is where their story begins.

I enjoyed this journey through friendship, love and loss.

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Fantastic first novel

I have read Michele Cozzens' I'M LIVING YOUR DREAM LIFE and THE THINGS I WISH I'D SAID, so I was a big fan to begin with. But this was something I was not ready for...one of the most brilliantly written works of fiction I've read in years. I can see why it won an award. The book contains some extraordinary writing, with humourous and insightful details sprinkled throughout. I cannot say enough good things about this book. And now I'm hearing that publishers around the world are buying the rights to this book for their countries. Way to go Michele!

From the publisher of Two Dozen Lessons from an Editor

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Excellent. Recommended By a Platonic Friend

It's the excellent, descriptive writing and realistic dialogue that pulled me through this story very quickly. It was appropriately recommended by a female friend of mine, who has been my friend forever. A Line Between Friends is the story of a relationship between a man and a woman that over the years becomes challenged by marriage to other people. The woman, Noelle, thinks it's working until she received a short note from the man, Joel, telling her they can no longer be friends. Together, they go back in time and show how their relationship got to that point.

The author gives equal voice to both characters, alternating chapters between them. It asks the question, "can a man and a woman remain friends after each marries someone else?" but the book doesn't necessarily answer this question. When I closed the book, I was left deliberating about this couple and it also made me think of my own relationships. I look forward to talking about it with my friend . . . and my wife.

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The Man Who Got Away

Anyone who has ever googled an old flame will relate to this book.

Michele Cozzens' A Line Between Friends captures--in heart-wrenching detail--the bittersweet passage of time, the memory of teenage love, and the necessity of growing up and accepting the choices we've made. I found myself cheering for Joel and Noelle, but I also wanted to slap some sense into them. "Look," I felt like shouting, "You're perfect for each other! Wake up! Get it together!" But Joel's and Noelle's family obligations, jobs, and other relationships get in the way, causing them to miss obvious opportunities to express their love for each other. Ultimately, in an ending that's both satisfying and sad, they learn to accept the meaning of their friendship.

Cozzens has sprinkled her very real characters with a healthy dose of charm, and planted them in an era and environment that will strike a chord with anyone who came of age in the late seventies and eighties. I recognized myself and my friends in many of Cozzens' wacky and lovable college kids. At one point, I swear I could smell the marijuana.

Cozzens has a knack for writing about balance and choice. Her memoir-- I'm Living Your Dream Life: The Story of a Northwoods Resort Owner-- reveals the tightwire act performed by women who decide to combine motherhood with a career. Although I'm not considering dragging out the bell-bottom jeans and the bong, A Line Between Friends made me long for a time and place that I miss, just a little, when the doors in my life seem to creak shut. Oh, to go back, to sort it out differently, to take the chances I wish I had taken! Cozzens points out, with skill, humor, and a clever plot, that the road away from true love can sometimes help us discover ourselves.

Robin Meloy Goldsby is the author of Piano Girl: A Memoir and the solo piano artist featured on Songs from the Castle and Twilight.

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Marriage and past loves (4.25 *s)

This is a story of attraction, missed opportunities, indecision, and clinging to the past that evolved over nearly thirty years involving two high school and college friends, Noelle Moncada and Joel Rolland. Though Noelle, low-keyed, smart, and a striking beauty, intrigued Joel, for various reasons he was unable to establish a genuine romance with her, despite repeated chances. They both moved on to marriage with others, yet wanted to remain friends.

Certainly a key component of the book is an exploration of that possibility - can past loves be part of one's life as friends. Naturally circumstances and the individuals involved, especially spouses, are key to that possibility as is reinforced in this story.

The book is more broadly a keen look at the social complexities and positioning in transitioning from high school to college. Though set in the late 1970s, the same challenges exist today. The book is of modest length, yet the main characters are well-drawn. However, perhaps the one scene between Noelle and Joel that would most interest readers is merely suggested and not described - too bad. This is a very good first novel; however, since this one was autobiographical, it will be interesting to see if more are forthcoming.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Michele VanOrt Cozzens' first work of fiction. Her prior books are "I'm Living Your Dream Life" and "The Things I Wish I'd Said."

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