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It was no surprise to me that young Shannon‘s favorite game was making up and acting out stories with her friends. Her middle grade graphic memoir, the first in a series, was both a joyful and painful exploration of real friendships and family relationships. I loved it. 💖

Real friends read together!! 🤓💗🤓

I read this years ago but didn‘t remember it well, and now have the following two. Along similar lines as Nat Enough, but with the added punch of being fictionalized autobiography, Shannon‘s struggles with friendship in elementary school were heartbreaking yet hopeful. The mean girls, the loners, the ones too big for their situations - they‘re all here. Shannon can be less than ideal herself, but that‘s pretty honest. Looking forward to more.

Here we go. You may have already read all of these. Anyway, let me know if any of them work for you. #LMPBC Group M

Book 11 for 2021

Real Friends by Shannon Hale and Leuyen Pham, is a graphic novel! I usually don‘t read graphic novels, but this one was outstanding! Real friends is based off of Shannon Hales childhood and her friendships while she was growing up! I would say this book is great for kids around 10-14 years old! Definitely a 10/10 novel!

Brings back elementary memories of the 80s. Would be helpful to those kids trying to find their place in the world and navigate through the cliques of middle grades.

#bookspinbonanza book 4! I didn‘t realize this was a memoir, and what a poignant, honest story it is. Touching on family dynamics, friendships, and bullying, my heart also aches for some of the mental health issues portrayed that rarely received an accurate diagnosis or treatment in the 80s.

I‘m younger than Shannon Hale, but this reminded me a lot of my childhood.

#LitsyAtoZ #letterR #graphicnovel
#bookspin

A parent came in today to return these for his 6th grade daughter because they are “inappropriate” and “have no place in a school library” because they “promote bullying.” I think he maybe missed the message of both books... Parents are honestly the works part of working in education and I‘m going to have a stomach ache all day... #schoollibraries #litsyloveslibraries #librariansoflitsy

From the author‘s note.

I remember feeling this way too.

My kid loves The Princess in Black series, so I figured I‘d check this out. This is a great graphic memoir from Shannon Hale with LeUyen Pham. I felt like I was reading about my own struggles with mean girls and social hierarchy. Very touching and honest.

Litsians Unite! 🎉🎉My cousin and friend has joined the Litsy Community! Show her some Litsy love and give her a Follow!

Honestly, I wasn't really a fan of this one. Sure, I'm not the targeted audience... but this autobiographical GN's take on the importance of friendship and treating people the way you want to be treated just seemed to fall flat for me. Though poorly executed, I do appreciate the intended message. The best part of the book were the illustrations. 2.5🌟

#SongsOfSummer Day 15: #SummerGirls and mean girls. Based on the author‘s actual experience as a middle child in her family and being in middle school, this graphic novel blindsided me with its fearless vulnerability, its youthful pain that cries out through the pages, and the struggle to find real friends amidst cliques, subtle bullying, and feelings of exclusion and otherness. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-k5Q

Going to be starting this adorable looking #graphicnovel for my next #OWLsReadathon2019 right after dinner!

Got this at my niece‘s school‘s book fair. She likes Princess in Black. I accidentally said that this was a true story, so now my 8 year old niece (who looked at almost all the pages) calls it boring. 🙃 well it‘s still a keeper. I‘ll be reading this for Goodreads‘ Play Book Tag book club group. This month‘s tag is friendship and this will be perfect.

Loved this graphic novel by Shannon Hale. Realistically tackles friendship issues without sugar coating how difficult it can be to make friends. Some references to Christianity. Appropriate for Grades 4-6. #kidlit #middlegrade

This was a super quick read, but I really liked it! As always, I‘ve got a few students I think would respond to it...

Thanks, @dgingo !

I wanted to read this over the summer - it was the only time I can get my hands on it. After reading Shannon‘s graphic memoir I can see why. It‘s filled with real life drama that many of us have felt at one time.

This hit home in a lot of ways. My early school years were full of this bumbling, awkward in & out of friendships, never quite knowing where I stood, anxiety. I still am, to a point. Really cute art in this one!

#scholasticreads

My 2nd grader couldn‘t put this down, so of course I had to see what this was about - it‘s such a sweet, awesome book. I teared up at the end. Relational problems/bullying are issues very close to my heart. Yes, you deserve to have real friends, the kind who treat you well and get how amazing you are.

This should be required reading for...just about everyone. A great look at early friendships, especially the idea that a kid just needs "that one" friend. I saw a lot of myself in this book. It made me wish I could have been friends with young Shannon.

These kid books are so brightly colored. I haven't read any of these yet (in fact, I need to read Sunny Side Up before it's sequel) but they all feature female main characters!

