Real Friends

by Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

Overview

“Fresh and funny.” —New York Times Book Review

Newbery Honor author Shannon Hale and New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham join forces in this graphic memoir about how hard it is to find your real friends—and why it's worth the journey.

When best friends are not forever . . .

Shannon and Adrienne have been best friends ever since they were little. But one day, Adrienne starts hanging out with Jen, the most popular girl in class and the leader of a circle of friends called The Group. Everyone in The Group wants to be Jen's #1, and some girls would do anything to stay on top . . . even if it means bullying others.

Now every day is like a roller coaster for Shannon. Will she and Adrienne stay friends? Can she stand up for herself? And is she in The Group—or out?

Parents Magazine Best Graphic Novel of 2017
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2017
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2017
A 2017 Booklist Youth Editors' Choice
A 2018 YALSA Great Graphic Novel

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250164186
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	05/02/2017
Series:	Friends , #1
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	222,136
Lexile:	GN290L (what's this?)
File size:	84 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Shannon Hale is the bestselling author of many books for children, including the Ever After High series, Princess Academy (Newbery Honor book), and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl middle grade novel. She co-wrote the graphic novels Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack and the chapter book series The Princess in Black with her husband Dean Hale. They live with their four children near Salt Lake City, Utah.

LeUyen Pham is the bestselling illustrator of The Princess in Black series with Shannon and Dean Hale. She wrote and illustrated Big Sister, Little Sister and The Bear Who Wasn’t There and is the illustrator of many other picture books, including The Boy Who Loved Math. She lives and works in Los Angeles with her husband and her two adorable sons.

Shannon Hale's mother says she was a storyteller from birth, jabbering endlessly in her carriage as the two strolled through the neighborhood; once she could form complete sentences, she made up stories, bribing her younger siblings to perform them in mini plays. When she was ten, she began writing books, mostly fantasy stories where she was the heroine, and she continued writing secretly for years while pursuing acting in stage and improv comedy. After detours studying in Mexico, the U. K., and Paraguay, Shannon earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Utah and a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. In the interim, she submitted short stories and novels to magazines and publishers, saving all her rejection letters which she has since laminated into one continuous 60-foot roll which she proudly unfurls to audiences as a testament to her dedication and determination. Since the publication of her first book, The Goose Girl, in 2003, Shannon has become a beloved author to young readers as well as booksellers and educators. Her third novel, Princess Academy, earned her a Newbery Honor and is a New York Times, Book Sense, and Publishers Weekly bestseller. Shannon has also written books for adults, Austenland and The Actor and the Housewife. Shannon lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, Dean, their children, and their pet, a small plastic pig.
LEUYEN PHAM worked in animation before turning to children’s books. She wrote and illustrated Big Sister, Little Sister and The Bear Who Wasn't There, and is the illustrator of numerous other picture books. Ms. Pham lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband.

Editorial Reviews

In Real Friends, Shannon Hale reflects on her own friendship-troubled elementary school years with honesty, humor and grace. This graphic memoir is new territory for Hale…Her books are usually full of fairy tales, fantasy kingdoms and fearless fashion-forward princesses, but her readers will find much to love here, including LeUyen Pham's brilliant and multilayered art…Real Friends is too busy being fresh and funny to be preachy…

The New York Times Book Review - Kate Messner

★ 02/27/2017
Hale’s childhood struggles with friends and family come to achingly poignant life in this candid graphic memoir. Over five chapters, readers follow a bookish and shy Hale from her earliest days in school through fifth grade, as she zealously guards her first friendship (“One good friend. My mom says that’s all anyone really needs”), negotiates forever-changing friendship politics, and tries to stay on the good side of her turbulent oldest sister. Hale makes her own flaws evident, and that fairness extends to the bullies in her life, who lash out brutally at times, but whose insecurities and sadness are just as clear. The carefully honed narration and dialogue give Pham plenty of room to work. Her digitally colored ink cartooning pulls substantial emotion out of everyday moments (such as Hale retreating to a playground shrub to cry, only to find another girl already there, doing the same) and the imagination-fueled games Hale was forever devising, presaging her writing career. It’s a wonderfully observed portrait of finding one’s place in your world. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (May)

Publishers Weekly

In Real Friends, Shannon Hale reflects on her own friendship-troubled elementary school years with honesty, humor and grace . . . Her readers will find much to love here, including LeUyen Pham’s brilliant and multilayered art . . . These detailed memories of elementary school will ring hilariously true to adult readers . . . At the same time, stories of whispered rumors and being left out will be achingly familiar for readers navigating those waters in the here and now.” —author Kate Messner, writing in the New York Times Book Review

