Common Sense Media Review
By Terreece Clarke
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Layered, fun romp focuses on friendship and trust.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Nine-year-old Mya Tibbs has a great best friend, a cool brother, and a plan for winning the Spirit Week challenges so that she and her best friend Naomi get the VIP badges to the town fair. Things go very wrong when Mya is paired up with Mean Connie, a bully Naomi knows from her old school. Over the week, however, Mya discovers things aren't what they appear, and she has to make a decision about what kind of friend she wants to be.
Is It Any Good?
Kids will fall in love with Mya and her outsize, sweet spirit, and parents will be happy to hand their kid a book that doesn't perpetuate stereotypes of girl friendships. With its multilayered approach to friendship dynamics, this nuanced, heartfelt, and realistic middle-grade novel excels where so many fail. Author Crystal Allen shuns the flat good-girl-vs.-mean-girl tropes and instead writes characters as full as the kids you know.
Each character has distinct motivations and must decide what kind of person she wants to be. It's a question characters ask and answer often as each situation arises, as opposed to having a dramatic decision at the climax of the story. Another wonderful aspect is that adult support is readily available but fluid enough to allow the kids to work through their processes. It's a nice departure from kid lit that often sees adults painted as out-of-touch dorks.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about mean girls and how to deal with them. Do you have girls in your school who target and bully others? How can you help encourage empathy among students?
Naomi and Mya both have loyal friends, but that loyalty is sometimes misplaced. How do you stand up to a friend who's wrong?
The Tibbs kids have both teachers and their parents to talk to when things get tough. Do you have someone you trust whom you can talk to? Why is that important?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Eda Kaban
- Genre : Friendship
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Balzer + Bray
- Publication date : January 26, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 240
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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