What do you think?
Rate this book
Bad Best Friend
Niki Ames can't wait to start eighth grade, that all-important year before high school. She and her best friend Ava have shared so many plans for the coming year. But then the unthinkable happens: at gym class pair-up, Ava chooses someone else to be her partner. Niki is devastated. It's clear that Ava wants to be part of the popular group, leaving Niki behind. Niki has to decide who her real friends should be, where her real interests lie. Meanwhile, life at home is complicated. Niki's nine-year-old brother Danny continues to act out more and more publicly. Their mother refuses to admit that Danny is somewhere on the autism spectrum, but it's clear he needs help. Niki doesn't want to be like her brother, to be labeled as different. She just wants to be popular! Is she a bad sister and a bad best friend?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published March 24, 2020
112 people are currently reading
830 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Vail
56 books455 followersBirth
I was born on July 25, 1966, in NEW YORK CITY, and grew up in New Rochelle, NY, with my mother, my father, and my younger brother Jon. (And down the street from my future husband, though of course I didn't know that until much later.)
Interests
Some details, I do know-I was very into reading and theater, so I read every book I could get my hands on (especially realistic fiction, either contemporary or historical) and took acting workshops and auditioned for every play in school, camp, or the community. I played Peter Pan, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and lots of extremely memorable chorus parts-for instance, I was "girl number two" in Fiddler on the Roof-the one who said "We heard about your sister, Chava". I didn't care -I just wanted to be on stage. Waiting backstage before curtain call, after giving my all in a performance, was the best feeling I knew. In seventh grade I started taking magic lessons, and by eighth grade I was making all my own spending money by performing at kids' birthday parties as a clown named Tallulah. I liked the freedom of wearing all that grease-paint-I could be as wacky and un-cool as I wanted. I tried dance but felt so clumsy. I faked a sprained ankle to get out of the recital. I took voice lessons which made me a little light-headed (and I was afraid of the voice teacher's growling, drooling Doberman) and both saxophone and piano, neither of which I ever practiced. I did well in school but started a lot of my work at the last minute, in a crazy mad dash, so that it was never late but there were usually careless errors or areas I had to fudge. I had this idea that to work hard at something was sort of a negative, an admission that I didn't have natural talent. If I wasn't going to be Mozart and have the music (or dance, or math, or social studies term paper, or whatever) channeled through me from God, then I was just embarrassing myself by all that workmanlike effort. I didn't get over that idea until after college, by the way.
Career Ambitions
I never really planned to be a writer. I planned to be a financial wizard after learning about option-spreading at age 10, then a poet after discovering Shakespeare at 11. After overhearing "the real power is held by the lobbyists" on a class trip to Albany, I planned to become a lobbyist. Secretly, of course I always imagined myself as an actress, but that didn't seem hard or important enough, and also I worried I wasn't naturally gifted enough.
Parents
My parents were always great. I liked to make them proud, and they trusted me and supported my efforts and interests, which was sometimes weirdly tough. There was so little for me to rebel against.
As a Kid
When people ask me what I was as a kid, I always feel like my answer is at best incomplete.What are you like, as a kid? I'm still trying to figure out what I'm like as an adult.
Socially
Well, things went in waves. Sometimes I felt very "in", very aware of and tied in to the whole scene, excited by who liked whom, all the gossip, some of it less than kind. Other times I felt so alone-like there was nobody like me, nobody who liked me, nobody to talk to. And much of the time it was somewhere in between. A best friend when I was lucky, and a few people in each crowd I liked and who liked me. I resisted being classified as a brain or a jock or alternative or popular-too limiting. I would have to shut down too many parts of myself to be just one type.
Adolescence
I went through a very intense stage in middle school (Junior High). I worried about being too ordinary. I also worried about being too weird. I also worried about changing states of matter, my inability to be morally certain, ignorance (my own and world-wide), and making a fool of myself.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rachel...
I was born on July 25, 1966, in NEW YORK CITY, and grew up in New Rochelle, NY, with my mother, my father, and my younger brother Jon. (And down the street from my future husband, though of course I didn't know that until much later.)
