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Friends for Keeps
5 Reviews
(4)
4-6
Friends for Keeps series.
Elizabeth, Ida May's former best friend who moved away, joins the gang at camp--but Ida has a hard time forgiving Liz for not staying in touch and their rift affects the entire bunk. The characters in this series remain unmemorable, but the girls' week full of typical summer activities is diverting and the friendship struggles ring true.
Reviewer: Susan Halperin
(4)
4-6
Friends for Keeps series.
Ida May gains a new appreciation for bossy Jenna while helping her family out during Jenna's mom's risky pregnancy. Meanwhile, all the fourth-grade girls try to get Jenna and Brooke to mend their rift. Valid truths about the ups and downs of friendship are undermined by the underdrawn cast of characters that makes it hard to remember which girl is which.
Reviewer: Susan Halperin
(4)
4-6
Friends for Keeps series.
The changing nature of elementary school friendships is explored via the girls in Ida May's fourth-grade class. After Jenna brings a truth or dare game into school, Ida May ends up on the outs with the gang. The secondary characters aren't particularly memorable, but readers may relate to Ida May's plight.
Reviewer: Susan Halperin
(4)
4-6
Friends for Keeps series.
Ida May has so much fun with her new best friend, Stacey. They even form a secret club after finding a mermaid night-light they think grants wishes. But when Stacey begins to stretch the truth with her "imagining," it puts Ida May in a tough position. Though didacticism creeps in, the story sensitively describes the push and pull of fourth-grade friendships.
Reviewer: Susan Halperin
(4)
4-6
Friends for Keeps series.
This painfully accurate account of the trials and emotions of fourth-grade girls only manages to fully develop one character, but Ida successfully carries the story herself. While the very end slips into a moral lesson that diminishes the authenticity of Ida's previous experiences, the notes between Ida and a friend that punctuate the latter half of the book are entertaining.
Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth
5 reviews
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