Shannon Hale’s first graphic novel is an autobiographic tale of her life growing up. Specifically, it tells about her struggles with friendship. She experiences the full gamut, from friendlessness to becoming one of the popular girls to being ostracized and back again.

Shannon has been best friends with Adrienne since kindergarten. Adrienne is beautiful and kind. Shannon is assertive and imaginative. She comes up with the very best let’s pretend games! As they move up through the grades Adrienne naturally attracts the other popular girls. Shannon tags along at first, mostly because she is Adrienne’s closest friend but her imagination gives her a chance to earn her own place. One girl has a serious problem with this. Her jealousy leads to lies and other manipulations that push Shannon back into the fringes. Shannon has a strong sense of her own worth, though, and chooses to not play the same games. She’s bullied and called a baby when she loses control of her emotions. Finally, she lets it all go with surprising results.

Aside from a great message of valuing oneself and choosing quality friendships over just having someone to call friend, Real Friends has an incredible message of female empowerment. I love, love, LOVE the strong female roles Shannon makes up in her imagination games. Sometimes they’re super women with men falling at their feet (but they don’t need them, they have everything they need already!). Sometimes the’re spies. Sometimes something else. They are never damsels in distress. Never. When one boy tries to steal a kiss from Adrienne, Shannon channels one of her characters and scares the boy away. Adrienne is not impressed (she wanted to kiss him) until Shannon points out that if he really wants to kiss her, he could just ask. Oh yeah…

Good book for any age and great for preteens because honestly, I think most of us girls have either witnessed or experienced some level of what Shannon goes through in Real Friends and maybe it will give someone a stronger sense of what they should and should not put up with when it happens to them.

All school libraries should purchase at least a few copies of Real Friends.

This graphic novel with brilliant artwork by LeYuen Pham captures the social dynamics of girl friendship and bullying in elementary school. Hale's story of wanting to be part of the 'in crowd' and what hell that involved, is autobiographical. The photographs of her at various ages in the back matter add authenticity to the story.

I suspect that most young girls will be able to connect to the younger Shannon. I ended going down a memory lane or two that I have ignored.

What I liked most about this book is that it provides a model for how to extract yourself from these kinds of situations, and highlights the kinds of behaviours that are truly admirable.

One of the biggest concerns my students have is whether or not someone is their friend. Navigating friendship is hard when you are in school. Finding out who your true friends are is even harder. Hale has managed to realistically portray her struggle of being authentic to her true self and finding her "group" of people.

Okay, wasn't expecting the feels to hit me here, but there you go. Great book for anyone who's ever felt like the outcast at school, or lost in the shuffle, or that you would never figure out the whole friends thing.

4 1/2 stars -
What a great story! I also grew up in Salt Lake, so it was fun to see all the actual places (or references to them). Hale's story is fantastic in showing the trauma of growing up as a girl in America today, with the struggles to fit in and be accepted by peers. I LOVED the illustrations! Pham has captured the facial expressions and nuances of body language so well! I think a graphic novel is a very appropriate and effective medium to portray this story, and its one that I think most (if not all!) kids can relate to. Its a good one for adults to read as well, as a reminder of how difficult this time can be in a child's life. Its also a good warning for parental behavior that can easily be misinterpreted by their children. Highly Recommended!

The ARC cover included the sub-title: a true story about cool kids and crybabies, which perfectly sums up this graphic novel memoir. In a similar vein to Raina's Sisters and Smile, Shannon Hale brings the realities of her own childhood troubles with friends and self-acceptance to this popular format.

The reader sees young Shannon through her own eyes as she faces the realities of second through fifth grades: how to make friends, how to keep friends, and how to deal with the complications that arrive with friends. I love the intimacy that comes from knowing a book is a memoir and not "just a story," and I think that kids will appreciate this inside peak into a beloved author's life.

This is a book that will appeal to a wide-range of readers. Even though many think of the struggles of friendship and girl-drama as a primarily middle school issue, the inclusion of memories from early elementary school as well helps draw in younger readers too.

I can see this book as one that my third graders would have loved but that my seventh graders could even better appreciate. (Ending the book with fifth grade keeps it in solidly middle grade territory, though I am curious to see if there will be a sequel that might get into more YA-types of topics.)

Definitely one to add to your classroom or library!

Very nice. I would definitely recommend this graphic novel.

I related to this book so hard, it's weird. Especially since I don't actually remember much from elementary school, but I do vaguely remember being in a situation with toxic friendships similar to what Shannon Hale experienced, and relates in this graphic novel. It's a fantastic story about being a kid and having friends, and the crap kids sometimes pull on each other. It also features a very touching story about Shannon and her older sister, who went through something similar with her "friends."

