Three Friends

Rating:
Summary: Three Friends--good for the soul
Review: Myron Levoy's Three Friends captures your mind. It made Myron Levoy my favorite author when I was a teenager. It's about three 14-year-olds--one boy, the self-conscious Joshua, and two girls, the energetic Karen and the quiet Lori. The two girls are close friends when Karen meets Joshua, an avid chess player. While a sweet teenage love develops between Joshua and Karen, Lori becomes increasingly attracted to and jealous of both of them. She feels guilty for eyeing her best friend's boyfriend but then realizes that some of her erotic daydreams focus on Karen. It is here when the reader realizes that Lori is drifting into a psycholgical abyss beyond the confusion surrounding her sexual identity. What makes the story suspenseful is that the perspective alternates between Joshua's and Lori's, revealing to the reader what goes on in each of their heads. However, we never find out what Karen thinks although she is the center of attention in this emotional triangle. Detailed narrations of Joshua's passion for chess lend another interesting touch to the book.