Clements, Andrew. The Friendship WarJanuary 8th 2019 by Random House Books for Young Readers
E ARC from Edelweiss Plus
When Grace visits her grandfather in Massachusetts, they tour an old clothing factory that he has bought to renovate and turn into shops. Grace is allowed to take items she finds home with her, and when she finds boxes of buttons, she asks to have them all... all 24 cases of them! Her grandfather agrees and ships them to her house. When school starts, Grace is a little apprehensive because she hasn't seen her best friend, Ellie, all summer. Ellie is very enthusiastic and talkative, and wants to tell Grace all about her fabulous summer and all of the great new clothes she has gotten. Grace is a bit weary of always having to support Ellie, especially since she never seems to care about what Grace has done, so she decides to bring in some buttons to school. Ellie, of course, tries to upstage her. To her surprise, her fellow classmates seem very interested, and soon a huge button fad has started. Ellie starts making the buttons into bracelets, and trading them for fancier buttons. Another classmate has a very cool button, and Grace gets into the middle of the trade... and makes a better offer so that Ellie loses the button. This sets off a fight between the two girls. Luckily, Hank is very interested in the buttons, and he and Grace start hanging out together, research buttons and having fun together. Grace goes through her own family's buttons, and even asked her grandfather is she can have whatever buttons her grandmother, who recently passed away, might have had. Hoping to calm the fad down, Grace takes a lot of buttons to school and spreads them on the lawn, with the thought that an oversupply of buttons will lessen demand. This backfires, but Grace owns up to her actions. Will she be able to put things right with Ellie?
Strengths: This was a clever way to address fads in school. There always seems to be one around, doesn't there? As someone who has three glass jars of buttons, some dating back quite some time, this seemed completely realistic to me! The fight with Ellie, the budding romance with Hank, and the problems the grandfather is facing are all very realistic. Clements is a master of the school story, and The Friendship War is another great book.
Weaknesses: While I liked the way all of the characters eventually acted, I didn't much care for Grace. There is something half a bubble off about her personality that wasn't very pleasant.
What I really think: I'll probably purchase, since Clements fans come in fairly reliable waves. This is a must purchase for elementary libraries, and will certainly see enough use in a middle school as well.
Oh my, I want to read this one. Reading your review took me back to 6th grade in 1985 when stickers were the big fad. Near the end of that year, my best friend gave me THE prized sticker of the entire school (which was a large sparkly unicorn). I still have it to this day and keep thinking of neat ways to give it back to her -- might make a fun framed 50th birthday present, methinks. :) Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds really fun! It’s too bad that Grace wasn’t a great character, though. Thanks so much for the review!
ReplyDeleteThere continue to be button clubs for generations in Canada. Somehow I discovered this some time ago. I too have those glass jars, Karen. What an interesting book to use buttons for the conflict. Noted, and thanks!
ReplyDeleteI liked this one, too. Maybe not as much as some of his other stories, but school based settings are always my favorite. Have a great year, Karen!
ReplyDeleteWhat an unusual story. I'm not in schools, so I like your observation about this book is "a clever way to address fads." It sounds like a winner for students.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up about this. Clements is a solid writer whose work almost always circulated.
ReplyDeleteI have had to find a larger box to keep my buttons in. I like to think I will use them some day, but I doubt I will ever come up with a use for those vintage ones. I look forward to the day when I can let my grandchildren browse through them just like I used to do with the huge button box my grandmother had.
This book sounds great! Clements seems to really understand that middle school audience!
ReplyDeleteClement really doesn't disappoint, and it looks like this one doesn't either.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading this year, and happy new year!
You really can't go wrong with Andrew Clements! I enjoyed this one.
ReplyDeleteI just love buttons and this book sounds perfectly fun. I will definitely check it out. Thanks for telling me about it.
ReplyDeleteHAHA! Half a bubble off of her personality. I have never heard that expression! (This is Ricki at Unleashing Readers, by the way. I am not sure why my profile isn't cooperating.)
ReplyDeleteClements’ novels are always a hit with students and agree that he tells school stories so well! Thanks for the detailed review! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about characters in books who are less than pleasant. I am glad I haven't encountered many in my recent reads - but yup, it can detract from a reader's enjoyment, definitely. :)
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