Best Friend Next Door

After Hannah's best friend Sophie moves away, Hannah meets Emme, the new girl next door, who had the nerve to move into Sophie's old house. Luckily, Hannah eventually comes around. With humor and honesty, Hannah and Emme narrate alternating chapters, describing their friendship's growth and setbacks over the next six months. Mackler has a spot-on understanding of fifth graders and their emotional concerns.

Hannah is having a bad week. First, her best friend Sophie has moved three hundred miles away. Then, her dad and stepmom inform Hannah she’s going to be a big sister and expect her to be thrilled -- she’s so not. (Her stepmom -- the only mom she’s ever known -- is in the process of adopting Hannah; does she still need a “real child”?) Moments after they drop the “baby bomb,” she meets Emme, the new girl next door, who has the nerve to move into Sophie’s old house. It’s all too much. Luckily, Hannah eventually comes around, and how could she not? She and Emme have a ridiculous (and somewhat contrived) amount in common -- palindromic first names, same age and birthday (New Year’s Day), and they both love peanut butter and hate pizza. With humor and honesty, the two girls narrate alternating chapters, drawing readers in as they describe their friendship over the next six months as it grows then faces the usual setbacks -- differing interests, jealousy, misunderstandings. Mackler has a spot-on understanding of fifth graders and their emotional concerns, and details such as Hannah’s first thought (“the unfairness”) at learning Emme has two moms (“I don’t even have one to call my own”) display her inside knowledge of contemporary kids’ lives. jennifer m. brabander