The Friendship War
by Andrew Clements (Author)
A fabulous school story about fads and friendship from the bestselling author of Frindle.
This is war. Okay--that's too dramatic. But no matter what this is called, so far I'm winning.
And it feels wonderful.
Grace and Ellie have been best friends since second grade. Ellie's always right in the center of everything--and Grace is usually happy to be Ellie's sidekick. But what happens when everything changes? This time it's Grace who suddenly has everyone's attention when she accidentally starts a new fad at school. A fad that has first her class, then her grade, and then the entire school collecting and trading and even fighting over . . . buttons?! A fad that might get her in major trouble and could even be the end of Grace and Ellie's friendship. Because Ellie's not used to being one-upped by anybody. There's only one thing for Grace to do. With the help of Hank, the biggest button collector in the 6th grade, she'll have to figure out a way to end the fad once and for all. But once a fad starts, can it be stopped?
"A fun, charming story about fads and the friendships that outlast them."--Booklist
"On-point."--Publishers Weekly
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Publishers Weekly
In the latest on-point school story by Clements (The Losers Club), compulsive collector Grace is thrilled when her grandfather says she can keep the 27 boxes of buttons she discovers in his old mill. But after she shares some of the cache with her classmates, the show-and-tell spirals out of control, and kids schoolwide become obsessed with collecting and trading buttons. A math and science whiz, Grace becomes fixated on “collecting data” by counting the buttons on all her schoolmates’ clothing, and eventually comes to the obvious conclusion that she and her peers have contracted “button fever.” Though painstaking details of button swapping weigh down the narrative, Clements uses the over-the-top fad as a conduit to explore more substantial themes, including Grace’s conflicted feelings about her superficial, know-it-all best friend; her deepening friendship with an insightful boy; and her affecting bond with her grandfather, who, like her, is mourning his wife’s death. Regretting the frenzy she instigated, Grace applies the theory of supply and demand in a bold move to end it, precipitating a rewarding finale that underscores the value of friends and family—and wryly reveals the limitations of the scientific method.
Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission
Review quotes
A 2021-2022 Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award Program Nominated Title
"On-point." —Publishers Weekly
"A girl accidentally starts a school fad, causing a rift with her best friend, in this latest novel fromClements. The funny, science-loving Grace is an endearing narrator—just the right person to document the strange but creative ways her classmates' button obsession flourishes. A fun, charming story about fads and the friendships thatoutlast them." —Booklist Praise for Andrew Clements's The Losers Club
"I LOVED this book. . . . Five stars." —Colby Sharp, teacher, blogger, and cofounder of the Nerdy Bookclub
"Refreshing and empowering." --Booklist
"Readers will instantly relate." —Publishers Weekly
"Another upbeat, modern school story sure to please fans and teachers." —Kirkus Reviews Praise for Andrew Clements! "Clements is a genius." —The New York Times
"We have never read an Andrew Clements book that we haven't loved." —The Washington Post
* "The master of the . . . feel-good school story." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV035000 - Juvenile Fiction | School & Education
Schools
Best friends
Collectors and collecting
Buttons
Fads
