Real Friends

Hale, S. (2017). Real friends. New York: Scholastic.

Real Friends is a graphic novel about the authors youth. Shannon Hale tells her story of growing up and making friends. The illustrator LeUyen Pham does an excellent job at drawing the story that supports the words. I personally felt sad for Shannon. She did not have an easy childhood. Then I began to think about my own. I could relate to her story in many ways. Making friends was not easy for me. My dad was in the service and we moved a lot. I had multiple siblings. I think kids need to know that making friends is not easy for everyone and perspectives are different on all sides. It is human nature to want to belong to a group and have friends. As adults we need to help children see different perspectives and be aware of when children need help processing the social world around them. Girl drama is every where and girls need to be empowered to be able to communicate with others.