October 1, 2023• byGirl Well Read
Welcome to STYLE Canada‘s Boreal Book Club: a monthly meeting narrated by Girl Well Read, for bookworms who’re looking to scour new pages. Since we aim to shine a spotlight on all things Canadian in life and style, beauty, and health and wellness, it goes without saying that every instalment of the Boreal Book Club will feature a Canadian author and their latest title. Be sure to use the hashtag #BorealBookClub to share with us on social!

@kerryreads via Instagram
The bottom of Jess’s world is falling out. Cocooned in her dorm in the winter of 1998, she’s reeling, and wants to be left alone. But a chance encounter with the older, otherworldly, elusive Clara has Jess awestruck. Clara, newly returned from a two-year trek drifting around the world, is taking a stab at normalcy for once, and the place she starts is university, where she struggles to fit in. Upon meeting Jess, though, Clara feels an instant connection, and everything seems brighter. Soon, the two are inseparable, undeniable necessities in each other’s lives. But when tragedy strikes, they are unceremoniously torn apart, sent tumbling down different paths. And with each passing day, their unbreakable bond is tested more and more.
As they endure love and heartbreak, marriage, anxiety and isolation, and the complicated existence of motherhood, Jess and Clara must learn how to love each other through it all—and whether growing up inevitably means growing apart.

Kerry Clare (Photo: Stuart Lawler)
Asking for a Friend is an ode to friendships and the importance of connection. Claire’s novel is both heartbreaking and uplifting—she perfectly captures how sustaining female relationships are.
Told in shifting perspectives and spanning two decades, this novel explores some weightier topics: abortion, pregnancy loss, women’s reproductive rights, the challenges of motherhood, and women’s roles. Jess and Clara have an unbreakable bond that sees them through the highs and lows of friendship, and their life choices yet through it all, they always find their way back to each another.
With its incredible depth, this book is the perfect choice for book clubs and to celebrate the women in your life.
KERRY CLARE is a blogger, the author of Waiting for a Star to Fall and Mitzi Bytes, editor of The M Word: Conversations About Motherhood, a National Magazine Award-nominated essayist, and editor 49thShelf.com, a Canadian books website.
Clare lives in Toronto with her husband and children.
Scroll to read Girl Well Read’s exclusive interview with Kerry Clare about Asking for a Friend.

@kerryreads via Instagram

@tandemcollectiveglobal via Instagram (Photo credit: @girlwellread)

@kerryreads via Instagram
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Last modified: September 7, 2023