This is a coming-of-age story that is perfect for middle grade readers. It describes that moment of change into awareness of surroundings and experience of others perfectly. n this novel, the queer experience is explored as well as, to a lesser extent, the non-white experience. What I loved about this book is the encouragement readers will receive of being proud of who they are.

To be complete honest, I didn't quite know what this book was about and as I am a 40 year old with two teenagers, it's not entirely relevant to me. I am not giving it a high rating because I'm not sure it would have kept my children's attention 5 years ago. Please keep that in mind while I also acknowledge that I was not the intended target audience. I also recognize this might hit the mark for others.

The author manages to address a lot of biases and prejudice- in fact almost every hate-related social "ism" is targeted in a poignant but simple way. There is no tolerance for hate in Frankie and Bug - just love and acceptance. The author shows those tumultuous feelings without the mature reasoning skills a 10 year old feels with lot of "It's not fair".

I liked that Frankie and Bug, even when they saw differences in people, they judged on actions, not who they are. I will admit that there is an emotional connection to both characters and even the adults had depth. This book tackles topics that are still often taboo in society and illustrates that love over hate is always the right response - and glorifies childhood friendships.

I absolutely adored FRANKIE & BUG by Gayle Forman.
The story begins during the summer of 1987 in Venice California. All Bug wants to do is hang out at the beach with her older brother Danny like they have been doing for the past few summers. Danny has come to an age where he wants to spend the summer with his friends and not with his little ten year old sister.
Bug’s mom is a single parent working full time in the mayor’s office so her hours can be sometimes unpredictable. Her neighbours are her support network and family.
The downstairs neighbour is an older woman who loves soap operas helps out.
Philip, their upstairs neighbour is a music teacher and his nephew Frankie is coming to spend the summer.
Bug is not thrilled to be spending the summer with a kid she just met. Knowing she has to make the best of the situation Bug eventually finds some common ground with Frankie.
This coming of age story is a beautifully told story that touches on more than one mature theme. Gayle Forman handles these issues with a gentle hand through her cast of engaging characters.
FRANKIE & BUG is a middle grade novel that can be appreciated at almost any age level. Highly recommended.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced digital edition of FRANKIE & BUG.

What a great middle grade novel dealing with family, identity, racism, & homophobia. This book dealt with some huge themes, in an accessible way for young audiences. Frankie & Bug were the cutest of friends and I loved reading about how they came to understand and accept each other and the people around them.

1987: Ten-year-old Bug just wants to spend the summer with her older brother at the beach like they’ve done for the past few years. Instead, her fourteen-year-old brother Danny, has decided he needs to spend time with his friends instead of his little sister. Their neighbour’s nephew, Frankie, comes to visit for the summer and spend time with Bug. However, Frankie isn’t interested in the same things as Bug. He doesn’t want to go to the beach. Instead, he wants to investigate the murders happening in the area. Throughout the summer, Frankie and Bug learn life lessons, including that family can be the people you choose to be close to, instead of your relatives.

This was such a beautiful story. It included some important life lessons that Frankie and Bug had to learn. They both had problems within their family, with some family members not treating them fairly. Bug often pointed out when things weren’t fair, but not everything in life is fair.

There were some emotional subplots in this story. I won’t give away what happened, but there was a transgender character as well as a gay character. Neither of these characters were treated fairly when others knew their gender identity. Though these were tough subjects, they were handled really well for a middle grade reader. There were some upsetting scenes, but generally these topics were treated in a positive way.

Frankie and Bug is a beautiful middle grade coming of age story!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada, Aladdin, Netgalley and Gayle Forman for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Wow, what a wonderful and incredibly important middle grade story. This book should be on elementary school reading lists everywhere! What an important lesson in tolerance, accepting others, being an ally, and growing as a person.

Frankie and Bug do not have the easiest friendship from the get-go, however with time and experiences their bond grows and they become the very best of friends. Bug appears to live a more sheltered life, is not the most observant person, and tends to think a bit more on the selfish side. Frankie is quiet, with reason to be, coming from a family who does not accept him. Spending his summer with his uncle who has also experienced some challenge with regards to who he is has done wonders for Frankie.

I have so much more to say, but don’t want to give any spoilers! Please give it a read, encourage the young people in your life to read it, and spread the word!!!

I received an e-arc of Frankie & Bug by Gayle Forman in exchange for an honest review.

A charming coming-of-age middle grade story about family, friendship, and identity. Bug feels that her life is changing for the worse - starting with this summer as her brother no longer wants to hang out with her at the beach. To make matters worse, her neighbour’s nephew is here to visit and doesn’t seem to want to do things her way either. As Bug learns more about the people around her, she begins to realize that not everyone’s world revolves around her - that there may be bigger issues that others are facing. With Frankie by her side, Bug is off on adventures that may open her eyes to the world and the beauty of the people who have lived alongside her for as long as she can remember.

The story of Frankie and Bug was a very cute coming of age story and I thought it had such depth for a story of 2 kids spending the summer together, ultimately trying to discover and accept who they are. This story explored themes of family culture, friendship, personal growth, and self-discovery. Frankie and Bug spend the summer together and Bug learns a lot about Frankie and tries to uncover her family story. Fascinated with the ongoing murders in her town, Frankie and Bug began to try and uncover clues about the murders as well as who was behind a mugging of a family member. Gayle Forman dives into topics within the LGTBQ+ community and explores tough topics such as the history of HIV and AIDS, transgender, bullying, family abandonment and prejudice. This story was beautifully written and explored these topics in an educational and beautiful way to show acceptance, and encourage love and kindness.

What a beautiful story! The perfect coming of age story! My 11 year old granddaughter just loved it!