Interests
Some details, I do know-I was very into reading and theater, so I read every book I could get my hands on (especially realistic fiction, either contemporary or historical) and took acting workshops and auditioned for every play in school, camp, or the community. I played Peter Pan, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and lots of extremely memorable chorus parts-for instance, I was "girl number two" in Fiddler on the Roof-the one who said "We heard about your sister, Chava". I didn't care -I just wanted to be on stage. Waiting backstage before curtain call, after giving my all in a performance, was the best feeling I knew. In seventh grade I started taking magic lessons, and by eighth grade I was making all my own spending money by performing at kids' birthday parties as a clown named Tallulah. I liked the freedom of wearing all that grease-paint-I could be as wacky and un-cool as I wanted. I tried dance but felt so clumsy. I faked a sprained ankle to get out of the recital. I took voice lessons which made me a little light-headed (and I was afraid of the voice teacher's growling, drooling Doberman) and both saxophone and piano, neither of which I ever practiced. I did well in school but started a lot of my work at the last minute, in a crazy mad dash, so that it was never late but there were usually careless errors or areas I had to fudge. I had this idea that to work hard at something was sort of a negative, an admission that I didn't have natural talent. If I wasn't going to be Mozart and have the music (or dance, or math, or social studies term paper, or whatever) channeled through me from God, then I was just embarrassing myself by all that workmanlike effort. I didn't get over that idea until after college, by the way.
Career Ambitions
I never really planned to be a writer. I planned to be a financial wizard after learning about option-spreading at age 10, then a poet after discovering Shakespeare at 11. After overhearing "the real power is held by the lobbyists" on a class trip to Albany, I planned to become a lobbyist. Secretly, of course I always imagined myself as an actress, but that didn't seem hard or important enough, and also I worried I wasn't naturally gifted enough.
Parents
My parents were always great. I liked to make them proud, and they trusted me and supported my efforts and interests, which was sometimes weirdly tough. There was so little for me to rebel against.
As a Kid
When people ask me what I was as a kid, I always feel like my answer is at best incomplete.What are you like, as a kid? I'm still trying to figure out what I'm like as an adult.
Socially
Well, things went in waves. Sometimes I felt very "in", very aware of and tied in to the whole scene, excited by who liked whom, all the gossip, some of it less than kind. Other times I felt so alone-like there was nobody like me, nobody who liked me, nobody to talk to. And much of the time it was somewhere in between. A best friend when I was lucky, and a few people in each crowd I liked and who liked me. I resisted being classified as a brain or a jock or alternative or popular-too limiting. I would have to shut down too many parts of myself to be just one type.
Adolescence
I went through a very intense stage in middle school (Junior High). I worried about being too ordinary. I also worried about being too weird. I also worried about changing states of matter, my inability to be morally certain, ignorance (my own and world-wide), and making a fool of myself.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rachel...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
February 13, 2020
This book was so amazing and Niki is so savage omg!
December 30, 2023
This book was really good but it was also kind of sad because a girl named Niki was best friends with a girl named Ava but then Ava said she didn’t want to be BFFs with Niki.
June 7, 2021
So for the longest time this was just okay, and I was thinking about quitting it because I'm running out of time before our final LYRC meeting next month. I am so glad I didn't! There were definitely some slow parts, but the last several chapters really pulled it together. The topics of toxic friendships and consent were really well handled, and, even though some of the interactions were not at all realistic to my middle school experience, it gives me hope that things have changed in the last, well, I won't tell you exactly how many years...
May 21, 2020
The story: Niki is stunned when her best friend, Ava, starts their 8th grade year by ditching Niki and moving over to the Squad, the most popular group of girls in their school. Is it because Niki is a bad best friend? Feeling abandoned, Niki rediscovers other friendships, navigates through all the weirdness going on with her family, and finds out that next-door-neighbor Milo has suddenly gotten a lot cuter. As she finds her way without Ava, she learns to stand up for herself and, in the process, figures out what makes a good...and a bad...best friend.
June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence G; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; Substance abuse G; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (denial, social climbing) PG; overall rating PG. Good for grades 5-8.
Liz's comments: Many of Rachel Vail's books are good reading for the MS crowd--especially for girls who aren't ready for a steamy YA romance, and who like reading stories about the kinds of things that happen to real people. It seems odd that Niki's family was so clueless about having an autistic son in this day and age, but MS readers won't quibble with that.
June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence G; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; Substance abuse G; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (denial, social climbing) PG; overall rating PG. Good for grades 5-8.
Liz's comments: Many of Rachel Vail's books are good reading for the MS crowd--especially for girls who aren't ready for a steamy YA romance, and who like reading stories about the kinds of things that happen to real people. It seems odd that Niki's family was so clueless about having an autistic son in this day and age, but MS readers won't quibble with that.
