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A review by ruhhnay
Friend or Fiction by Abby Cooper
5.0
This is my first middle school read in probably 20 years and I loved it SO much more than I expected. I expected a sweet, simple, cutesy story but this was so much more than that.
Jade is a lonely girl in need of a true best friend. When no friendships seem to be working out, she takes to her notebook and crafts her ideal friend in her character named Zoe, in which they have endless laughs and unwavering dedication to each other. In a fun twist of magical realism, Zoe winds up joining Jade’s class as a new student and Jade quickly realizes every detail of her fictional story is now coming to life. Zoe helps Jade cope with the tough emotions of her father’s cancer diagnosis and is exactly the type of friend she needs.
Through the story, Jade learns some seriously powerful lessons. My favorite parts of the book were her “Observations” and “Questions for Research” - little ways Jade could learn and grow from her experiences from jealousy in friendship to evolving family bonds. She also got some solid advice from Mrs. Yang who inspires her to keep writing.
Overall, I just loved every second. Cassandra Morris was a perfect narrator too! Wonderful, meaningful read.
Jade is a lonely girl in need of a true best friend. When no friendships seem to be working out, she takes to her notebook and crafts her ideal friend in her character named Zoe, in which they have endless laughs and unwavering dedication to each other. In a fun twist of magical realism, Zoe winds up joining Jade’s class as a new student and Jade quickly realizes every detail of her fictional story is now coming to life. Zoe helps Jade cope with the tough emotions of her father’s cancer diagnosis and is exactly the type of friend she needs.
Through the story, Jade learns some seriously powerful lessons. My favorite parts of the book were her “Observations” and “Questions for Research” - little ways Jade could learn and grow from her experiences from jealousy in friendship to evolving family bonds. She also got some solid advice from Mrs. Yang who inspires her to keep writing.
Overall, I just loved every second. Cassandra Morris was a perfect narrator too! Wonderful, meaningful read.