<br><br><b>The Durable Power of True Friendship</b><br><br>In the fall of 1947, newcomer Kate Freeman feels like a social misfit until she joins three seventh-grade classmates for an after-school bicycle ride to the local cemetery. On their way home, the four girls share an experience that frightens them so badly that they vow never to tell another soul. That pledge forms the foundation for a friendship that molds them into a tight unit. As Kate begins to find her place in her new school, she adores the brazenness of ringleader Rosie Mulgrew, marvels at the abilities of the talented Cheryl Allison and wishes she could improve the lot of sweet but overworked Doris Panczyk. She is certain that nothing will ever separate them. When the four enter high school, circumstances beyond their control begin to crack their solidarity. Reluctantly they drift apart. Their close friendship, however, remains a cherished memory-one that is strong enough to bring them together more than fifty years later when one faces serious problems. Some Good Memory spans the jukebox years after World War II to the somber days following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Full of the flavor of history, it is most of all a story of lifelong friendship-one that makes the reader smile and recall, "I once had a group like that."