Sad, but sweet. A good read for upper elementary students anxious about middle school. Jade is a middle school student who lacks friends, has a father who has cancer, and life has sort of been put on hold. A writer's notebook is her only companion, but helpful teachers look out for her and there is happiness. It gets better. It is a message a lot of young people will need to hear before they leave the safety of an elementary school.

A middle schooler in a small town where nobody stays for long, discovers true friendship. After her storybook perfect friend is brought to life, Jade finds out maybe fun and happy all the time isn't perfect. Sometimes what is right in front of you is actually the best friendship.

Actual rating: 2.5

First off, only after I was approved for this book, I noticed that it's described as magical realism, which is obviously problematic, as the author is white so magical realism isn't a part of her culture. It also goes to show how limited publisher's understanding of magical realism is, because adding a fantastical element to your otherwise realistic story does not suddenly make it magical realism. Ugh.

Anyway, that's what I wanted to say about the description of the book. Now onto the actual novel. I found this to be an enjoyable middlegrade, but it was a little bland at times. There was plenty of heart, and I really liked the main character learning what friendship is and isn't and learning to make friends herself. I also loved the sibling relationship and the main character's relationship with her parents, especially her father. But somehow, I felt like something was missing. It all seemed a little straightforward and I feel like the book could have done with a little more plot.

CWs: loneliness, cancer/illness of a parent.

What a sweet story of what friendship means. Jade was so realistic to me. I enjoyed getting to know her.

This is such a cool book, and it has two levels. One level is that Jade is lonely and so writes about her imaginary friend. Zoe is the perfect friend, and all her stories tell of how perfect she is, how fun she is, and what a good friend she is.

The other level is <em>why</em> Jade has created an imaginary friend to write about, and how Clue notices this, and understands, and so decides to help her by using magic water to bring Zoe to life.

I loved how Zoe was exactly what Jade had imagined, down to not having parents, because Jade had never done that part of the backstory for them.

Then there is the issue of Jade's father having cancer, that is driving her to need to have something good in her life.

I thought the story was only predictable when it came to Clue. But everything else was a delightful surprise, and kodos for not making the Sparkly Girls into mean girls. I am tired of that cliche.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This book is well written and the characters are cute. This is a cute and sad book. It is about friendship and family. The pace of the story is good. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Some books are just plain fun, as is the case with Friend or Fiction. The main character, Jade, is an aspiring author who has written herself a best friend, Zoe. She had several real life best friends before, but most people just didn't live in her town for long before moving on to a larger one. Jade's family life is currently tough as her father has been diagnosed with cancer and he loves to hear her stories about Zoe so she keeps on writing them. One day another kid in town tries a magical way to bring Zoe to life. This causes all kinds of excitement and drama but in the end Jade learns something about herself, about how to make friends, and even about crafting a great story. This is book is hard to put down once you pick it up, I kept finding myself coming back to read another chapter and another.

I read this as I teach Middle Schoolers and am always looking for new texts to work with. I enjoyed the story and looked forward to seeing how it developed. As a book for young people it worked well and allows for a lot of discussion around what makes a good friend, how the choices we make affect us and people around us, etc. I enjoyed the developing friendship between the characters and the self awareness that came through. The latter part of the book was fairly predictable but I will not hesitate to use it in our school mindfulness sessions. Thanks for an easy read

Jade has a lot going on in her life with her Dad’s cancer and her best friend moving away. Her way to avoid no friend is to write a best friend into her life. But when her best friend becomes real, Jade still struggles with being a good friend. She doesn’t want to share Zoe with anyone and is afraid Zoe will make other friends. Jade’s feelings will feel very realistic to young readers and many will relate to friendship issues.

4/5
There are so many real life topics addressed in this book, I think ever young person should read it.

I can’t describe the way this wrapped up so perfectly without giving away too much!

There were a few points that I felt the scene dragged on, but alas this was not written for my adult mind.

Overall well written and amazingly spoken. At times children young and old have to deal with hard life situations and sometimes the right book may be what they need to offer encouragement and strength in that time of their life. This is it.

