Best Friends (Real Friends #2)

by Shannon Hale (Author) Leuyen Pham (Illustrator)

Best Friends (Real Friends #2)
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
Series: Real Friends
  • A National and New York Times Bestseller!
  • An NPR's Best Books of 2019 Selection
  • A 2020 Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List Selection

The creators of Real Friends Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham are back with a true story about popularity, first crushes, and finding your own path in the graphic novel, Best Friends.

Follow your heart. Find your people.

Sixth grade is supposed to be perfect. Shannon's got a sure spot in the in-crowd called The Group, and her best friend is their leader, Jen, the most popular girl in school.

But the rules are always changing, and Shannon has to scramble to keep up. She never knows which TV shows are cool, what songs to listen to, and who she's allowed to talk to. Who makes these rules, anyway? And does Shannon have to follow them?

  • A School Library Journal Best Book of 2019
  • A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of 2019
  • A National Public Radio (NPR) Best Book of 2019
  • One of NBC Today's 26 Best Kids' Books of 2019
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Kirkus

Starred Review
A must-read for fans of Raina Telgemeier or Victoria Jamieson . . . This glimpse into middle school is insightful, introspective, and important.

None

A natural suggestion for fans of Cece Bell and Raina Telgemeier, this book offers an honest, empathetic, and encouraging narrative for young readers braving the ups and downs of the tween years.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

Gr 4-7--Hale follows up her poignant graphic memoir Real Friends, which depicted the twists and turns of elementary school relationships. This time the author looks back on sixth grade. In 1985, Shannon and her friends were the oldest students and anticipated being queens of the school. They belonged to "The Group," a crew of new and old friends who were cute and popular but whose rules of behavior were capricious and confusing, often leaving Shannon anxious and struggling to make sense of it all and fit in. With each page turn, every character becomes ever more believable and complex, and the situations they experience ring true. The artwork is appealing and animated, with backgrounds that darken and become shadowy when Shannon is feeling isolated and sad. Panels move the action along with crisp lines, fun 1980s references, and well-placed, expressive speech balloons. The frequent fantasy sequences are beautifully color saturated, with lovely, hazy shapes that let readers' imaginations soar right along with Shannon's. An author's note speaks honestly and compassionately about anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. VERDICT A terrific look at middle school culture, and a compelling sequel to a fabulous middle grade graphic memoir. This authentic, important book will mean a great deal to many kids and empower those who are happier following their own inclinations than in going along with the group.--Kelley Gile, Cheshire Public Library, CT

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

ALA/Booklist

Starred Review
This uncommonly honest portrayal of the lures and pitfalls of popularity will likely ring true to many elementary and middle-school readers.

Review quotes

"Somehow, Hale and Pham have made the "normal girl" into the ultimate cool girl." —The New York Times Book Review

Praise for Real Friends

"Fresh and funny." —New York Times Book Review

"The book's truth is as vibrant as its art." —Washington Post

"I have two boys, they love these books. They love to talk about the friendships, I love that I am discussing all of these issues through the lives of these girls. There is something about it that's so wonderful." —NPR

"Wistful, affecting, and utterly charming." —Booklist, starred review

"A heart-stabbing tale of the everyday social agonies of girlhood." —Wall Street Journal

"Shows us the incredible kindness and solidarity that girls can and do display." —The Mary Sue

"Bound to resonate with most readers, especially fans of Raina Telgemeier." —School Library Journal, starred review

"A wonderfully observed portrait of finding one's place in your world." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Nails what it's like to navigate elementary-school friendships." —Parents Magazine

"Sure to be loved by anyone who has ever felt like an outsider." —Victoria Jamieson, New York Times-bestselling and Newbery Honor author of Roller Girl

"Fresh, fun, and achingly real. Bravo!" —Jennifer L. Holm, New York Times-bestselling and Newbery Honor author and co-creator of Sunny Side Up and the Babymouse series

"This book is SO GOOD. SO MANY FEELS." —Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese

Shannon Hale
Shannon Hale and Dean Hale are the award-winning husband-and-wife team behind the Princess in Black series, illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Shannon Hale is also the author of the Newbery Honor Book Princess Academy as well as the New York Times best-selling graphic novels Real Friends and Best Friends, illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Shannon Hale and Dean Hale live in Salt Lake City, Utah.

LeUyen Pham is the illustrator of the Princess in Black series as well as many other books for children, including Pat-a-Cake by Mary Brigid Barrett, God's Dream by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams, Aunt Mary's Rose by Douglas Wood, and Real Friends and Best Friends by Shannon Hale. LeUyen Pham lives in California.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781250317469
Lexile Measure
380
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
First Second
Publication date
August 27, 2019
Series
Real Friends
BISAC categories
JNF062010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Biography
JNF053060 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Social Topics | Friendship
JNF053110 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Social Topics | Peer Pressure
JNF062040 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Social Topics
Library of Congress categories
Childhood and youth
Friendship
Schools
Friendship in children
Popularity
Best friends
Autobiographies
Cartoons and comics
Comics (Graphic works)
Autobiographical comics
Hale, Shannon

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