BEST FRENEMIES FOREVER

Sophie befriends her new neighbor, hoping Kaytee will never learn why she was deserted by Ella, her former best friend.

Sophie’s been lonely the whole summer, but little does she suspect that bubbly Kaytee also has secrets. Kaytee’s parents are sending her and her twin brother to private schools, so Sophie feels safe lying about her popularity. In reality, Ella was wooed away by mean girl Morgan in sixth grade, and now “MorganElla” are joined at the hip, excluding and being unkind to Sophie. Everything starts to fall apart when Kaytee, who is miserable at her private school, transfers to Sophie’s public school. Sophie—smart, science-oriented, and a budding feminist—has no interest in clothes, makeup, boys, or social media. Kaytee acts more like the popular girls, but there is a part of her ocean- and dolphin-loving self that genuinely likes Sophie. Still, practical Sophie, generally good-hearted, is not above considering blackmail after she learns her neighbor’s well-kept secret. The middle school friendship problems in this novel ring true, but some of Sophie’s first-person narration feels artificial. Readers will tire of frequent pronouncements from Sophie’s social worker mother and environmental scientist father. Most characters default to White; names cue some minor characters as Asian or Latinx.

Seventh grade friendship issues loom large in this novel that doesn’t stand out from the crowd.