[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Katherine Tegen Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Serena and JC have been best friends since 4th grade. But when JC gets a transplant in 6th grade, things start to shift. Serena gets sick so she can’t visit JC at the hospital. They can only see each other online for awhile. Then JC starts spending time with Leilani instead. Pretty soon, Serena is feeling like Leilani has pushed her out of everything – her class ambassador position at school, her WinterFest project plans, and her friendship with JC.
This leaves Serena wondering where she fits as she joins the Student Senate at school and deals with conflict with another classmate. But it’s possible that Serena has places where she could shine – opportunities she might never have tried if her friendship with JC hadn’t changed. Maybe there’s a silver lining in all of the 6th grade drama.
Review
I enjoyed this finding-your-voice story! There are lots of friendship pieces to this as well as some lovely family moments, but my favorite moments were the ones where Serena speaks up, sets a boundary, advocates for a peer, and carries the mantle of leadership.
There’s a vlog thread to this where Serena is learning to be confident speaking on camera and off the cuff. I think kids who also want to be You Tube stars will get a kick out of watching Serena find her voice through her videos. It’s a nice support piece to the work she does in the novel to find and use her voice in her school relationships.
I was pleasantly surprised that one of the friendship messages in this is that people grow apart. I would have liked a little weightier empathy for Serena’s hurt feelings to go with it. Sometimes the advice seemed too dismissive of her feelings. But I liked the normalizing of friendships that stretch and change and grow and drift over time. These things don’t only happen because someone is mean or thoughtless. Sometimes it just happens from growing up.
Be sure to add this to your home or classroom library if you are in the market for a smart friendship story where the main character finds her voice – and uses it!
Rating: ♥♥♥½*
*♥♥♥½ = Good+