NO spoilers! My youth daughter read this along with myself to get an overall review. Olivia doesn't have many friends and her best friend Alex has just turned Olivia's world on its edges with bad news....Alex is moving to France...Olivia decides that they will stay connected through friendship bracelets , which turns out to be just the answer that Olivia has been looking for to make friends. An overall very good read about friendship.

A fun, new series that many middle schoolers can easily relate to. Bonus instructions on how to create your own fabulous friendship bracelet are included at the back of the book. Those awkward years of friendship, change, crushes, and cliques are never easy but author Arlene Stewart reminds us that we’re not alone and we will indeed, survive!

Stay tuned for the next book in this series titled, Weaving A Wish.

Stewart, Arlene The Friendship Bracelet, 288 pages. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2017. $7. Content: G.

Olivia’s best friend, Alex has just left with her family to live in Paris, leaving Olivia adrift for the summer before 6th grade. While she help out at her family’s craft store, Katonah Crafts, she hopes to find a new group of friends. Can you really bond over making friendship bracelets? Maybe - if includes being kind in spite of differences, helping others who are having a difficult time, and opening yourself to new possibilities.

While I am not personally a aficionado of friendship bracelets, I can certainly see their appeal to the upper elementary crowd. The story is simple and sweet and a great balanced look at mean girls and the power to ignore them without overly dramatizing the interactions.

EL - OPTIONAL. Cindy, Library Teacher

My mom received a copy of this book from Netgalley, and gave it to me to read. Thank you to Netgalley, to the Author and to the publisher.
I am 12 years old, I found the reading level a little bit easy, but good. I found the interest level good for my age.
I didn't like that Zoe got a baby puppy, cause now I really want one.
I really liked that they started the club THREADS, because I thought that it was for a good cause.
I also liked that the characters were my age, because sometimes the characters in books a lot older than me, and it's confusing sometimes.

The Friendship Bracelet is about a class klutz Olivia. During summer break her best friend Alex moves to paris.

Olivia is worried because she doesn’t want to go through middle school alone. But soon Olivia realizes it is not so bad after all and makes lots of new friends.

I really liked Olivia because she was sweet and she loved making friendship bracelets.
Overall, this is a funny, exciting and a bit sad book.

Reviewed by Jr. HarlequinJunkie

When you take the time to open a book, you never know just what you might get. When it seems like a simple story on friendship but then you’re delighted to discover it is more than that. It’s about middle graders who put others ahead of themselves, it’s about reaching out to the community to give back, and dynamics between people. It’s also about the journey of self and discovering all that you have to give is so much more than you ever imagined. On a deep level this is what The Friendship Bracelet was about to me. On a more simplified level my thoughts are below.

You know when you’re getting into a book and POOF it ends, and it all feels so sudden and abrupt.... well this is what happened when I read The Friendship Bracelet. When I first started reading this book it took me a little while to get into it but then I got to a point where I simply just could not put it down.

In this book friendships both old and new are mourned and formed, when Olivia's bestie Alex moves to Paris. While new friendships are formed, it is the common enjoyment of making friendship bracelets that sees Olivia, Zoe, Mu Mu, Austen, and Ethan form the group THREADS. Nothing about these friendships are simple though with new pups, boy liking girl and new friends in old houses that cause uncertainty, secrets and memories past.

The story begins with Olivia finding her mums old friendship bracelet which goes on journey with her and the significance of it all becomes clear at the end of the book. Like most books there were a few challenging characters including Elin and "sidekick"Kennedy, and Ethan's stepbrother Jayden.

The book for middle graders, shows the reader the value of friendships, the art of reaching out to others, and the gift of kindness. Combined these three qualities are what bind the group of friends together and make them a strong team, facing whatever comes their way.
Overall it is an enjoyable read. The slow start may concern some readers but once you hit a certain point where you can see where the story is going, you get excited about where the direction will take you next. There were several story lines going at once which meant that not every part could be explore further. I think the issues that Ethan was facing with his stepbrother Jayden would have been very interesting had it been looked more deeply at. In fact, I believe there is a whole another story there waiting to be written.

The addition of instructions on how to make a friendship bracelet at the very end was wonderful, this would be so much more fun if it had been sold with a small bracelet making kit.

I recommend this reader to whomever wishes to explore friendship, and while it is recommended to middle graders it is also suitable for older children who wants a lovely weekend read.

Loved this book! Friendship is so sacred and this book totally captures what friendship is all about!

Bio:

An old friendship bracelet might provide the threads Olivia needs to connect a new group of friends in this sweet new middle grade series.

As class klutz and all-around misfit, Olivia Jones thought that starting middle school would be tough enough. What’s worse, her BFF and next-door neighbor, Alex, is moving to Paris. Then Olivia discovers an old friendship bracelet in her mother’s drawer and realizes there might be a way for her to feel connected to Alex, even when they’re an ocean apart. Life without her BFF is hard, but when Olivia’s cousins move into the neighborhood, she discovers there are lots of opportunities for making new friends.

Review:

This story really pulled on my heartstrings a little. I had to move away from a best friend at such a young age, and I felt the same emotions Olivia does. It's something that's hard to get past and let go of. Olivia is lost without Alex.

But inside this story is a valuable lesson for all children who read it. And what's more is, Olivia learns to make new friends.

This is a very enjoyable middle grade children's read. My daughter is eight, and she was able to easily read and understand this book.

Olivia is flawed in a way that most people are, and it's okay. Because she is learning.

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 👍👍👍👍 four thumbs