Best Friends for Never

February 29, 2016
After moving from Brooklyn to small-town Massachusetts, Hattie makes friends with a trio of girls who are a few notches down from the “tippy-top of the sixth-grade popularity pyramid.” To fit in and avoid being labeled a nerd, Hattie hides her obsession with a fantasy book series, her love of cat-themed T-shirts, and her disdain for team sports, a deception that renders her a victim of a mysterious “jinx” that has long plagued the town. For Hattie, the curse has consequences with echoes of Groundhog Day and It’s a Wonderful Life: each day she must reintroduce herself to her closest friends, who have no memory of who she is. Vrettos (Burnout) makes good use of an entertaining premise to dig into middle-school pettiness and social politics as Hattie bonds with the school’s dethroned queen bee and with an insightful teenage girl who works at the local historical society, where Hattie searches for the secret to reversing the jinx. Writing with a light touch, Vrettos balances universal adolescent topics of self-honesty, acceptance, and stereotypes. Ages 8–12. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary.

April 15, 2016
Moving to small-town Massachusetts from Brooklyn wasn't easy for 12-year-old narrator Hattie, but she lucked into a group of friends fairly quickly.So what if she can't reveal her fantasy nerddom or her fondness for cat T-shirts? Playing field hockey and the zip zip zip sound of corduroys are a small price to pay for friends. Hattie's so horrified at the public defriending of queen-bee Zooey that she draws up a Friendship Pact--triggering a jinx that causes her pals to completely forget her. With the unlikely help of Zooey and prickly teen genius Maude, she struggles to undo the jinx. Vrettos gets a lot right in her middle-grade debut, most particularly the middle schooler's yearning and need to belong. But her command of voice and characterization is weak; would the same kid who, believably, favors "weird" as a catchall adjective also quote Zola? The white Brooklynite misses her Dominican friend but never remarks on well-to-do Trepan's Grove's evident lack of diversity (Maude is the only significant character of color), and a possible examination of class fizzles. The device of the jinx is initially effective, but its execution feels made up as the author went along, much like Maude, a character whose rich but unexplored back story tantalizes.In the end the book feels as though it needed a couple more drafts to pull all its elements into balance. (Magical realism. 8-12)

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April 1, 2016

Gr 3-5-A lighthearted middle school story with a magical twist. When quirky, nerdy Hattie moves from Brooklyn to the posh town of Trepan's Grove, MA, she leaves her true personality behind, fearing that her new friends won't accept her love of "Tilde's Realm" (a fantasy book series) and cat T-shirts. Piper, Fee, and Celeste give Hattie a crash course in all things Trepan's Grove: the clothing, the lingo, the traditions, and the importance of being popular. When the foursome witness the queen bee's fall from grace, they sign a friendship pact at the annual Harvest Festival, promising never to lie or gossip about one another. Problem is, Hattie has been lying all along. When some Harvest Festival magic takes over, Hattie is cursed-each day her friends forget who she is and she must rebuild their friendship from the beginning. Hattie must enlist the help of some surprising companions in order to win back her friends. VERDICT Though a little contrived, this pleasant story about friendship and personal authenticity will resonate with any young person struggling with being true to themselves or facing an upcoming move to a new school.-Tiffany Davis, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY

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