The Take-Over Friend
What does it mean to have a best friend? For Frances and Sonja, it’s everything. Until their friendship doesn’t leave room to grow.
The Take-Over Friend powerfully explores themes of guilt, jealousy, possessiveness, and the difficult task of staying true to oneself. In the same vein as Hayley Krischer’s The Falling Girls and Anne Fine’s The Tulip Touch, Dines’ new novel weaves together the beauty and pain of friendship and growing up. Read more…
Available for pre order at Regal Books!
Advance Praise
This book is for everyone who’s ever longed for, loved, lost, or been betrayed by a friend. All the sweetness, sorrow, joy, pain, and anguish of friendship found and lost is layered into this luscious cake of a story. Slathered with suspense and liberally sprinkled with humor, it’s so deliciously bittersweet, you’re likely to gobble it up in one sitting.”
- Margi Preus, Newbury Honor author of Heart of the Samurai,Village of Scoundrels, and Lily Leads the Way
“An absorbing cautionary tale of problematic friendship.”- Kirkus Review
“For many teens (and even many adults), The Take-Over Friend will hit close to home. It’s an honest and incredibly layered read about the challenges of family and friendships in a time when young people are struggling to find their own way.” - Kristin Dryer Kramer, Shelf Discovery
“…throughout the story, Frances’ connection to her gut and intuition grows stronger. I am thrilled Dines includes this theme as it will resonate deeply with many. It is so easy to self-censor and betray yourself in order to make others feel comfortable, particularly as a young girl in today’s world… the prose in this book is fantastic.. There’s a dangerous, dark quality to it from the very first page that carries a sense of foreboding to the final chapters. Though the circumstances of the characters’ lives are unique, the precarious feeling related to having such a close friend rings true. If the friendship were to end, not only would there be pain from the loss of it, but there would also be the possibility of one party weaponizing all the intimate details gathered during the relationship. The book certainly explores the idea that those who love you can hurt you the most, but in equal measure dissects how we can let that happen. All in all, the prose is atmospheric and suspenseful, while still being deeply real….Overall, THE TAKE-OVER FRIEND is the perfect moody book for fall. - Elisha Jachetti, YABooks Central
“Teenage girls’ lives are filled with drama, especially when it comes to friends who may or may not be good for a young woman trying to figure out who she is and with whom she should share her most intimate secrets. And if that friendship goes wrong, the emotional toll can be devastating. That’s the conflict Carol Dines explores in her involving and beautifully-written new young adult novel, The Take-Over Friend….The Take-Over Friend will be understood by girls (and maybe some boys) and their mothers, who try to support their teens as they deal with new experiences in their relationships. The story is involving, with both characters so clearly drawn the reader feels she knows them, or was one of them at one time….” - Mary Ann Grossman, St Paul Pioneer Press
“Friendship can sometimes be difficult to sustain, especially as people grow and change. Frances Tannen knows this all too well; her childhood best friend has recently moved away, leaving Frances friend-less as she enters ninth grade. Lucky for her, a fascinating girl named Sonja has recently moved to town from France, and she and Frances become fast friends. Things begin in a positive and enviable way, as Sonja and Frances grow ever closer; but clues soon begin to reveal themselves that show Sonja in a completely different light.
Through a first-person narrative, this book immerses readers into Frances’ thoughts and beliefs as she navigates the turbulent waters of her freshman year of high school. The story often reads like a journal, especially as Frances explains truths about her family and her feelings that she does not express out loud. Coupled with these inner thoughts is ample dialogue between Frances and the many important people in her life, each of which has a strong and memorable voice. Readers will often cringe at the decisions Frances makes, especially as they recognize similarities from their own lives.
This book is anchored firmly in reality, even though the characters involved within it are fictional themselves. Mental illness appears in several different forms, and readers are able to witness the cause and effect of actions pursued by characters within the novel. One person’s idea of perfection is unique to them, and when jealousy becomes difficult to manage, terrible outcomes can result. As Frances clearly demonstrates, it is important to choose one’s friends wisely since there is often more happening beneath the surface than is initially obvious. And it is up to each person to stand up for themselves to avoid being destroyed by personalities wishing to overpower them. This realistic fiction novel is a cautionary tale for high school students, encouraging them to remain true to themselves even in the face of compelling opposition.” - MaryAnn Lanni YA blog reviewer
“The Take-Over Friend rings with authenticity. It’s an honest and moving look at the difficulties and rewards of friendship, the love and complications of family, and the joy and uncertainty of growing up. Carol Dines treats challenging subjects like mental illness and its impact on friends and family members with nuance and depth. I read the whole book in one totally immersive sitting, rooting for Franny. She’s a character you hold close in your heart.”
- Eve Yohalem, author of Escape Under The Forever Sky and The Truth According to Blue
“Equal parts wry and heartbreaking, The Take-over Friend deftly and seamlessly weaves a compelling story about the complex nature of adolescent friendship with a deep and thoughtful dive into the impact of mental illness on one family. A timely, moving, and thought provoking novel.”
- Gary Eldon Peter, author of Oranges and The ComplicatedCalculus (and Cows) of Carl Paulsen
“Carol Dines perfectly captures the intoxication and relief that can be found in an intense new friendship, along with the little warning signs that are easy to dismiss when all one wants is to be swept up in the thrill of that bond.The Take-Over Friend is a beautiful, layered novel about what canhappen when we ignore our own inner wisdom. It will live insidereaders long after they reach the last page.”
- Ona Gritz, author of Present Imperfect,Tangerines and Tea and Starfish Summer
“How many of us have fallen for that teenage friendship, alluring and dangerous all at once! The Take-Over Friend is engaging and heart stopping -- wonderfully written about trusts broken and boundaries crossed…”
- Judith Katz, author of The Escape Artist and Running Fiercely Toward A High Thin Sound
This Distance We Call Love
Orison Books, August 2021
- Winner of the Eric Hoffer Book Award
- Finalist for the National Indies Excellence Award
- Finalist Feathered Quill Award Short Fiction
“Dines strips our humanness down to the bare nakedness of our core. Our foibles are on display, unsettling and disturbing in ways that will not allow us to turn away, even if we want to: family, love, grief, endings, and beginnings. Masterful and convincing, Dines circles and dives into lives, almost a voyeur into second chances that bring us back to ourselves, beyond loss and recovery. The words hit viscerally with an emotional rawness, and yet, a subtle, almost hidden humor exists just below the surface, almost as if we can’t laugh about life, we are doomed.”
- Eric Hoffer committee
