The Friendship List Series

Normally, I put up all the book covers in a series, but I'm going to be lazy this time and only use the first one. 

There are four books in the Friendship List series.

11 Before 12 (2017)

12 Before 13 (2018)

13 and Counting (2019)

13 and 3/4 (2020)

I think that's the entire series. Greenwald definitely ended it on a note that feels final. 

The premise of all four books is the same: two best friends (Kaylan and Arianna) make a list of things to accomplish within a set time period. It begins with them doing 11 things before they turn 12 as a means of distracting themselves from the stress of starting middle school. 

As with all these middle grade books, there's a lot of friendship drama. Greenwald is the author of the TBH series I finished a few months ago and wasn't really impressed with. Friendship List is certainly a stronger series with better characters, though honestly, they're not extremely likeable. 

Kaylan is constantly worried and hates change. She definitely grows throughout the series, but she has some pretty terrible moments. In the fourth book, she learns her mother is engaged and she suspects Ari knew and didn't tell her. Ari DID know, but she chose not to tell Kaylan because she didn't want to ruin Kaylan's time while Kaylan was at camp, but mostly because that's something she needed to learn from her mother. Which is 100% true. It wasn't Ari's place to tell and the fact that Kaylan even entertains the idea that it was is why she's not particularly likeable. The best thing she has going for her is that she's a comedian. Not a lot of middle grade/YA books with girls who aspire to be in comedy. Points for that. 

Ari is the far stronger character. I enjoyed her a lot because she's Jewish and that's not just a throwaway line, but a large part of her character. You go along with her for the process of her bat mitzvah and it's quite interesting. She's a religious character with depth but it's not done in a preachy or fake-feeling way. She's also different in that while the books are centered around the friendship between the two girls, Ari feels like she's "her best self" when she's at a Jewish summer camp that Kaylan doesn't attend. And in the fourth book, she suddenly wants to go to boarding school to try to have that camp feeling all year long. She's very independent and does well on her own, unlike a lot of tween characters. 

Overall, I liked the series, but Greenwald is not the best middle grade author out there. I'm glad I read it and I'm keeping these, unlike the TBH books. I may read these again at some point. 

TBH 1-8

I've seen this set suggested for me several times but finally caved and tried it out. I'm a fan of experimental writing formats. I loved the Lauren Myracle Internet Girls series, for example. So when I saw these books were written mostly in text/chat format (with the occasional email, handwritten stuff and flyer thrown in for good measure), I knew I'd check them out eventually. 

There are eight books in the series, which take place across the course of the entire sixth grade year, the summer after, then the entire seventh grade year and the summer after. 

The main characters are Cecily (smart, mature, coming to terms with being lesbian), Gabby (Jewish, ADD) and Prianka (Indian, poet). Victoria (new girl, very overprotective mom, kinda goofy but also has good insights) also makes her way in there, but she's never as focused on as the main three. Other supporting cast members swirl around the events of each book.

There's typical middle grade stuff. Victoria tries too hard to fit in and her mom raises hell with the school. The girls deal with growing feelings for boys or, in Cecily's case, a girl. I loved how they handled her liking a girl as if it was just another crush. As someone who's been reading for basically 40 years, this is such a nice change to see. I love when things that weren't even talked about when I was a kid are now included like it's no big deal (because it is no big deal). The books try to be diverse, but the non-descriptive nature of just texting and chatting leaves a lot out. There's another maybe lesbian or maybe they're both bi girl. There are a lot of Jewish girls. Prianka has two male friends that are also Indian. But honestly, I can't think of one student that's definitely black. Maybe one of Victoria's friends from Philly? But it's not super clear. No one Asian other than South Asian. So considering the book went on about inclusivity in some places, it wasn't the most inclusive. Other issues include repeated instances of the girls growing apart or branching out into other friend groups. Sometimes that ends well, sometimes not. Bullying. Not all liking the same things. Seriously, just typical middle grade book stuff that's been handled better by other series. 

It was fun though. I got them mostly at different times, but I could easily have banged out all eight of these in a few hours tops. They're fluff more than anything that makes you really care about the characters, but I still enjoyed myself. Sometimes fluff is what you need.