My New Best Friend

Author: Julie Bowe

Pages: 176

Published: Harcourt, August 2008

Recommended to: Girls in grades 3-6

Genre: Realistic MG fiction

Cover Score: A

Overall Grade: A-

   Ida May is happier than ever. She's started fourth grade with ease, thanks to her new best friend, Stacey Merriwether. And even better, she and Stacey have formed a super-secret club revolving around an evil mermaid nightlight that they believe grants wishes. But Ida's also got some issues to deal with: Stacey's lying a lot to her family, bossy Jenna Drews has formed a club of her own, and Ida's forced to be a mountain for the upcoming Greek Day at school! Plus, Jenna seems to be hiding something...

   My thoughts: While My New Best Friend is definitely a book aimed towards younger readers, it was a fun read nonetheless. This sequel to My Last Best Friend was even better than the first. The aspect of the mermaid, Jenna's issues, and Greek Day were smoothly combined into the plot, making it a fast, guilt-free read. The plotline flowed easily, and the book was easy to understand and follow without being too simple, as other books for this age range can be.

   Ms. Bowe perfectly captures Ida's voice. I loved the first-person narration, it really felt like a fourth grader was talking to me! This book in particular felt like it had a lot more depth than the previous, which hadn't had as much action, dialogue, and lead up. Squeaky-clean, hilarious, and honest, My New Best Friend is a light, fun read that I'd very quickly recommend to younger bookworms and fans of Katy Kelly's Lucy Rose or Christine Kole MacLean's Mary Margaret series who want a step up in characters, writing, and plot!

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