December 3, 2020
I became a Rachel Vail fan when I accidentally found Lucky in the library in 2008, which now seems five lifetimes ago. I always thought the friendship/emotional aspect of her novels was so spot on, even if she tried to pass off her seventh-grade kissing-parties experience as universal.
I had mixed feelings about this one. The writing was mostly solid, but it also felt like like she was adding random bits that may have come from her own childhood that weren't organic to the fictional family at hand (the biography on the book jacket now includes a brief description of her autistic brother).
As far as her depiction of autism, it would've been better if the main character is the one who's diagnosed (she IS pretty weird) instead of the little white boy who at the end becomes all the good guys' charity case. Vail also could've pointed out, while the character's mother was saying something about how she didn't want to use the word "disability" and all the stigma attached to it, that ACTUALLY there's nothing wrong with having a disability (if not through the main character, then through the new best friend Holly who's real independent and knows her shit as far as I can tell).
As it is, this book feels like something that Autism Speaks would endorse and I'm not okay with that. Thank goodness I read this first before recommending it to my niece.
I had mixed feelings about this one. The writing was mostly solid, but it also felt like like she was adding random bits that may have come from her own childhood that weren't organic to the fictional family at hand (the biography on the book jacket now includes a brief description of her autistic brother).
As far as her depiction of autism, it would've been better if the main character is the one who's diagnosed (she IS pretty weird) instead of the little white boy who at the end becomes all the good guys' charity case. Vail also could've pointed out, while the character's mother was saying something about how she didn't want to use the word "disability" and all the stigma attached to it, that ACTUALLY there's nothing wrong with having a disability (if not through the main character, then through the new best friend Holly who's real independent and knows her shit as far as I can tell).
As it is, this book feels like something that Autism Speaks would endorse and I'm not okay with that. Thank goodness I read this first before recommending it to my niece.
April 19, 2020
Another well written book on Middle School by Rachel Vail. Everything is covered from, different family members needs, finding your place in school "groups" while your best friend has changed and you are not sure where you belong yet, being true to yourself and discovering what a true friend is. Loved it!!
January 17, 2021
This book is a great book for kids 10-14 it has drama, suspense and other things that make it a very interesting book. Once you start you won't want to put it down. 100% recommend.
February 1, 2021
this book was very realistic, which made me relate to the book! I loved it a lot and made me realize, you shouldn't treat your friends however you want to. :D recommend to a lot of readers!
June 23, 2023
This book had a awesome story and I would re-read it, but the characters were so 2D. For the first half of the book whenever I read a name I had to take a moment to remember who that was. The book was quite slow for a while but it got better at the end.
January 22, 2021
Overall it was a cute book. There were a few parts where I was like huh? I hope friends like Holly truly exist out there.
July 11, 2024
So…someone figured out how to make Heathers into a middle reader. Bravo!
July 5, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. It covers friendship, family dramas, and discovering how best to communicate with friends. Some parts were hard because of how realistic they were and they reminded me of all the friendship trouble I've been through before. I would have loved this book as a kid to encourage me and inspire me to be better with new friends and old.
Read
June 28, 2020Well, swallowed this one whole. Totally engaging first-person narrative, realistic middle school friendship drama. Terrific!
March 18, 2020
There is so much to love in Rachel Vail's new book! Please hand this to all middle schooler everywhere, especially girls! Vail does such a wonderful job of writing the relationships between these characters--Ava who manipulates and gaslights Niki and Niki who doesn't even realize she is unhappy and being manipulated by her so-called best friend. Holly is the girl we all want to be, cool, confident, and generous. Also, well-done for mirroring the daughters' relationships in the mothers. Unfortunately, we don't always grow out of unhealthy friendship patterns. And the ending is great! No one gets off the hook too easily for their bad behavior. Highly recommended!
Read more at Bookish adventures.
Read more at Bookish adventures.
June 29, 2020
Middle school relationships are challenging at the best of times. When a best friend not only dumps you but tells lie after lie about you, it's even harder. Niki faced this situation when her best friend moved on to a different group. The story is told by Niki and readers see how she copes with this along with a younger brother on the spectrum and a mom who wants to stage the family as perfect. There's plenty of love but not enough communication. Vail continues to reveal more about her characters as the story progresses. Niki finds confidence in herself and finds friends who appreciate who she is.
