Title- The Kind of Friends We Used To Be

Author- Frances O'Roark Dowell

Reviewed by- Jeannie N

Having a best friend and sharing the laughter and memories may not last forever, especially in a middle school friendship. In the book The Kind Of Friends We Used to be by Frances O’Roark Dowell, the protagonists are Kate and Marylin, and the setting is mostly at their school and their homes. Kate and Marylin, who have been best friends ever since they were born enter a new grade in middle school. They don't have much classes together which causes them to go their own ways and not be as close. Kate and Marylin meet new friends and have interest in what their new friends have. While Marylin is a middle school cheerleader obsessed with popularity and hairstyles, Kate is the exact opposite with her combat boots and hankering to learn guitar and write her own songs. They both realize their friendship has been fading away and try to reconnect with each other, but it isn’t as easy to be the kind of friends they use to be.

    Throughout the book I noticed a lot of change with Kate and Marylin, for example when Kate and Marylin met their new friends in their classes they began to have interest in what their friends were interested in and forgot about each other. This brought out my understanding of change because it shows it testing an established friendship. This book also made me value friendship more. I enjoyed this book because it was at a pace that was just right for me and I also enjoy books with realistic issues because I can relate to them easily. I could picture the images in my head in what was going on because of the descriptive text. Every time I stopped reading it felt like a cliffhanger, making me want to read more.

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