Oh, man. I think every girl has had at least one friend like those described in Real Friends. It’s amazing how much I related to it, and I think other girls will as well. Reading a book about successful and not-so-successful friendships was a refreshing break from my usual reads (action or romance.) Also, I liked how the main character’s life wasn’t sugar-coated, but it wasn’t glamorized, either. She had problems with her sister and it affected her mental health, but she learned from it and how to handle it. Overall, I loved it and I think it’s great for fans of Raina Telgemeier.

Great graphic novel that reflects school life. Probably more for middle school but there will kids in upper elementary that will benefit from this real life story called Real Friends.

Graphic novel and memoir and childhood memories. What's not to love about that?

A book about friendships that really hits the mark. Making and keeping friends can be a real challenge. Based on the author's own childhood, Shannon does not sugarcoat the meanness of others (intentional or unintentional) and the friends one day bit not the next relationships between elementary and tween girls.

Well, this took me by surprise! I thought that I would maybe enjoy this kind of... but instead, I LOVED IT! I will be recommending this 100%, for kids and even adults, because it is just really, really good.

Book was great and totally felt like it was telling the story of my childhood in the 80's. However the story itself is timeless and hits home with my own daughter who is in grade school now, so much so that it brought her to tears and I had to encourage her to read to the end to see that things can work out as life progresses!

I passed this one off to our school librarian to read. She is always looking for new books. Even tho it was a bit young for me I knew who it would fit. Well she ordered 30 of them last week.

Real Friends is a super relatable and realistic story of friendship, loneliness, and middle school awkwardness. It's also a fantastic way to introduce middle grade readers into graphic novels and comics for the first time as well as a great way to get reluctant readers interested in a meaningful story.

Love this book! Shared with my son who is in 5th grade and he said 'this is a must read Mom! You need to make sure all of your students can read it, so buy a lot of them!'

This was a story that every young girl should read. I think everyone goes through phases where they feel out of place or unappreciated for who they are and this book really does a beautiful job of making you feel like you are not alone.

Shannon Hale has long been a favorite of mine, and her cooperations with LeUyen Pham have always caught my eye. The fun, kinetic images are a great addition, and the emotional story will resonate with Telgemeier fans.

I give it up to Shannon Hale for tapping into her childhood, making herself vulnerable and her brave story. I'm sure many of us have experienced bullying behavior, isolation and peer frustrations in our youth. LeUyen's amazing illustrations -- lovingly drawn characters with bright colors -- gave me hope throughout the graphic novel that "it gets better." Thankfully, it does and I very much appreciated Shannon giving an update at the end of some "real life" clarifications letting readers know it took much longer to get to a semi-happily ever after.

Shannon and Adrienne had always been friends, which helped when Shannon felt shy. Adrienne later became friends with Jen and The Group. Some of the girls would be willing to do anything to be closer to Jen in The Group, even bully others not as popular.

This is a very real and sometimes painful look at elementary school years for girls. It's soul crushing to not be popular, and Shannon Hale drew on her own memories to tell this story. That gives it the emotional resonance for the reader, who inevitably would have felt the same growing up.

LeUyen Pham's art fits very naturally with the narrative, giving each character their childlike appearance and mannerisms without seeming "cartoony." We don't see the motivations for the other characters unless they tell Shannon, who is the point of view we're following.

My daughter also read this book and enjoyed the artwork. Shannon's story really resonated with her, and she particularly liked the hopeful ending. The characters felt very real and approachable to her. This is a middle-grade book, but even older readers will appreciate it and its honesty.

Awesome book about friendship, insecurity, and finding out who you are. Perfect read-alike for Smile and Sisters. In fact, I think I liked this one even better than those.

Thank you to Netgalley, First Second Books, LeUyen Pham, and Shannon Hale for the chance to read and review this ARC;

This book is incredibly charming. So much more charming than I ever expected. As a teacher, I can totally see having this in my classroom and advise to even high schoolers, for these tales of the search for the self, relating to school, and the trials and tribulations of friendship are universal to the growing years of your life. I spent an uncounted amount of time wanting to cry out "Omgosh, I felt that way, too!"

I cannot stress enough how every kid should have this book. I want it for my classroom and all my nieces/nephews already and can see it coming to them as birthday and Christmas presents as the rest of this year as celebrations present themselves.

