Shecky’s

National Girlfriends Day is getting closer (Sunday, August 1), so we’re sharing our favorite girlie books in celebration. Summer may be winding down (yuck!), but we’ve got some reads to share that are as good of beach buddies as the characters and celebration of friendship found inside the pages. Once temps officially drop, tote these on your morning commute or snuggle up on the couch with one.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – Ann Bradshares

Four longtime best friends must spend a summer apart for the first time, a seemingly impossible feat that they are forced to overcome. They creatively decide to use a pair of pants to keep in touch and wear them through major (albeit predictable) moments in their lives, using the experiences as a basis for writing to one another. The quad ultimately realize that it’s more than the pants keeping their friendships together and that through good times and bad, happy and sad, the girls will always be there for one another. ($8.95 at Amazon.com)

Someone Like You – Sarah Dessen

Two best friends suddenly have their roles reversed when a tragic accident and discovery leaves the always-popular Scarlett groveling at the feet of underdog Halley. No matter their past or usual roles, the two concede to the fact that best friends means best friends no matter the situation. They weather the hardships together in this riveting tale of support and love. ($8.99 at Amazon.com)

Best Friends Forever – Jennifer Weiner

A true testament to the loyalty of best friends, this novel examines the roles friends play, ever changing as they may be. Fights happen and friends drift, but when someone commits her companionship to another, it truly does mean for forever. This will be tested when the ever-successful Valerie has her world turned upside down and is forced to visit an old best friend Addie for help, unsure of how she will be received, but hoping in her heart of hearts that the promise of friendship is everlasting. ($10.20 at Amazon.com)

Eat Pray Love – Elizabeth Gilbert

Before the end-of-summer release starring Julia Roberts (look out for it on August 13!) of the film of the same name, read Elizabeth Gilbert’s heartwarming and inspiring tale of a woman who travels the world doing the three title things, in search of herself and genuine happiness. Through the locations she visits and the people she meets, she builds outstanding relationships, but finds that perhaps the best friendship one might have is with oneself. ($8.80 at Amazon.com)

The Opposite of Me – Sarah Pekkanen

The tale of fraternal twin sisters who are strikingly different and consistently at odds, both with each other and in their lives, who come together after much time apart. True to the old adage that “life happens,” the novel explores the ups and downs, ins and outs of life and of sisterhood, and the inherent friendship one has with a sister, one that is apt to reappear despite incessant neglect. ($10.20 at Amazon.com)

The Help – Kathryn Stockett

Bringing together the voices of three very different women, two of whom hardly qualify as friends, this book examines the roles of women and more specifically the relationships women have with one another. Though set in a very different time (Jackson, Mississippi in 1962), the relationships are timeless, as is the examination of them. Touching and painstakingly honest, it is hard not to fall deeply in love with the book and its characters from page one. ($10.12 at Amazon.com)

-Lynden Halpern

GIRL TALK TIME: What are your favorite BFF books? Have you ever been in a book club with your best friends? What is your fave beach read? Share now, we need to stock up before we hit the pool and shore this weekend.

COMING SOON…NATIONAL GIRLFRIEND AWARDS

PSST! National Girlfriends Day is Sunday, August 1. We’re celebrating you and all of your fabulous girlfriends by throwing our first annual National Girlfriend Awards. Check back on Sunday, August 1 and throughout the month of August on Sheckys.com to nominate your best girlfriends or your very own girlfriend crew for one of our 10 awards. Best part about it? Each winner from every category gets their own special prize pack! We can’t wait to hear your stories.