Who are your real friends?
For you when you're feeling lonely and worried so you'll remember that you're not alone.
- Dedication from Shannon Hale
When I was little, I didn't worry about friends.
- First sentence
Wow. This book.
Shannon Hale did a great job of capturing the way it feels to be a kid and dealing with friendships and bullying. When I was reading this book, I was reminded of the feelings kids go through as friendships change and kids grow apart. Also how it feels to worry about "fitting in."
This book is the story of Shannon's childhood, sort of. She says she blended friends and events together and told the story basically as she remembers it. She also acknowledged that memory is faulty and things didn't happen exactly as they occur in the book.
The graphic novel format is perfect for this story. I loved being able to see the characters faces and understand exactly what they were feeling.
This is a great graphic novel for grades 3 and up. This is definitely one I will strongly recommend to the librarian I volunteer with. If you like graphic biographies or realistic fiction stories about growing up, you should definitely give this one a try.
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