TBH #1

October 16, 2017
Told through text messages, passed notes, and emails, this series kickoff introduces sixth-grade BFFs Cecily, Gabby, and Prianka. Gabby is keeping a couple secrets from her friends, including her crush on a classmate, but otherwise the girls share their thoughts on everything, from attending their first boy-girl party to joining the committee to organize the Valentine’s Day dance. Problems surface when new student Victoria hopes to join their circle. Cecily wants to include Victoria, Gabby and Pri think she’s weird, and things come to a head when Pri accidentally texts a thoughtless remark about Victoria in a group chat that Victoria is part of, leading to an exploration of cyberbullying and ways kids can counter it. In this fine successor to Lauren Myracle’s TTYL and its sequels, Greenwald (11 Before 12) realistically captures the language of texting tweens, including exuberant use of emoji, and how mistakes can be made and tone misunderstood amid rapid-fire digital conversations. All three girls are sympathetic in their imperfect approaches to the challenges of middle school. Ages 8–12. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group.

October 15, 2017
In a story told entirely through text messages, emails, homework assignments, handwritten notes, and diary entries, three longtime besties discover it's OK to welcome new friends into your life without leaving the old ones behind. Cecily, Gabrielle, and Prianka have started the second half of their sixth-grade year, and some changes are afoot: Gabby might have to move, there's a Valentine's Day dance on the horizon (and dates with boys!), and there's a new girl at school, Victoria. When Gabby is paired with lonely Victoria for an assignment, Pri and Cecily go on high alert because Victoria seems so desperate to fit in. What if she steals Gabby from them? When someone starts sending Victoria mean texts, the principal intervenes, asking kids and parents to help "eradicate" the sixth-grade "social cruelty" or the Valentine's dance will be canceled--but the girls' attempts to include Victoria in their group texts backfire when Pri accidentally sends a rude comment about her to the entire group. Greenwald (Kale, My Ex, and Other Things to Toss in a Blender, 2017) successfully blends emojis and text to bring the high drama and emotional changes of middle school to life. Everyone appears to be white, except Prianka and the boy she likes, who are both Indian and attend Bal Vihar classes (for Hindu language and culture). A glossary of textspeak is provided. This first in a new series for preteens and young teens who value friendship and doing the right thing is pretty endearing. (Fiction. 8-13)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2018

Gr 4-7-Told mostly through emoji-laced text messages, TBH (to be honest) follows the sixth grade school year of three good friends, Prianka, Gabrielle, and Cecily. Their perfect friendship is disrupted by the arrival of Victoria, a new girl desperate to fit in. While Gabrielle and Prianka do not intentionally exclude Victoria, they consistently brush off Cecily's requests to include her, and never respond to her group texts. Their days are full of homework, crushes, a co-ed party, Gabrielle's possible move, and the upcoming Valentine's Day dance. But after Victoria's mother emails the principal about social cruelty and exclusion, the dance is canceled. Parents download an app to monitor their children's text messages, the girls fight, and, eventually, everyone learns important lessons about kindness, friendship, and spending too much time on their phones. Prianka and a boy named Vishal are the only explicitly non-white characters. Readers familiar with Hindu culture will recognize references to Bal Vishar. The characters in each text exchange are notated by their first initials at the beginning of the entry, which can create some confusion. The finished book will be in two colors which should help with tracking and make the emojis easier to see. While timely, the characters remain flat and the theme feels tacked onto a rather slight story line. Fans of the format, however, may be willing to overlook the book's flaws. VERDICT A supplemental purchase for larger tween collections.-Suzanne Myers Harold, Astoria Public Library, OR

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.