The Friendship Riddle
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
With nods to classic fantasy expertly woven into this surprising and emotionally-charged journey through the ups and downs of middle school, Megan Frazer Blakemore proves that even the bravest heroes need true friends by their side.
Ruth Mudd-O'Flaherty has been a lone wolf at her new middle school ever since her best friend, Charlotte, ditched her for "cooler" friends. Who needs friends when you have fantasy novels? Roaming the stacks of her town's library is enough for Ruth. Until she finds a note in an old book...and in that note is a riddle, one that Ruth can't solve alone. With a tantalizing set of clues before her, Ruth must admit she needs help, the kind that usually comes from friends. Lena and Coco, two kids in her class could be an option, but allowing them in will require courage, and Ruth must decide: Is embarking on this quest worth opening herself up again?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sixth-grader Ruth, who teachers describe as "a bit in her own world," lives in the small seaside town of Promise, Maine, with her Mom and Mum; her former best friend Charlotte adopted from China by her fathers is now aligned with the popular girls. During a relentlessly snowy winter, Ruth is focused on a "secret clue" she found in a library book (Could it be the start of a "saga-worthy" quest like her favorite fantasy novel heroine is always embarking upon?) and on the upcoming spelling-bee championships. But her heart is on her lost friendship with Charlotte and her uncertainty about investing in new friends. Blakemore (The Spycatchers of Maple Hill) has created a cast of distinctive and believable sixth-graders; the new relationships develop more satisfactorily than the plot, which lacks momentum. Once Ruth invites her friends to help with the clues, the search does take on the nature of a quest, which wraps up cleverly, if a little too neatly. This sprawling novel's chief strength is its portrayals of middle school dynamics, seen through the eyes of unconventional Ruth, and of contemporary family life. Ages 8 12.