The cover page showed real potential with true to life characters, and Shannon as the main character who has all of these problems mounting on her shoulders; which was a huge thing for a small child. And I liked the richly graphic use of pictures. REAL FRIENDS by Shannon Hale, told of a sad situation that cropped up for Shannon. This would be a sticky situation for any child to go through.
One of the unique things about the story was, it seemed as though I was reading it like a comic book filled with cartoon characters, with yelling and cruel words flying across the pages, leaving poor Shannon frightened in her tracks. So she either ran or cried, or both. This could cause a traumatic experience that might follow a child to adult hood. I felt sorry for the child Shannon. I wanted to help her to get away from the bully, or bullies. Who are her real friends? Will she ever find a true friend that would be willing to stick by her? An interesting situation popped up during the story. Why would Shannon's sister, instead of coming to her rescue, try to knock her down with words? or better yet, slap her and then yell at her? What about her friends at school? Why didn't they want her following them or hanging out with them? What was it about Shannon that kept her from getting and keeping friends? This book brought to light some things that could actually happen to children and how they might face each situation differently. Interesting read!

In this charming graphic memoir Hale reflects on her elementary school years and focuses on childhood friendship. As a child Shannon feels lost. She does not quite fit in at home, being the middle child between two older and two younger siblings. Shannon also feels a bit lost at school with not finding friends her own age until she meets her first friend Adrienne who Shannon attaches to pretty quickly. As we all have experienced, childhood friendships are mercurial and changes quite frequently. When Adrienne moves up on the social ladder and becomes more popular she leaves Shannon behind and joins the "the group"'s ringleader Jen. Shannon remains on the outer fringes of the "group" where mean girl Jenny is determined to keep Shannon there by spreading rumors and bullying her. Eventually Shannon does find friends in sixth graders Zara and Veronica who show Shannon that being yourself and being nice is the key to popularity.
I like how the book is divided into sections titled with the name of a friend or frenemy: Adrienne, Jen, Jenny, Zara and Veronica, and Shannon's oldest sister Wendy, whom she imagines as an angry bear. It was very easy to empathize with Shannon’s painful experiences of being left out, teased, and bullied. While there are dark moments for Shannon, readers will rejoice whens he learns how to find real friends, avoid toxic ones, and stands up for herself. There is also a brief mention of Shannon developing mild OCD and undiscovered anxiety which contributed to her stress and frustration with making friends. Hale also does a good job in showing how Wendy also faced similar setbacks on finding friends too and eventually bonded with Shannon.
The illustrations are vibrant and the characters leap off the page. There is a nice balance between humorous and sensitive depictions of the young characters’ wide-ranging emotions that work well with the text. Real Friends will be a hit with fans of Raina Telgemeier’s and Cece Bell’s graphic memoirs.

I’ve been looking for a while for a graphic novel for the Middle Grade age range which shows a range of personality types and depicts kids navigating the tricky world of school. I’ve been searching for a while and now I think I’ve found it! Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham features an almost wholly female cast and is centred upon Hale’s own childhood experiences of friendship- from having a true best friend to back-up best friends and then finding yourself part of a ‘group.’… in fact not just any group but THE GROUP!
As this is a graphic memoir it reflects the experiences of its author, Shannon Hale. Interestingly enough though, in the ‘thanks’ section at the back of the book, illustrator LeUyen Pham talks about how the narrative is also close to her own experiences, suggesting that Hale had “crawled inside <her> own memories” and then depicted them on the page. In other works this may sound almost trite but I totally understood where she was coming from. At times I had to put the book down and stop reading because it just felt far too close to my own recollections of being a pre-teen. As an adult I can now identify how a lot of my anxieties go back to these early friendships- being left out, having done something wrong. If there had been a book like this around when I was a child maybe I would have been able to understand situations more clearly, or maybe to just realise I wasn’t the only one who felt like this.
This book is a really well-written, honest (almost painfully at times) reflection of female friendships- changing allegiances, bullying, hero-worship etc. It works well both as a story that can be read for pleasure and just enjoyed but also as a comfort for those who are going through similar experiences in their own friendships. Although the book is centred upon female characters and does refer to the fact that male or mixed friendships are often based upon different dynamics, it doesn’t mean that boys would not enjoy this book. Real Friends depicts a story that gets replayed over and over in playgrounds around the world and allows an inside perspective from those involved.
I believe that this would be a great addition to school libraries and class collections but also that this would make a great addition to a comic/graphic novel club. It also could be an interesting way to broach discussions around friendship in PHSCE lessons or for small groups (could be used effectively by learning mentors in friendship circles).

Growing up can be hard. So can navigating elementary school, new friendships and older sisters. Shannon Hale has written a completely relatable story, based on events in her own life. I think that any elementary student will be able to see at least a little bit of themselves in Shannon and her friends. The illustrations are bright, colorful and expressive. I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Raina Telgemeier, Jennifer Holm's Sunny Side Up and Victoria Jamieson's Roller Girl.

I loved this for so many reasons. It felt like my story being told, even though my differences from others were not the same as Shannon's. It wasn't until the end that I realized this was a memoir of sorts. Very true, very special, and really hit my heart.