Aim For Better Friends Than These

Our story starts with a group of friends: Elise, Mae, Molly, and Julie. One day, Julie disappears. Everyone is concerned except for Elise. Julie has been known to go missing for weeks at a time. However, when weeks turn into years, Elise begins to wonder if Julie is really dead. On the second anniversary of Julie’s disappearance, the missing woman reappears at her home like nothing ever happened. She claims she doesn’t remember the last two years of her life. Should Elise, Mae, and Molly believe her, or is there something more sinister afoot regarding Julie’s reappearance?

While reading this book, I was thinking about similar stories with this premise: the anime The Summer Hikaru Died, Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer, and Look What the Cat Dragged In by Jason Rekulak. All of them have to deal with friend groups and the transformation of someone in the group. In Look What the Cat Dragged In, none of Penny’s friends address her weird behavior until it is almost too late. In The Summer Hikaru Died, Yoshiki figures out that Hikaru isn’t the same after his accident in the mountains and confronts him about it. In Suburban Hell, Liz’s friends rally to save her from a spiritual force that is transforming her. So how did The Return handle this topic?

The group in this book didn’t handle what was happening to Julie very well. Mae booked different rooms for them at the hotel. She didn’t want Julie to feel like they were overwhelming her. Mae and Elise are hoping that things can go straight back to how they used to be. Molly is the only one who wants answers about Julie’s disappearance, especially since they threw a funeral for her and mourned her alleged death. 

The fighting amongst the three friends increases when they actually see Julie in the flesh. She looks terrible: body emaciated, teeth rotting, bad breath and body odor, hair disheveled, and movements disjointed. Her personality also changed. She is more prone to snapping at people, and she went from being a vegetarian to only eating meat. 

Now, I want you guys to be honest with me. If your friend comes back like that after being missing for two years, wouldn’t you have a coming-to-Jesus moment or some type of intervention? Or at the very least, a civil discussion on what’s happening. However, Elise and Mae don’t want to address anything. Mae just doesn’t like conflict, and Elise is just happy to have any piece of her friend back. 

Do I understand them being hesitant about Julie? Kind of. You don’t want to overwhelm someone when you believe they are the victim of circumstances, but when Julie’s behavior becomes stranger (being unfazed when her teeth fall out and leaving blood all over Elise’s bathroom), Mae and Elise are still wary of talking to Julie about their concerns.

As you keep going through the story, you realize the women’s friendship is superficial. They do mention their issues, but never have deep conversations about their struggles. They like keeping everything light and good vibes. Is there something wrong with having friends like that? No. If that is the way the girls like their friendship, to me, that is fine. Some people just want the niceties and small talk without the baggage. However, I do judge the women for sitting back and not saying anything while a real crisis is happening before them. If they didn’t know how to help, they needed to find someone who could. 

I felt bad for Molly because she is the only one who wants to take action. I do question all three women on their level of awareness. There is a side plot of some messed-up things happening at the hotel: blood coming from the vents and hotel staff going missing are just a few things. They stayed at that hotel way longer than they had to. 

Overall, this is a book that I hate and love at the same time. It did hold my attention all the way through, partly because I was curious to see how long it took Mae and Elise to realize that things are not quite right in their situation. If this were a horror movie, I would be screaming at those two to get a grip and leave. I think that the book is realistic, considering how shallow their friendships are. Yet I was still hoping for them to rise to the occasion, as Liz’s friends did for her in Suburban Hell. You want friends who are not scared to say when things are off or when you need a reality check. Aim higher in friendship. Don’t rely on people you are on superficial terms with.