Definitely a great read for both kids and adults.

I loved this book! It is real and imperfectly perfect for our middle school kids who are trying to figure out who they are and where they fit in.

So relatable--a must for all grade school graphic novel collections.

Man this book hit me in the feels! It was so reminiscent of my own middle school days. Girls that age can be so hard on each other, and Shannon Hale does a fantastic job of capturing all those anxiety ridden moments. This will be a great book to recommend to 4th, 5th, and 6th graders.

How do I even start my gushing over Shannon Hale's memoir about family, friendship, and growing pains? I'm a Shannon Hale fan and a LeUyen Pham fan; their collaborations - like on one of my favorite chapter book series, Princess in Black - work so well, visually and literally, it's a treat for the eyes, the imagination, the whole reader is satisfied.

Here, we see young Shannon's life from Kindergarten through fifth grade in terms of her relationships; with her mother, a series of friends, her troubled and sometimes abusive sister, and with God. Primarily, this is a story of how Shannon struggled with The Group. We all know The Group. Mean Girls was a story about The Group; just about every high school or middle school movie or TV show has a Group. It's the in-crowd, the girls who make lives miserable for everyone that isn't part of their group - and sometimes, even for the people in the group. Shannon desperately wants friends, but with friends comes the stress of being part of The Group and putting up with the mind games and backstabbing that is aimed at her by another jealous group member. At home, she tries to navigate relationships with her large family, trying to give her temperamental sister, Wendy, a wide berth.


We see the effects of stress on Shannon, who develops OCD-type behavior and manifests physical ailments often associated with anxiety. We also see how Shannon copes by creating her imaginary worlds - she's a Wonder Woman, a Charlie's Angel, a secret agent, and she brings her friends along for the ride. This book is powerful for a girl who, like Shannon, grew up in the '70s, disappeared into my own imagination, and struggled for years with Groups and backstabbing. I'm an only child, but Shannon could have been writing about me - and that's how readers will feel reading this book, just like readers do when they read literally anything by Raina Telgemeier.


Readers will know this is their story, whether they're an 8 year old kid or a 46 year old librarian and book blogger; maybe there's a boy out there who, like Shannon or Kayla, another character, hides in the bushes so no one will see them crying and make fun of them. Real Friends is painful, real, and beautiful.

Real Friends received a starred review from School Library Journal, and Kirkus offers an interview with Shannon and Dean Hale. Wander over to Shannon Hale's author page for information on her other books, games and quizzes, and more; LeUyen Pham's webpage is loaded with neat things to see, including a free, downloadable Love: Pass It On poster, and links to her illustration, Facebook, and book pages.

This one is a no-brainer for collections. Display with Victoria Jamieson's Roller Girl, Raina Telgemeier's Smile, and Sisters, and novels like Jennifer L. Holm's Fourteenth Goldfish, and Dana Alison Levy's Family Fletcher books. If it's a display or book talk on self-esteem and standing up to the crowd, make sure to include Kathryn Otoshi's Zero, One, and Two.

Pretty good. A read alike for fans of Telgemeier. A close look at child friendships and growing up.

This graphic novel is based on Shannon Hale's childhood and highlights challenges of growing up that many young readers will relate to. In the story, Shannon has difficulty fitting in and making true friends. Shannon's early interest in storytelling is also evident within the story. The author's note at the end provides more insight into Shannon Hale's childhood and her decisions in writing her memoir. Knowing the popularity of El Deafo by Cece Bell and other graphic novels among my students, I think this one will be well liked as well.

I'm so thankful this book exists. As a teacher, the problem of friendship and realizing that you don't have to be friends with people who are mean to you is something my students struggle with. I can't wait to get this in my classroom.

A few lines from the Author's Note really summarize the intentions of this book:
".. I believe in forgiveness and redemption. But... I think it's okay to make boundaries between ourselves and anyone who has bullied us. It's okay to say no."

"We are, all of us, so much more than we are at our worst and at our best."

"Friendship in younger years can be especially hard because our worlds are small. In high school, and beyond, I found many supportive, lifelong friends."

Shannon Hale is one of our favorite authors who has written books from the Princess in Black Series to Ever After High and the Princess Academy series. The characters that she writes about are strong, spunky, and take chances to be their own best self. Combine our love of her writing with the ever-trendy graphic novel format, and I knew there was a winning combination.