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

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

“Real Friends tackles bullying, childhood anxiety, and growing pains in a heartfelt way that’ll transport every woman who went to elementary school back into her days as a young girl . . . but the book also shows us the incredible kindness and solidarity that girls can and do display.” —The Mary Sue

“A wistful, affecting, and utterly charming exploration of the realities of childhood friendship.” —Booklist, starred review

“This tender, perceptive graphic memoir is bound to resonate with most readers, especially fans of Raina Telgemeier and kids struggling with the often turbulent waters of friendships and cliques.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“A wonderfully observed portrait of finding one’s place in your world.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Readers will appreciate Shannon's fantastic imagination that lightens her tough journey toward courage and self-acceptance.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Hand this book to fans of Raina Telgemeier’s and Cece Bell’s graphic memoirs.” —Horn Book

“The author’s memoir nails what it’s like to navigate elementary-school friendships.” —Parents Magazine

“Pham’s visual version of Hale expresses everything, with bright creativity and intense emotional suffering warring across her face, her body posture, and even in her gait. Hale fans will appreciate the look behind the curtain at where some of her amazing book ideas are rooted, and kids who have struggled with the complexity of grade school friendships, i.e., any kid, will find comfort that the dark days can be survived.” —The Bulletin

“Real Friends is honest and heartfelt, and sure to be loved by anyone who has ever felt like an outsider. The artwork is stunning, too!” —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

“Real Friends made me laugh, broke my heart, and gave me hope. This book is SO GOOD. SO MANY FEELS.” —Gene Luen Yang, New York Times-bestselling and National Book Award Finalist author of American Born Chinese

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2017
Gr 3–6—Hale revisits her elementary school years in this insightful exploration of the ups and downs of friendship. Young Shannon meets her BFF Adrienne in kindergarten, and the two bond until Adrienne moves away. When Adrienne returns, Shannon is thrilled—until Adrienne joins a clique. In over her head, Shannon copes with feelings of inadequacy as she compares herself to pretty and seemingly perfect ringleader Jen, as well as resentment and intense anxiety as callous Jenny throws barbs her way. There's trouble at home, too: middle child Shannon often feels lost and is bullied by older sister Wendy. The author reflects on her life from the vantage point of adulthood, displaying a mature awareness of her own flaws and an understanding of the behavior of unsympathetic kids such as Wendy and Jenny, and her accessible writing and hopeful tone will speak to readers. Pham's gentle cartoon images make effective use of perspective and composition to underscore Shannon's sense of alienation. Her various flights of fancy reinforce her budding storytelling abilities and provide relatable metaphors (for instance, Shannon imagining her friends as members of a royal court and herself as the jester). In Hale's afterword, she acknowledges that though she attempted to faithfully represent her experiences, she re-created some dialogue and made changes for the sake of the plot. VERDICT This tender, perceptive graphic memoir is bound to resonate with most readers, especially fans of Raina Telgemeier and kids struggling with the often turbulent waters of friendships and cliques.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

2017-02-14
A truth-telling graphic memoir whose theme song could be Johnny Lee's old country song "Lookin' for Love in all the Wrong Places."Shannon, depicted in Pham's clear, appealing panels as a redheaded white girl, starts kindergarten in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1979, and her story ends just before sixth grade. Desperately longing to be in "the group" at school, Shannon suffers persistent bullying, particularly from a mean girl, Jenny, which leads to chronic stomachaches, missing school, and doctor visits. Contemporary readers will recognize behaviors indicative of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but the doctor calls it anxiety and tells Shannon to stop worrying. Instead of being a place of solace, home adds to Shannon's stress. The middle child of five, she suffers abuse from her oldest sibling, Wendy, whom Pham often portrays as a fierce, gigantic bear and whom readers see their mother worrying about from the beginning. The protagonist's faith (presented as generically Christian) surfaces overtly a few times but mostly seems to provide a moral compass for Shannon as she negotiates these complicated relationships. This episodic story sometimes sticks too close to the truth for comfort, but readers will appreciate Shannon's fantastic imagination that lightens her tough journey toward courage and self-acceptance. A painful and painfully recognizable tale of one girl's struggle to make and keep "one good friend." (author's note) (Graphic memoir. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews