Reviewed by Isioma Grant
The book, Best Friend Next Door by the bestselling author, Carolyn Mackler, is recommended for anyone in third to seventh grade who enjoys reading books with real life situations. Hannah is one of the two main characters. She is having trouble adjusting to her best friend moving to Canada and her step mother announcing that she is three months pregnant. Hannah’s family is surprised that she is upset about having a new baby brother. She is also trying to adjust to no longer being an only child after ten years. “No”, I snap, “I’ve been an only child for almost eleven years. Please don’t call me a sister. I’ll be a former only child.” (5) As if things could not get any worse, Hannah soon finds out that a new girl named Emme is moving into the house next door where her best friend lived. Interestingly both girls hate pizza, share a birthday, like swimming, love cats and adore palindromes (such as their names). Hannah is not only unhappy about having a little brother, but “definitely does not want an identical twin.” (12)
Emme is having difficulty moving away from her home in Florida to her new life in Greeley, NY. Her two mothers constantly tell her that everything will be alright but she still has a lot on her mind. After she arrives in the small town she meets her new next door neighbor, Hannah. Emme learns that both girls share many common interests and brings it to Hannah’s attention. She is surprised with Hannah’s reaction when “Without saying anything, I turn and storm into my house.” (12) However, when Emme´s cat runs away and turns out to be at Hannah's house, a simple call to Hannah starts their friendship. In the blink of an eye, the two girls are doing everything together and love every minute of it.
Though the Best Friend Next Door has strong meaning with a fantastic connection between the two main characters it does have some weak points. Although some reviews said it was humorous, I felt it was more serious than humorous. The story has a serious and emotional aspect, as well. On pages 185 and 186 the two girls have a quarrel at camp because Emme becomes friends with Hannah’s old friend Sophie. Hannah leaves camp early and puts a note on Emme and Sophie’s bunk bed saying “Enjoy each other.” (188) She believes that their friendship is over. Another serious event is when Emme is being bullied by three girls in her class. When Emme finds the courage to tell Hannah they go together to tell Emme’s mothers to help them plan how to stop the bullying.
Despite the weaknesses of Best Friend Next Door, there are many strong points in the novel. One of my favorite parts is when Hannah invites Emme to a lemonade stand to raise money for Hannah’s class. During the fund-raiser the boys and girls, find themselves in a big quarrel. They pour lemonade over each other’s heads. This was one of the very few humorous parts in the book. I also enjoy reading the part when the two girls had a big fight. After the fight, the girls became friends again when Emme’s cat became sick. Though this was an emotional aspect of the book it was also heart-warming and a clearly showed the theme of friendship throughout the story. Another example of this theme is when Emme and Hannah are not able to go to New York City. Hannah is extremely upset. When Emme sees Hannah’s frustration she decides to ask both Hannah and her parents to make their backyards look like Rockefeller Center. The final reason why I enjoyed reading Best Friend Next Door is how I relate to the story and how my sister and I connect at very emotional times.
In closure, Best Friend Next Door has high and low points throughout the book. This amazing book has high rankings for Barnes & Noble and Goodreads. An example of why this is such a great novel is because Wendy Mass, another famous children’s author, says, “I adored this book with humor and heart, Carolyn Mackler beautifully captures the big and small moments in new friendships.” Since Ms. Mass is a well respected author, her endorsement supports the book’s strength on humor and heart in the story. In addition, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble and Amazon claim that the “Printz Honor and New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Mackler brings honesty and charm to this story of a friendship between two girls.” As a reader, the story gave me time to consider the very real charm and honesty of true friendship. Finally, even though Best Friend Next Door has some weaker features, they are outweighed by the positive message in the novel.
Emme is having difficulty moving away from her home in Florida to her new life in Greeley, NY. Her two mothers constantly tell her that everything will be alright but she still has a lot on her mind. After she arrives in the small town she meets her new next door neighbor, Hannah. Emme learns that both girls share many common interests and brings it to Hannah’s attention. She is surprised with Hannah’s reaction when “Without saying anything, I turn and storm into my house.” (12) However, when Emme´s cat runs away and turns out to be at Hannah's house, a simple call to Hannah starts their friendship. In the blink of an eye, the two girls are doing everything together and love every minute of it.
Though the Best Friend Next Door has strong meaning with a fantastic connection between the two main characters it does have some weak points. Although some reviews said it was humorous, I felt it was more serious than humorous. The story has a serious and emotional aspect, as well. On pages 185 and 186 the two girls have a quarrel at camp because Emme becomes friends with Hannah’s old friend Sophie. Hannah leaves camp early and puts a note on Emme and Sophie’s bunk bed saying “Enjoy each other.” (188) She believes that their friendship is over. Another serious event is when Emme is being bullied by three girls in her class. When Emme finds the courage to tell Hannah they go together to tell Emme’s mothers to help them plan how to stop the bullying.
Despite the weaknesses of Best Friend Next Door, there are many strong points in the novel. One of my favorite parts is when Hannah invites Emme to a lemonade stand to raise money for Hannah’s class. During the fund-raiser the boys and girls, find themselves in a big quarrel. They pour lemonade over each other’s heads. This was one of the very few humorous parts in the book. I also enjoy reading the part when the two girls had a big fight. After the fight, the girls became friends again when Emme’s cat became sick. Though this was an emotional aspect of the book it was also heart-warming and a clearly showed the theme of friendship throughout the story. Another example of this theme is when Emme and Hannah are not able to go to New York City. Hannah is extremely upset. When Emme sees Hannah’s frustration she decides to ask both Hannah and her parents to make their backyards look like Rockefeller Center. The final reason why I enjoyed reading Best Friend Next Door is how I relate to the story and how my sister and I connect at very emotional times.
In closure, Best Friend Next Door has high and low points throughout the book. This amazing book has high rankings for Barnes & Noble and Goodreads. An example of why this is such a great novel is because Wendy Mass, another famous children’s author, says, “I adored this book with humor and heart, Carolyn Mackler beautifully captures the big and small moments in new friendships.” Since Ms. Mass is a well respected author, her endorsement supports the book’s strength on humor and heart in the story. In addition, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble and Amazon claim that the “Printz Honor and New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Mackler brings honesty and charm to this story of a friendship between two girls.” As a reader, the story gave me time to consider the very real charm and honesty of true friendship. Finally, even though Best Friend Next Door has some weaker features, they are outweighed by the positive message in the novel.
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