In her new book, Real Friends (being published this May by First Second), Shannon Hale and illustrator LeUyen Pham bring forth a graphic novel about growing up and the realities of friendship and cliques.
Hale adeptly deals with a number of issues that young girls face – fitting in, self-doubt, cliques, popularity, mean girls, and anxiety….Shannon is an extraordinarily creative young girl who is on the edge of being in the popular crowd. As a parent, I noticed things that my 10 year old definitely did not, such as the fact that she suffers from mild OCD and anxiety displayed in headaches and stomach problems.

Young Shannon is a bit afraid about starting school, but immediately hits it off with Adrienne. Things are great until Adrienne moves away after first grade. When Adrienne returns right before third grade starts Shannon thinks that everything is perfect, but Adrienne gets in with the popular crowd and Shannon struggles to figure out her place.

By 5th grade, Shannon finally starts standing up for herself and even winds up meeting some girls that are kinder and more accepting, girls that allow her to be her quirky, fun self.

In the background of all of the issues that Shannon is dealing with at school are additional issues between her and her older sister, Wendy. Wendy is a very angry teenager who takes it out on Shannon a lot. Throughout most of the book she comes across as just a difficult kid, but in the chapter where she is the main focus, the reader does get to see some of the background that made her that way – some of the same issues that Shannon had dealt with in school but handled in a different way.

Both my daughter and I really enjoyed this book. Of course we looked at it in very different ways, but I think this is a great book for a wide variety of readers. It definitely felt true to life and true to the age in a way very similar to Raina Telgemeier’s honesty in Smile and Sisters (which I’m shocked I never wrote about). Shannon Hale also wrote a wonderful author’s note at the back of the book which is good for all readers to pay attention to.

Raise your hand if you had trouble making, keeping, or maintaining friendships in elementary school. Shannon Hale captures the bumpy, often painful, ride through the female elementary school landscape in this honest graphic novel memoir. There's also a little middle child angst, bullying, and some love for imagination and make-believe. Readers will identify with Hale's depiction of the insecurities she felt trying to navigate cliques and other social groups. The tenuous relationship between young Shannon and her older sister is authentic, and the revelation at the end that her sister often struggled with the same insecurities she felt is both realistic and a good reminder that we often only see one side of a relationship. Pham's expressive illustrations are full of details that bring to the surface the underlying emotions, as well as the joyful experiences brought by true friends. This is a fantastic read about finding your own voice and learning to widen your circle of inclusion.

Excellent middle grade graphic memoir for fans of Raina Telgemeier, Cece Bell and Victoria Jamieson. As a child of the 80s myself, I really appreciated all of the 80s references, but the intended audience probably won't catch those. They will simply focus on this being an incredibly realistic and heartfelt account of family and friendship (and lack thereof) in the late elementary years. All of Hale's experiences resonated with me, and I know that every 3rd-6th grader I hand this to will absolutely love it. I really appreciated that Hale included her experiences with anxiety and mild-OCD, and also that she made mention of her family's religion since it was such a large part of her upbringing. I found out in the very back of the acknowledgements that Hale grew up Mormon - it pays to read the back-matter! Required purchase for elementary and middle school libraries

I should have known that this book would be just as amazing as all of Shannon’s other books. This one is a memoir, it’s little Shannon growing up to be the awesome author she is today. But she had stumbles, and troubles with friends. I like that this book is titled Real Friends, because I think it illustrates the various types of friendships someone can have. It tells you it’s okay to not belong to the “group” and that sometimes people are nice in front of others, but mean when you are not around. The illustrations are fitting, and fun. Overall a good book to add to your collection.

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This graphic novel is Shannon Hale's memoir about elementary school, friendship, and family. I've always loved Hale's novels, so I was very interested to read about her life. As she writes in the afterward, her childhood was pretty ordinary, and I think this fact is what weakens the graphic novel a bit. Shannon is a middle child in a large family, distinctive with her red hair, and happy to have made her first friend, Adrienne. As she and Adrienne get older, they're included in the Group, a large group of friends rife with rules, gossip, and jealousy. Shannon has a hard time in the Group, where she's frequently rated lower than the other girls, and sometimes not even included in their activities.

The really interesting part of the memoir for me was her interaction with a prickly older sister, Wendy. Wendy is now old enough to watch her younger siblings, but Shannon often draws her as an oversized bear - she could never predict when Wendy would snap.

Also interesting was watching Shannon become a writer. Stories are what makes her interesting to the other girls, and she finally garners the courage to sit down and type them out on the computer.

Overall, it was a good read, and I think elementary aged girls will appreciate the candor.