{"id":36722,"date":"2019-09-04T22:53:05","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T02:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36722"},"modified":"2019-09-04T22:53:05","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T02:53:05","slug":"review-of-best-friends-by-shannon-hale-and-leuyen-pham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36722","title":{"rendered":"Review of Best Friends, by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Best Friends<\/em><\/p>\n

by Shannon Hale
\nArtwork by LeUyen Pham
\nColor by Hilary Sycamore<\/p>\n

First Second, 2019. 250 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written September 3, 2019, from a library book<\/p>\n

Best Friends<\/em> is a follow-up to Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham\u2019s wonderful graphic memoir, Real Friends<\/a><\/em>, but you definitely can appreciate Best Friends<\/em> even if you haven\u2019t read the first book.<\/p>\n

Best Friends<\/em> covers one year of Shannon\u2019s life \u2013 the year in sixth grade. I give Shannon credit for telling her story \u2013 because who would really want to relive sixth grade?<\/p>\n

Shannon and LeUyen beautifully portray the questions that come into a kid\u2019s mind as they try to figure out the \u201crules\u201d of friendship and how they change as you get older. Shannon starts out the year best friends with the leader of \u201cThe Group,\u201d which puts her in a good position. But can she stay there? And do her friends really like her for who she is? And what about boys?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a bit portrayed like a board game:<\/p>\n

Sixth-grade friendships were like a game\u2026
\nonly as soon as I\u2019d figure out the rules\u2026
\n\u2026they\u2019d change again.<\/p>\n

Games have losers. I was worried that losing this game meant I\u2019d lose my best friend.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I especially like the way Shannon\u2019s obsessive thoughts and problems with anxiety are portrayed as black clouds hanging over her and around her full of awful accusations (such as \u201cEveryone thinks you\u2019re stupid.\u201d) and scary questions (such as \u201cIs your mom dead?\u201d). At the back of the book, Shannon has a note about anxiety and OCD. Here\u2019s part of that note:<\/p>\n

Anxiety is a totally normal feeling, and like all feelings, it\u2019s important. It becomes an anxiety disorder when our worries get out of control day after day after day, when the worries don\u2019t always make sense, when they keep us from doing things we want or need to do, and they make us feel awful. For most people who have an anxiety disorder, \u201cjust ignore it\u201d doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

Sometimes anxiety gave me feelings of dread \u2013 warnings that something bad was going to happen. At times I believed worrying was a power that kept me and the people I loved safe. But that wasn\u2019t true. Talking with people who understand anxiety has helped me to untangle all my feelings. It\u2019s taken me time to develop skills that help me manage anxiety. You can find more information at adaa.org<\/a> (Anxiety and Depression Association of America).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But my favorite part of Best Friends<\/em> were the scenes from a book Shannon Hale was writing in sixth grade. (She shows two pages of the manuscript at the back.) I like the way you can see Shannon was dealing with her real-life challenges by having a fantasy princess deal with similar challenges \u2013 and overcome them.<\/p>\n

I love the way real-life Shannon was reminded by the fantasy book she was writing that the important thing is to be true to her essence.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s probably just as well this book didn\u2019t come out last year when I was on the Newbery committee \u2013 I love all Shannon\u2019s books so much, I\u2019d feel like I was biased fighting for it to win. This is an example where it\u2019s too bad the Newbery committee isn\u2019t allowed to take the illustrations into account unless they detract \u2013 because these illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to the story. But the story itself has a whole lot of depth as Shannon portrays that universal experience of growing up to where you\u2019re not quite a child any longer, and everything begins to change.<\/p>\n

(Disclaimer: I have no idea what this year\u2019s committee will decide and I have no idea how I would feel about this book next to the other contenders this year or how the book will look to the committee. But one thing I\u2019m sure about \u2013 my Newbery radar is still active enough that I would definitely note this as a book to Suggest for all the committee members to read.)<\/p>\n

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I\u2019m confident it\u2019s going to be deservedly popular. It reminded me I\u2019m glad I never have to go through sixth grade again, but for kids who are still facing it, this book will encourage them that they\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n

squeetus.com<\/a>
\nleuyenpham.com<\/a>
\nfirstsecondbooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Nonfiction\/best_friends.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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