Real Friends

InReal Friends, Shannon Hale reflects on her own friendship-troubled elementary school years with honesty, humor and grace. This graphic memoir is new territory for Hale as she usually writes about fairy tales, fantasy kingdoms and fearless fashion-forward princesses. However, her readers will find much to love in this book, including LeUyen Pham's brilliant and multilayered art. Real Friendsis too busy being fresh and funny to be preachy.

Following little Shannon's life from kindergarten through fifth grade, Real Friends captures the emotional roller coaster ride of friendship, from navigating the tricky waters of cliques and bullies to her never-ending struggle to stay in "The Group." Shannon's honest and heartfelt story reminds us of how hard it was to learn what real friends are - and why finding them is worth the journey.

Shannon and Adrienne have been best friends ever since they were little. But one day, Adrienne starts hanging out with Jen, the most popular girl in class and the leader of a circle of friends called The Group. Everyone in The Group wants to be Jen's #1, and some girls would do anything to stay on top - even if it means bullying others.

Real friends. We’ve all had them or tried to find them; we’ve thought we had them and realized we didn’t; we’ve even been them or completely missed the mark. The concept of real friends is a complicated beast and bestselling author Shannon Hale tackles it with honesty, grace, and humor in her graphic memoir which […]

Real Friendstackles bullying, childhood anxiety, and growing pains in a heartfelt way that'll transport every woman who went to elementary school back into her days as a young girl . . . but the book also shows us the incredible kindness and solidarity that girls can and do display.

“Real Friends made me laugh, broke my heart, and gave me hope. This book is SO GOOD. SO MANY FEELS.” —Gene Luen Yang, New York Times-bestselling and National Book Award Finalist author of American Born Chinese

Newbery Honor author Shannon Hale and New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham join forces in this graphic memoir about how hard it is to find your real friends - and why it's worth the journey.