"If Ellie Emerson is my best friend, then how come she gets me so upset?" Grace and Ellie have been best friends since second grade and Grace has always played the sidekick. But sixth grade brings abrupt change when Ellie accidentally kicks off school's hottest new fad: buttons. On a summer trip to visit her grandfather in Massachusetts, Grace explores an old mill that Grampa recently bought. There, she finds a treasure trove of 27 boxes, each filled with buttons of varying sizes, colors and shapes. After Grace brings a sampling of them to school for show-and-tell, her classmates catch "button fever," kicking off a wave of collecting and trading. Unsurprisingly, Ellie hates not being in the spotlight and Grace's new popularity puts the pair at odds--if Grace can't find a way to make peace, their friendship could be doomed.
The Friendship War by Andrew Clements (Frindle, The Loser's Club) is a fun, unconventional take on childhood fads. The button craze is reminiscent of countless trends, but choosing an everyday, ordinary object as the focal point gives Clements's novel a classic feel. Grace is endearing and lovable, her odd obsession with collecting things a mystery even to her. And though The Friendship War is told entirely from Grace's perspective, Clements's portrayal of Ellie is thoughtful and nuanced, her self-centeredness and borderline bullying personality contrasted with moments of vulnerability and bubbly charm. The Friendship War is a thoughtful, playful look at the complexities of trends and friendships. --Kyla Paterno, former YA and children's book buyer