May 26, 2020
Fantastic book by a reliably great author. It's good to have books like this for yourself, and for the younger version of yourself. It's also great to see new books continuing to be there for young women and teens, all the people who need someone outside themselves to remind them how to be kinder and still themselves. Highly recommend.
November 16, 2019
Strong 4.5 stars. Thus is an important read for middle grade fiction as it shows you that getting dumped by a bad friend might sting but is better for you, that you need to stand up for yourself. I think it is a message a lot of kids need to read. Well done.
June 1, 2020
This book, along with Well, That Was Awkward by Rachel Vail, are just so, so good. Such a realistic tween voice. Felt so real and true to this age and to this moment.
January 10, 2023
nothing really happened
April 15, 2023
I love Rachel Vail's books. They're perfect for the 12-15 year old crowd. All the issues experienced by teens without all the profanity and sex. These books used to be easy to find but it's getting harder and harder.
The book opens with 8th grader Niki's gym teacher telling everyone to choose his/her best friend. Niki's been best friends with Ava for a long time, so she thought this was a no brainer. But Ava chooses a girl from the popular group, leaving Niki with unpopular Holly. And that's the issue that's masterfully dissected to pieces in this book. The in and outs of popularity and changing friendships. Intertwined in the plot are issues relating to boys, first kisses, an autistic brother, socially conscious mother, sleepover invites, party invites, texting, etc. Vail is able to take the ordinary and fill in tons of detail. She doesn't miss a beat. I'm well beyond this age, but she brought it all back. The social struggles of the teen years don't change much from generation to generation.
Vail is also very good at crafting characters. Holly is unpopular, but genuine, smart and kind. She's the girl who comes back even when she's been dissed. Ava is the girl who becomes aware of social status and decides to make a go at the "in" crowd, even if that means ending a long standing friendship. There's a couple of boys who make appearances, but mostly to add another layer to the growing divide between the girls.
All in all a good read. I'm surprised there aren't more reviews. Only thing I can figure is a nondescript, rather unexciting cover, similar to Vail's other covers. Maybe fix that?
The book opens with 8th grader Niki's gym teacher telling everyone to choose his/her best friend. Niki's been best friends with Ava for a long time, so she thought this was a no brainer. But Ava chooses a girl from the popular group, leaving Niki with unpopular Holly. And that's the issue that's masterfully dissected to pieces in this book. The in and outs of popularity and changing friendships. Intertwined in the plot are issues relating to boys, first kisses, an autistic brother, socially conscious mother, sleepover invites, party invites, texting, etc. Vail is able to take the ordinary and fill in tons of detail. She doesn't miss a beat. I'm well beyond this age, but she brought it all back. The social struggles of the teen years don't change much from generation to generation.
Vail is also very good at crafting characters. Holly is unpopular, but genuine, smart and kind. She's the girl who comes back even when she's been dissed. Ava is the girl who becomes aware of social status and decides to make a go at the "in" crowd, even if that means ending a long standing friendship. There's a couple of boys who make appearances, but mostly to add another layer to the growing divide between the girls.
All in all a good read. I'm surprised there aren't more reviews. Only thing I can figure is a nondescript, rather unexciting cover, similar to Vail's other covers. Maybe fix that?
April 23, 2023
OMG. I have a lot to say about this book. Slight spoilers but buckle up. And no, I'm not marking this as a spoiler because I don't mention that much. You gotta read it to find out what happens. P.S. I love Holly sm, and I aspire to be like her.
This book hit me HARD. Like, sucker punches to the gut hard. The main character Niki is in 8th grade. She has this best friend, Ava, who treats her like literal shit, for lack of a better word. Ava is this manipulative person who tries to make Niki feel like she's always in the wrong no matter what, and then all of a sudden she abandons Niki. Like, what? The book is about Niki trying to navigate her way through redeeming old friendships, making new ones, figuring out how to talk to her family, and having a crush on a cute boy. I'm being so real when I say I can relate to this book (minus the family and crush part).
I had this friend in 8th grade who I later found out talked crap about me behind my back but acted like we were best friends whenever we hung out. She even turned others against me (but they're my friends now haha). I had to go through this weird phase of 'who are my real friends?' and I finally have friends that I can trust, just like Niki. I know that this book is probably way below my reading level but it was so good that I cried several times because of how bad I felt for Niki. Like, yeah, if a guy *forced* me to kiss him at a party, I would totally puke after as well.
