- Graphic Novels
- Ages 8–12
- Biography
Best Friends
A sixth-grade friendship-and-popularity memoir about trying to stay inside the group without losing yourself. It is a strong continuation for readers who recognised the emotional truth of Real Friends.
- Best for8–12
- FormatGraphic
- Length256 pp
- Read aloud~2 hr
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Literary
Tone
- Warm
- Bittersweet
- Thought provoking
- Heartwarming
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Sixth grade is supposed to be Shannon's perfect year. She has a place in the popular group, her best friend Jen is its leader, and everything should finally feel secure. But popularity comes with rules, and the rules keep changing. Shannon worries about what to wear, how to act, what boys think, how to stay included and whether she is allowed to be herself. Best Friends continues Shannon Hale's graphic memoir sequence with another honest look at the emotional intensity of tween friendship. LeUyen Pham's art makes the social dynamics clear and expressive, from group scenes to small moments of embarrassment and anxiety. The book is gentle in format but not emotionally trivial: it captures the exhaustion of trying to perform belonging. Best read after Real Friends, it deepens the series' value as a guide to friendship, self-trust and growing up.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 8–12
- Read aloud · 8–12
- Independent · 8–12
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: bullying, mental health.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
3 / 5 · Mostly fine
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Friendship drama
- Middle school transition
- Popularity pressure
- Graphic memoir
- Anxious reader
Avoid if
- Sensitive to friendship exclusion
- Sensitive to social pressure
- Wants escapist fantasy
- Prefers action plot
Particularly good for children who are…
- Making friends
- Low self esteem
- Anxiety and worry
- Moving to secondary school
- Being bullied
- Reluctant reader
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A relatable graphic-memoir about navigating friendships and social anxiety — strong for empathy and talk about belonging, and a gripping read.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific recognition is being in the popular group and not feeling safe inside it. Shannon makes the unwritten rules visible — what to wear, what to say, who to laugh at — and a ten-year-old reading it feels every exhausting beat of trying to perform belonging. The book that puts a name to it.
- Being understood finally
- Friendship and belonging
- Proving yourself
- Making a difference
Why parents love it
The graphic memoir for a child who's anxious about friendship rules — Shannon Hale on being inside the popular group and finding it harder, not easier. Anxiety and OCD handled honestly without ever being the headline. Best read after Real Friends; useful for any tween navigating the politics of who's in and who's out.
- Conversation starter
- Great writing
- Cultural representation
- Beautiful illustrations
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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