Friend or Fiction by Abby Cooper
#FriendOrFiction #NetGalley

ARC Copy...It was good narrative mixed with magical realism (which the protagonist actually points out) of a girl going through all the emotions that comes with being lonely and her parent going through cancer yet she seems to go through with it via her creativity...which manifest in her "perfect friend" she made. It is also interesting how the dynamics with her "friend" works out as if...sometimes its better just let your creation free to be their own instead of controlling them.

Jade lived in a town where people didn't really stick around for long. Because Jade's family has decided to be in Triveda a little longer, Jade struggles to make any real friends. So instead she turns to her journal where she writes the best friend stories she could dream up. While she is busy writing stories she is missing out on a few things. But a strange turn off events with a boy named Clue have her questioning if her friendship stories are real or fiction. With a little magic, important teachers and new experiences, Jade learns the importance of living in the moment with the people closest to you and the value of real friends.
Cooper did a great job with Friend or Fiction with characters to wanted to know about, settings that were relatable and situations that made you to laugh, cry and read it all over again. I can't wait to share this with readers.

Jade and her family find themselves in nowhere Colorado, where everyone moves away from sooner or later. Due to her dad’s medical condition, they have to stay longer than expected, leaving Jade feeling lonely, because her friends always move, and pressured, because she has to put up an “everything is fine” facade around her family. Wanting to have something constant in her life, she creates Zoe, her imaginary friend that comes to life one day, thus comes a story about appreciating what's around you. This felt very realistic. I felt whenever Jade became jealous, I would cringe whenever she tried to change Zoe’s path. The author did a good job of giving Jade a healthy conscience, because she would also address the things I felt were going a bit too far, like playing god to her imaginary-turned-real friend.

This book is really clear about the “lonely” and “alone” distinction, which I love. Jade almost, unwillingly, makes herself feel lonely, even though there are plenty of people who would love to talk to her/be around her (we've all been there). She realizes this toward the end of the book, that even if you’re lonely, it doesn’t mean you have to feel or be alone. I've already recommended this title to my students.

Thank you to Charlesbridge and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jade is alone but not lonely, in school she hangs out by herself writing about her best friend Zoe, only she's imaginary until school mate Clue, somehow makes her come to life!



Jade and Zoe become inseparable and as Jade also deals with her dad having liver cancer it's a welcome distraction and amazing to live out her stories she invented even though she then learns she has to deal with the consequences of what she did and didn't include in her stories.



I really love the concept and design of the book how there's loop holes in her plan of creating a best friend but she doesn't fill in her life story so much that when she becomes real she loves alone and has no parent to look after her and her home is barren. Overall it was important showing how friends can feel like everything and how nothing in life is ever perfect we all aged a struggle and it's ok to not be ok.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

This book was so inspiring! I loved everything about it! Having a best friend is amazing when your young and losing one can be awful and trigger all kinds of coping mechanisms! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

I received an electronic ARC from Charlesbridge through NetGalley.
Jade is a lonely sixth grader who finds her escape through writing. She creates a girl (Zoe) and writes stories about the two of them. Everything is happy and perfect in the stories so Jade can escape dealing with the fears in her life. Her dad has liver cancer. He came through one remission and the cancer returned. As the story begins, he has completed his chemotherapy but is still recovering.
A young man (Clue) in Jade's class takes her writing notebook and uses some magic to bring Zoe to life. Jade has to keep writing in order for Zoe to know anything. There are humorous moments as Zoe "comes to life." The rest of the book is dedicated to Jade facing her emotions and discovering what friendship really means - control or free choices.
Cooper captures the gamut of emotions Jade refuses to face and realistically demonstrates how a young girl channels this into writing. She learns about herself and being aware of others around her. She realizes how much of her life she has ignored to focus on creating a dream world both with the written and real Zoe.
Middle Grade readers will relate to the characters and recognize themselves and their friends and classmates. Readers experiencing trauma in their lives will identify with the methods characters use to cope.