All in all, what I'm saying is if you love books about real situations that totally do happen, this one is great. It's short but sweet, and I loved how it ended. 10/10 would recommend reading.
This book hit me HARD. Like, sucker punches to the gut hard. The main character Niki is in 8th grade. She has this best friend, Ava, who treats her like literal shit, for lack of a better word. Ava is this manipulative person who tries to make Niki feel like she's always in the wrong no matter what, and then all of a sudden she abandons Niki. Like, what? The book is about Niki trying to navigate her way through redeeming old friendships, making new ones, figuring out how to talk to her family, and having a crush on a cute boy. I'm being so real when I say I can relate to this book (minus the family and crush part).
I had this friend in 8th grade who I later found out talked crap about me behind my back but acted like we were best friends whenever we hung out. She even turned others against me (but they're my friends now haha). I had to go through this weird phase of 'who are my real friends?' and I finally have friends that I can trust, just like Niki. I know that this book is probably way below my reading level but it was so good that I cried several times because of how bad I felt for Niki. Like, yeah, if a guy *forced* me to kiss him at a party, I would totally puke after as well.
All in all, what I'm saying is if you love books about real situations that totally do happen, this one is great. It's short but sweet, and I loved how it ended. 10/10 would recommend reading.
Read
November 2, 2020Hadn't read a MG/YA book in a while and pulled a few new ones from my library before maternity leave. Was about 1/3 of the way through this and considered quitting on it because I just wasn't feeling the middle school drama vibe. The main character gets ditched by her best friend and is struggling to recover, but she's also super lacking in confidence and annoyingly self-centered yet apologetic for everything, in a pushover way. Then I got out of my adult mind and into my teacher mind and remembered that's just how middle schoolers are, and it's so important to remember that and help young people recognize themselves and their own behaviors and feelings.
Nothing about this story or character was bombastic or dramatic; it was very ordinary, and the behaviors and emotions were quieter, more subtle; the struggles aren't always obvious, and the solutions are rarely simple. That's an important thing to remember as a grown up. Ultimately I was engrossed in the story in a fun way until my mom mind kicked in and I got overwhelmed with the fear that I'm going to have to help my own children navigate crazy adolescent emotions.
Nothing about this story or character was bombastic or dramatic; it was very ordinary, and the behaviors and emotions were quieter, more subtle; the struggles aren't always obvious, and the solutions are rarely simple. That's an important thing to remember as a grown up. Ultimately I was engrossed in the story in a fun way until my mom mind kicked in and I got overwhelmed with the fear that I'm going to have to help my own children navigate crazy adolescent emotions.
December 9, 2020
The writing was good, Easy read with important topics about friendship and family. I identified with the MC because she apologizes more than cursing.
Holly was a great friend and Milo a sweetheart. The parents were trying to do their best but it was frustraiting when the Mom didn't want to face the truth about her son. We all deal with obstacles in different ways, what can we do about it.
And finally a good ending!!! Usually when I read Middle grade books the villain of the story is never confronted and the MC just takes the high road but never tells them to go and f*** themselves or makes clear that their friendship is over because what they did was wrong, if you don't tell people when they wrong or Made feel bad they are going to continue with their ways.
So yeah, forgive and move on but always confront the person even if it's uncomfortable, this fragility of ours that just don't Let us face problems because of the anxiety that It might cause, we need to learn to deal with that as well and not just to avoid it. Get rid off toxic relationships.
Rachel Vail's Is my favorite middle grade author so of course I'm reading more from her.
Holly was a great friend and Milo a sweetheart. The parents were trying to do their best but it was frustraiting when the Mom didn't want to face the truth about her son. We all deal with obstacles in different ways, what can we do about it.
And finally a good ending!!! Usually when I read Middle grade books the villain of the story is never confronted and the MC just takes the high road but never tells them to go and f*** themselves or makes clear that their friendship is over because what they did was wrong, if you don't tell people when they wrong or Made feel bad they are going to continue with their ways.
So yeah, forgive and move on but always confront the person even if it's uncomfortable, this fragility of ours that just don't Let us face problems because of the anxiety that It might cause, we need to learn to deal with that as well and not just to avoid it. Get rid off toxic relationships.
