Best Friends for Never

Best Friends for Never

Written by Adrienne Maria Vrettos

Scholastic Press, 2016, Ages 12+

After Hattie and her three best friends watch one of their classmates publicly get de-friended in the school cafeteria.  Hattie and her friends make a loyalty pact promising each other that they will not mistreat each other.  But, Hattie unwittingly breaks the pact, her friends start to ignore her.  In fact, they literally do not even know who she is anymore.  Can Hattie figure out what to do in order to make things right again?  This is a story of loyalty and friendship and Vrettos brings poignancy and gentle humor to this story.

There is quite a bit of repetition throughout the book.  Repetition is always good because is indicates importance.  For example, "Forgotten, Promised, Forgotten, Promised" (p. 85) and "Break the Jinx, Break the Jinx, Break the Jinx" (p. 145).  This second phrase is used a lot throughout the book.  The author uses lots of descriptive words to describe the friendships and events that happen throughout the book.

There are no illustrations in the book, but there are pictures on the front and back covers.  The front cover has bright colors with three teen girls wearing the same shirt and one teen girl wearing a different shirt.  They are standing in grass with the title of the gook in girly colors: pink, purple, and white.  The back cover is a picture of four teen girl's shoes with a quote in girly colors: pin purple, and white.

I would recommend this book, it talks about friendship, which is one of the main things we all have in our lives.  I would say this book is for young adolescents ages 12 and up.

Reviewed by Brooke M.