Review Detail

Intended for ages 8 and up, CHRIS MAKES A FRIEND is a middle grade book about a young bookworm who has to spend the summer at her grandparents’ house with her annoying younger sister. The town is small and she’s worried about constantly being around her sister. When she meets Mia, also in town for the summer, her stay starts to look up.

What I Loved:
Chris is the main character who at first seems a bit one-note, but as the story goes on more of her feelings and inner turmoil are revealed to the reader. The story is entirely told from her POV, so it’s nice to watch as comes to her own realizations about life. It gets even better when the plot twist of the book is revealed and Chris has to figure out how to handle it.

The writing style was interesting. A lot of the time it feels like a regular story being told from first-person, but then there are hints of something more. Fourth wall breaks almost. I found those moments to be delightful and a fun change of pace, because it showed hints of how Chris is after the summer.

At the very end of this book is a list of the 72 books that Chris reads during this summer. As a huge reader, the author including this information at the back of the book was one of my favorite aspects. Only two of the books are fictional, so readers can jump from this book to one of the books that Chris read over the summer. It was a very sweet thing to include in this book.

What Left Me Wanting More:
Chris’s annoyance at her sister was understandable at times, but it also felt extreme for her to be as annoyed by the 8-year-old as she was. But it still felt in-line with her character. The understanding that Chris reaches at the end of the book about her sister felt like it needed more room to grow. There were hints towards it several times, but it felt like Chris reaching that conclusion came out of nowhere. I had expected more time and more discussions with adults to have Chris reach the understanding that she did.

Final Verdict:
A sweet summer read, CHRIS MAKES A FRIEND is a great read for bookworms looking to connect with the main character. Alex Gino’s handling of complicated matters, such as Chris’s mom, is careful but without ignoring the realities. In a story with only one POV there is a chance of not liking your protagonist, but the author does seem aware of this and tries to make Chris a likeable character readers can root for.