Rachel Vail's Is my favorite middle grade author so of course I'm reading more from her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2020
I really liked this book. Niki's story of growing apart from her best friend is something that is very realistic, and I think that this story is absolutely so necessary for young people growing up who may relate to Niki.
My favourite part of this book is probably Niki's character. I loved how she navigated her friendship with Ava, and her friendships with Holly and Milo and everyone else. At first, when I read the part where Ava was explaining why she didn't want to hang with Niki anymore, I wasn't sure how her friendship with Ava was going to end, and I really liked how at the end, Niki stood up for herself. I think that's a big part in growing up, because I understood why Niki hadn't stood up for herself earlier, and I think that Rachel Vail's choice of having Niki stand up for herself at the end of the book rather than the middle or the beginning symbolised how much Niki had grown.
Bad Best Friend is such a good, necessary, important story for not only the audience it was written for, but anybody else as well.
My favourite part of this book is probably Niki's character. I loved how she navigated her friendship with Ava, and her friendships with Holly and Milo and everyone else. At first, when I read the part where Ava was explaining why she didn't want to hang with Niki anymore, I wasn't sure how her friendship with Ava was going to end, and I really liked how at the end, Niki stood up for herself. I think that's a big part in growing up, because I understood why Niki hadn't stood up for herself earlier, and I think that Rachel Vail's choice of having Niki stand up for herself at the end of the book rather than the middle or the beginning symbolised how much Niki had grown.
Bad Best Friend is such a good, necessary, important story for not only the audience it was written for, but anybody else as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2021
Did this book only take me two days to read because it’s so addicting? Well yes. Did I try to limit my self to only read two chapters per day. Indefinitely. But did I stay up till 11 finishing the last 6 chapters? Absolutely.
What I’m try to say is Rachel Vail is an incredible writer. Her first book that I read in 4th grade ‘Well That Was Awkward’ had me hooked from the very beginning. I was always looking to see if she was going to write a book similar to it. But then well shucks. COVID-19 came and I kinda of gave up and read ‘Well That Was Awkward’ about eight times... But my praise to this book would be, it’s written by the queen of tween/teen, and is %10 better than ‘Well That Was Awkward’. But don’t get me wrong ‘Well That Was Awkward’ is amazing. Because of the tortoise named lightning, and the girl named Gracie. And the fact that I have a 18 yo tortoise named Peatty and that my middle name is Grace. It was love at first sight. THANK YOU SO MUCH RACHEL VAIL FOR CONTINUING TO WRITE YOU ABSOLUTELY RELATABLE BOOKS AND CHARACTERS!
🤩😍
What I’m try to say is Rachel Vail is an incredible writer. Her first book that I read in 4th grade ‘Well That Was Awkward’ had me hooked from the very beginning. I was always looking to see if she was going to write a book similar to it. But then well shucks. COVID-19 came and I kinda of gave up and read ‘Well That Was Awkward’ about eight times... But my praise to this book would be, it’s written by the queen of tween/teen, and is %10 better than ‘Well That Was Awkward’. But don’t get me wrong ‘Well That Was Awkward’ is amazing. Because of the tortoise named lightning, and the girl named Gracie. And the fact that I have a 18 yo tortoise named Peatty and that my middle name is Grace. It was love at first sight. THANK YOU SO MUCH RACHEL VAIL FOR CONTINUING TO WRITE YOU ABSOLUTELY RELATABLE BOOKS AND CHARACTERS!
🤩😍
March 24, 2023
My daughter and I read this together and I thought it was SUCH a great book. There's a lot of relationship dynamics that are starting to develop and so having the opportunity to read a book with her that helps her process some of those big feelings and shifting friendships was really powerful.
I loved Niki's character. Her development from the start of the story to the end was awesome. She stayed true to herself, but definitely had some moments of bending to the social pressures that come in middle school (and high school and...life). There were some things that were more "grown" than I was expecting - namely Chase kissing Niki without permission, but the way that it was written facilitated a great conversation with my daughter - reinforcing consent and standing up for your friends. (And also, the way that Niki dressed Chase down - I AM HERE FOR THAT ENERGY.)
I bought my daughter another book by Vail, Well, That Was Awkward, and honestly I'm bummed that she's reading it by herself! Highly recommend.