#femalelead #readingresolutions @Jess7
#colors #booksandshelfiesM18 @Amabear

Sweet memoir of Hale‘s elementary years and the struggle to make and keep friends.

Great start to #letsgetgraphicweeklongmarathon 🙌

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, especially during the middle school years. Highly recommended.

So true to life that it was a little painful to read

Ugh, this book 💔 i loved it! But it's so relatably devastating at times 😭 this is one of the more joyful moments (that also reminds me of my childhood 😂). All about the complexities of female friendships in grade school (what the heck is up with 3rd grade) I'll definitely recommend it to students. #mommyreads #graphicnovels #memoir (ish) #middlegrade

Wow, so many thoughts & feelings after reading this MG about growing up & friendship. It‘s the true story, as she remembers it, of Shannon Hale‘s years in elementary school. With red hair, hand-me-down clothes & a flair for imaginative storytelling, Shannon wasn‘t wildly popular. She did have one good friend—Adrienne. When Adrienne is pulled into “The Group” Shannon must navigate a more complicated world. Wonderful book on ups/downs of childhood.

Evening read (while listening to my daughter read Six of Crows to her brother in the background—so fabulous!).

Insightful, funny, bittersweet, and too real (at times) graphic memoir of Hale's elementary school days. Great commentary on girl friendships and learning to be authentic to yourself. And I just adore everything LeUyen Pham illustrates.

I'm reading this as a grownup, but wow, does it resonate with my tween girl self, and the upheaval of friends and frenemies. A must read for girls age 10 and up! Also, I really like the graphic novel memoir format!

This is so good. Real Friends is Hale's memoir in graphic novel form, and it's perfect for upper elementary kids through adults. She gives such a good representation of how children imitate and create their own societies in school, including the politics, the tough decisions, and the sacrifices. She also talks about perspective and how she never knew what was happening with her older sister. Really heartfelt and honest. Win!

Too cute

"Please love us!!"
"No way, we're too busy to be lovey."

This is a gem through and through. Thank you times a million, @ohthathayley. ❤️

Being the Children's Lead at work always makes me want to read the kids graphic novels. I picked this one up tonight.

Also, my cat is being a little weirdo tonight. 🐱

#childrensbooks #graphicnovels #realfriends

I loved this #graphicnovel! Friendship is tough when you're young, but it gets even harder when cliques form and bullying occurs. In her #graphicmemoir, Shannon Hale describes her own memories of grade school friendships. I enjoyed how Real Friends approached tough issues that any kid can relate to. A great book for middle grade readers!

I had no idea that this was a memoir until I got to the end! Friendships are so hard, especially in elementary school. Shannon talks about her relationship with "the group" and different forms of bullying. Highly recommend! ?????

#20BooksOfSummer
18/20
#graphicnovel

Great graphic novel about friendships and fitting in. Loved Shannon's imagination and the games she invented for her friends.

I loved this book for the honesty it brings up about girl friendships in elementary school (blech, right?). But for some reason, the pacing or the organization of the story just didn't do it for me. #24in48

i like it!

My #24in48 TBR stack. Not pictured is my audiobook When Dimple Met Rishi and short stories What People Say When They Talk About Anne Frank. You'll notice a mostly middle grade and YA theme. That's what happens when you teach middle school 👩🏼‍🏫 #teachersoflitsy Also, thanks to @Sydsavvy and @Bookzombie 📚📚

5⭐ we all have gone through some sorts of insecurities through grade school- maybe it's making friends, or the color of your hair, or etc. Its such a wonderful memoir, and very relatable. Will be buying myself a copy and recommending it to anyone and everyone I can.

Enjoying the hot summer heat by staying in the a/c and reading! (104* yesterday)

So happy I read this! Shannon Hale reflects on her childhood. Such a great, relatable story about making friends in elementary school (K-6). Also touches on family dynamics, anxiety, and includes wonderfully imaginative stories and games she would create. Definitely recommend for fans of Raina Telegemeier.

#graphicnovel #comics #middlegrade #librarybook #shannonhale #realfriends #highlyrecommend

Another fantastic realistic graphic novel for elementary age girls about friendship and growing up. If you liked 'Smile', 'Sunny Side Up', 'Roller Girl' and 'El Deafo' then you need to read this. So many feels.

So real it hurts.

Thank you Shannon Hale for writing a book about an experience that so many children go through--the troubles of friend groups in elementary school. This story is so real to me. Shannon's experience with friends is so similar to my own. I wish this book was around when I was going through that. This would have really helped me to understand that it was okay to be me. This is for any elementary school kid. ❤