Friends (Hale)

Following up their mega-bestselling Real Friends and Best Friends graphic memoirs, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham are back with Friends Forever, a story about learning to love yourself exactly as you are. Following up their mega-bestselling Real Friends and Best Friends graphic memoirs, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham are back with Friends Forever, a story about learning to love yourself exactly as you are. Shannon is in eighth grade, and life is more complicated than ever. Everything keeps changing, her classmates are starting to date each other (but nobody wants to date her!), and no matter how hard she tries, Shannon can never seem to just be happy. As she works through her insecurities and undiagnosed depression, she worries about disappointing all the people who care about her. Is something wrong with her? Can she be the person everyone expects her to be? And who does she actually want to be? With their signature humor, warmth, and insight, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham have crafted another incredible love letter to their younger selves and to readers everywhere, a reminder to us all that we are enough. Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham are best friends who have been publishing books for young readers for two decades. They have created three bestselling series together: the graphic novel Friends series, the early chapter book Princess in Black series (with Dean Hale), and the picture book Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn. Shannon lives in Utah with her husband, four kids, and two cats where she writes award-winning novels like The Goose Girl, Book of a Thousand Days, Dangerous, and the Newbery Honor winner Princess Academy, and pens other books with her husband Dean, including Diana, Princess of the Amazons (illustrated by Victoria Ying), Rapunzel's Revenge (illustrated by Nathan Hale), and two novels about Marvel's unbeatable Squirrel Girl. LeUyen lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two sons, a cat, and an orange gecko. She is the author/illustrator of the books Big Sister, Little Sister, A Piece of Cake, The Itchy Book, and Outside, Inside. She is also the illustrator of over 100 books for kids, including Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace, Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio, and The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Heiligman. Her illustrations have won numerous awards, including the prestigious Caldecott Honor for Bear Came Along with Richard Morris. Shannon and LeUyen plan to keep making books together for many years to come and to stay friends forever. "Reading this book is like getting a hug from a friend who knows exactly what you're going through. An outstanding follow-up to the first two volumes, and a must for graphic novel collections." -School Library Journal, starred review "Capturing the visceral embarrassments of middle school in 1987 Salt Lake City, Shannon's emotions are vivid and often excruciating . . . {and} Pham's artwork is vibrant and appealing." -Kirkus "With the combination of Hale's lucid writing and Pham's masterful portrayal of body and language and facial expression, this books homes in squarely and affirmingly on teen angst and worries." -Booklist, starred review Praise for Best Friends: "Somehow, Hale and Pham have made the "normal girl" into the ultimate cool girl." -The New York Times Book Review "This uncommonly honest portrayal of the lures and pitfalls of popularity will likely ring true to many elementary and middle-school readers." -Booklist, starred review "A terrific look at middle school culture . . . This authentic, important book will mean a great deal to many kids." -School Library Journal, starred review "A must-read for fans of Raina Telgemeier or Victoria Jamieson . . . This glimpse into middle school is insightful, introspective, and important." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review "A natural suggestion for fans of Cece Bell and Raina Telge...