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A review by reader_fictions
The Friendship Code by Reshma Saujani, Stacia Deutsch, Sisi A. Johnson
2.0
2.5 stars
I feel like I start about half my audiobook reviews with “I picked this up on a whim even though it’s not really my thing,” and I guess I’m going to keep doing that, because I picked The Friendship Code up on a whim even thought it’s not really my thing. It’s okay for the intended audience and its intended goal, but it’s less a novel than an educational tool. You know how there are novels that teach SAT words? This is kind of like that, only with coding.
The story’s rather silly, and the resolution of the plot is incredibly obvious from the beginning, though the girls don’t figure it out. This might not be the case for younger readers who haven’t read as much. Narratively, though, this story wasn’t particularly impressive, and there’s no reason middle grade can’t be impressive. However, it does teach the most basic elements of coding and some principles that apply to it. So, considering that this is the goal of the book, rather than a good novel, I’d say it’s probably fairly successful within those parameters.
I will note, however, that, though I liked the narration itself, this book does not lend itself well to the audiobook format. Emojis lose something in translation, as do strings of code, which are painful to hear read out over and over again.
I feel like I start about half my audiobook reviews with “I picked this up on a whim even though it’s not really my thing,” and I guess I’m going to keep doing that, because I picked The Friendship Code up on a whim even thought it’s not really my thing. It’s okay for the intended audience and its intended goal, but it’s less a novel than an educational tool. You know how there are novels that teach SAT words? This is kind of like that, only with coding.
The story’s rather silly, and the resolution of the plot is incredibly obvious from the beginning, though the girls don’t figure it out. This might not be the case for younger readers who haven’t read as much. Narratively, though, this story wasn’t particularly impressive, and there’s no reason middle grade can’t be impressive. However, it does teach the most basic elements of coding and some principles that apply to it. So, considering that this is the goal of the book, rather than a good novel, I’d say it’s probably fairly successful within those parameters.
I will note, however, that, though I liked the narration itself, this book does not lend itself well to the audiobook format. Emojis lose something in translation, as do strings of code, which are painful to hear read out over and over again.