I loved Niki's character. Her development from the start of the story to the end was awesome. She stayed true to herself, but definitely had some moments of bending to the social pressures that come in middle school (and high school and...life). There were some things that were more "grown" than I was expecting - namely Chase kissing Niki without permission, but the way that it was written facilitated a great conversation with my daughter - reinforcing consent and standing up for your friends. (And also, the way that Niki dressed Chase down - I AM HERE FOR THAT ENERGY.)
I bought my daughter another book by Vail, Well, That Was Awkward, and honestly I'm bummed that she's reading it by herself! Highly recommend.
August 31, 2020
Anyone who has friendship problems should read this book! The characters evolve as the story goes on, and the situation Niki is in is relatable to all middle schoolers. I would like to express my feelings about the family, which is the reason I decided to write a review. The whole family are nut-jobs. Niki is a pushover who allows herself to be manipulated and apologizes too much. Her brother is a brat who talks classmates “I DON’T WANT YOU!!” and throws a textbook at teachers. The dad is pretty strict (he’s the most sane thought) and the mom is also slightly manipulative and makes her son a Mama’s boy. However, they all get better throughout the book, which is why I gave it five stars. Ava is horrible. She manipulates and lies to her friend and does what she can to become popular. A note on the squad is that they are actually not mean snots that popular girls are in books. They’re really nice if not a bit clueless about some stuff.
April 26, 2021
8th grader Nikki’s best friend decides she doesn’t want to be best friends anymore since she’s hanging out with the popular girls. Nikki finds friendship in the older friends she gave up years ago. Nikki struggles to find her voice and stop apologizing for everything (as a default setting), to fit into her family that mom tries to dress up as perfect for everyone else, and discover how to see herself gently. She’s a great sister to her brother who processes things differently and family life in her house is loud, chaotic, and unpredictable.
Great empowerment examples for teens to use to speak about their feelings.
Great age appropriate discourse about consent.
Great examples of being a bad friend and making everything about yourself (manipulation, gaslighting) and how to call it out.
Great verbiage about loving yourself in your brokenness.
Fantastic examples of embracing differences and respecting neurodiversity.
Highly recommended!!
Great empowerment examples for teens to use to speak about their feelings.
Great age appropriate discourse about consent.
Great examples of being a bad friend and making everything about yourself (manipulation, gaslighting) and how to call it out.
Great verbiage about loving yourself in your brokenness.
Fantastic examples of embracing differences and respecting neurodiversity.
Highly recommended!!
May 21, 2022
I really enjoyed this book, because it was a realistic fiction with both school and at home problems. Niki and Ava were best friends and had made so many plans, but Ava decides to ditch Niki for the more popular friends.
This book was a good read because it is literally 'realistic' fiction. Some realistic fictions sometimes don't represent real life scenarios, but I feel like the plot of this book happens very often to many people, so I liked that part. The goal of the story that I think Rachel vail was trying to show was that friendship is only temporary, and betrayal is something that will happen in life. Acceptance is also another topic, which Niki has to go through and accept that Ava would rather be with more popular people than herself. Eventually, in the end of the book, Ava and Niki do get back together as friends, and Ava apologizes to Niki for being a bad friend. It shows that not every betrayal ends in a tragic ending with no friends left.
This book was a good read because it is literally 'realistic' fiction. Some realistic fictions sometimes don't represent real life scenarios, but I feel like the plot of this book happens very often to many people, so I liked that part. The goal of the story that I think Rachel vail was trying to show was that friendship is only temporary, and betrayal is something that will happen in life. Acceptance is also another topic, which Niki has to go through and accept that Ava would rather be with more popular people than herself. Eventually, in the end of the book, Ava and Niki do get back together as friends, and Ava apologizes to Niki for being a bad friend. It shows that not every betrayal ends in a tragic ending with no friends left.
December 2, 2021
Niki was unceremoniously dropped by her best friend in gym class one day. The day before she had a best friend but suddenly she was cast adrift to find her own way in eighth grade. As Niki realizes her old best friend has aligned herself with the Squad and left her out. She also realizes that there are other people who will support her, maybe even some of those people that Ava is trying to impress. As While Niki is struggling with her friendships, her family is struggling with her brother who has become increasingly difficult. Mom is worried about having him tested because she is afraid it will label him and people will treat him differently, but Niki wonders wouldn't it be better if they could get help with him and gain techniques that could work without everyone getting upset? This is a great book that looks at the difficulties that many face in middle school. It talks about how friendships change and evolve and how things are not always as they have been presented. I would recommend this book for all libraries that support middle schools.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews