Best Friends — Content Guide for Parents
Found in this book
- ViolenceBrief
- Scary contentBrief
- ReligionBriefChristian
- Gender rolesSupportingChallenges traditional roles
Not found
- Race & culture
- Profanity
- Climate
- Sexual content
- Gender & orientation
Content themes
Factual summary of themes present in this book. No opinion — just the facts.
Get the full theme breakdown in the app
Summaries and source quotes for every theme.
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Religion
PRESENTContains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.
About this book
A National and New York Times Bestseller!
The creators of Real Friends Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham are back with a true story about popularity, first crushes, and finding your own path in the graphic novel, Best Friends.
Follow your heart. Find your people.
Sixth grade is supposed to be perfect. Shannon’s got a sure spot in the in-crowd called The Group, and her best friend is their leader, Jen, the most popular girl in school.
But the rules are always changing, and Shannon has to scramble to keep up. She never knows which TV shows are cool, what songs to listen to, and who she’s allowed to talk to. Who makes these rules, anyway? And does Shannon have to follow them?
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2019
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of 2019
A National Public Radio (NPR) Best Book of 2019
One of NBC Today's 26 Best Kids' Books of 2019
2020 Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year List
Frequently asked questions
Is Best Friends appropriate for a 7-year-old?
The parents' guide mentions a beating in passing, a teacher who grabs a student roughly and is fired, and Shannon being hit on the head with a ball and taunted; a concussion from roughhousing is an accident. A few illustrations show haunted-house monsters and skeletons, and a fantasy segment shows a scary dark wizard with a skull-like head.
Does Best Friends have violence?
Found (Brief): The parents' guide mentions a beating in passing, a teacher who grabs a student roughly and is fired, and Shannon being hit on the head with a ball and taunted; a concussion from roughhousing is an accident.
Does Best Friends have scary content?
Found (Brief): A few illustrations show haunted-house monsters and skeletons, and a fantasy segment shows a scary dark wizard with a skull-like head.
Does Best Friends have religion?
Found (Brief, Christian): A blog review says Shannon prays for her family and home to be safe and thinks about what Jesus would want her to do for excluded kids.
Does Best Friends have race & culture?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Best Friends have profanity?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Best Friends have climate?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Best Friends have sexual content?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Best Friends have gender roles?
Found (Supporting, Challenges traditional roles): Shannon deals with changing rules about how girls and boys should act and relate, and pushes back on the message that a girl's main goal is to grow up and marry.
Does Best Friends have gender & orientation?
Not found in the sources we checked.
