Wrong Friend -- Middle Grade Graphic Novel Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Friendship can be hard when growing up. People mature at different times and can grow apart, but each friend is not always aware. It is even worse when there is an age difference between the friends. Today we are sharing a book with the narrator being the younger friend when the friendship breaks. It is a middle grade graphic novel called Wrong Friend by Charise Mericle Harper and illustrated by Rory Lucey. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12.

About the Book:

What happens when your BFF is no longer forever?
A fresh and honest graphic novel about friendships lost and found.
Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier!

Charise and Casey have been best friends for years. It never mattered that Casey was older by two years—until she started high school. Now, the two barely talk, and Charise is on a mission to get a new best friend. But can she find that perfect person while navigating long-distance friendships, guinea pig allergies, and the embarrassing quirks of her family?

From Me:

Charise and Casey have been BFFs for a long time. They are neighbors and spend free time with each other and are always at each other's houses. But after an amazing summer together, Casey is off to high school and suddenly acts like she doesn't even see Charise. Charise is feeling invisible and it hurts. She tries to find a new best friend, but that is not always that easy especially when you are in middle school. This book describes the different friends she considers being her best friend and how she overcomes being dumped by her older BFF.

This book deals with the struggle so many tweens and teens have. Friendship can be hard and when friends grow apart or perhaps have societal pressure to not be friends, one of the friends can be hurt and struggle to find a way past it. Charise is definitely struggling. She is searching for someone to replace Casey. After all she did everything with Casey and now has no one with whom to do things. She plays a game with her younger brother. She spies on her neighbor across the street and tries to run out "normally" whenever she sees him outside. There are friends who want to do everything with her but don't feel right. It is hard. This is honestly something I see tweens and teens struggle with all the time. It is even worse in the newest generation. The kids sometimes lack the social skills to really form friendships or at least to maintain them. They are socially awkward and struggle to get beyond doing something at school. There are fears of their families embarrassing them and so much more. This book deals with all of it!

Charise wrote this book based on her own experiences. She had the older friend who dumped her when she got into high school. As a middle school kid, it was hard to understand and even harder to replace her friendship. She lays it all out for the reader to see what it was like and how she recovered. It is well written and a fun book. There are times you want to cry with Charise and times you will just laugh. The story grabs the craziness of middle school and shares all the struggles that can happen. I witness many of them every day with my students. 

The book is written in chapters, and the beginning of chapters are pages from a yearbook with the various autographs of the friend the chapter is about. It is a fun connection to middle school and friendship. This book is perfect for any middle grade reader but especially for the ones that struggle to find that best friend. It shares the important message of being kind and a good friend as well as sometimes a BFF isn't for everyone. I think it will be well loved book for middle grade and would love to see it in classroom libraries to help out the kids who may be struggling with the various friendship changes middle school can bring. The book reminds me a bit of Real Friends, which Hazel loved when she was a tween.