The False Friend by Myla Goldberg

Although we are often reluctant to discuss them, most women have shameful episodes of bullying or being bullied in their past. How can girls be so mean to each other? Myla Goldberg, author of the bestselling novel Bee Season, has written a haunting and provocative novel which will make you remember and perhaps ultimately forgive yourself for that part of your life.

A successful woman in her thirties, Celia is brought literally to a halt on the streets of Chicago when an old VW triggers the memory of her childhood friend Djuna whispering “Ladybug” in her ear. Suddenly Celia feels compelled to return to her hometown and admit to everyone she lied about the day Djuna disappeared. She cannot move forward in her faltering relationship with a long-term boyfriend until she has been absolved of this sin by him, her parents and her childhood friends. However, when none of them believe her, she is forced to face the real cause of her self-recrimination.

From the book jacket:
With uncanny pitch and tenderness, Goldberg captures both the passion of female friendship and its most savage rite of passage. -- Rachel Simmons, Odd Girl Out: The hidden culture of aggression in girls

There are moments when I fear that my entire personality was formed (and malformed) in middle school. We all learned the hard way that there is nothing as obsessive and cruel as the intimate friendships of young girls. -- Ayelet Waldman

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