‘Best Friends’ puts focus on building real-life friendships
Making friends isn’t easy, especially when you are 12. Fitting in is huge.
Just in time for heading back to school, Newbery Honor author Shannon Hale and illustrator LeUyen Pham tackle the issue of friendship for middle school students in their latest graphic novel, “Best Friends.” It’s a follow-up to their hit 2017 novel “Real Friends” and based on Hale’s real-life experiences in grade school.
“Real Friends” follows the characters Shannon and Adrienne, who are BFFs until Adrienne starts hanging out with Jen, the most popular girl in class and leader of a school clique called The Group. In “Best Friends,” Shannon is now apart of “The Group,” but finds herself trying to keep up with all of the changing social rules, like what TV shows she should watch and music she should listen to.
Hale is the bestselling author of the “Ever After High” series, and Pham is the illustrator for the New York Times bestselling series, “Freckledface Strawberry,” by actress Julianne Moore.
The women will be making an appearance Sept. 14 at Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet.
They talked with the Chronicle about their new book, their real-life friendship and how kids can fit in during grade school.
Q: Why did you want to do a follow-up to “Real Friends?”
Hale: I didn’t. It’s too hard! But I was honestly so blown away by the reaction to “Real Friends,” and how sincerely so many readers connected to it, I just had to keep telling the story. If a book helps a kid feel less alone, it’s worth anything .
Pham: Hah! For me it was natural. I mean, I wanted to know that my friend Shannon survived sixth grade OK. But I have to admit, the second one was more of an endeavor. The first story was tough and hard to keep up with emotionally. But this second book, while her life story is much more empowered, is also pretty difficult.
Q: How is the story autobiographical?
Hale: Everything that happens in the book happened in my real life, to the best of my memory, with a few minor tweaks to help with story flow. There’s no way I could re-create 30-year-old conversations with perfect accuracy, but I did my best.
Q: With children going back to school, so many kids are plugged into technology, and it can hinder close relationships. Did you consider that as you wrote the book?
Pham: Kids are kids, regardless of the technology they speak through. Passing notes in class and using landlines has been replaced by texting and cellphones for sure, but the growing pains are the same. I do wonder, though, whether little Shannon may have benefited from the
internet in researching about anxiety. On the other hand, she might have found other things to worry her.
Q: Sometimes collaborations make the best friendships, is that your case with each other?
Hale: Yes! Definitely! Uyen is one of my best friends. How could she not be? Graphic novels are massive projects and, especially with one so personal, we’ve had to lean on each other and support each other.
Pham: We were always friends, but once we started working together, I got to really peel back the layers that Shannon has, and our friendship definitely deepened because of that. Shannon is so well known in the kid lit world as this super strong force, this brave voice that speaks out her opinion.
Q: What makes a best friend in your opinion?
Hale: Someone who gets you and accepts you, exactly as you are. A person you want to call to share exciting news. A mutual support, sympathetic ear and sounding board.
Pham: Someone who always makes you feel safe, someone you know you can trust and rely on.
Q: How do you “find your people” when you are in grade school?
Hale: It can be hard. Kids’ worlds are so limited. If you don’t happen to have a kindred spirit in your classroom, there aren’t a lot of other options. For me, I had to just be the best friend I could with the friends I had, and when I started junior high I found friends who aligned with my interests and just got me.
Pham: I was always an artist as well, and generally there’s only one artist in each class (have you ever noticed that?). I don’t think I really ever found my people until my high school years.
Q: Why are friendships so hard in grade school and even
in adulthood?
Hale: We are social animals. We need people! But friendship is also so complicated. If kids don’t find kindred spirits on their block or in their classroom, what
can they do? Also, they’re constantly growing and changing, and so are their friends, so a friendship that works one year just might not the next. I hope adults are compassionate with kids and their friendship struggles. It’s real, and it matters.
Pham: I think anything that is worth something requires work. You have to accept each other’s shortcomings and figure out when someone is genuinely upset at you or projecting some of their insecurities onto you.
Q: What’s the biggest challenge writing a comic/graphic book for this age group?
Hale: Writing a graphic novel is challenging for any age group. The key to writing for young people is to center the story on a character that age.
Q: Why do you think graphic novels are so popular now?
Hale: Comics have always been such an accessible medium and are awesome, especially for visual learners. It makes me deliriously happy that kids who used to think they weren’t “readers” have found that in fact they are thanks to graphic novels.
Pham: Are they only just popular now? I’ve always loved them!