My Friend

July 15, 2019
An unnamed upper-elementary-age Latinx girl meets an unnamed white girl on her first day at a new school, and an instant rapport is formed. She watches her new best friend's favorite TV programs; the blonde girl's favorite book is now her own: "cross my heart and hope to die...now it's my favorite book, too." After the Latinx child invites her friend over for a special dinner, it is extremely awkward; the resulting embarrassment and anger make the child yearn to return to her country. She wonders, if her friend really doesn't know her at all, what will happen to her if no one in the entire school understands her either? Yet despite the disaster, when she sees the blonde girl waiting for her in front of the school, she realizes that they are still best friends. Amado's portrayal of the special bond between an immigrant and a white North American is disturbingly unbalanced. The new girl, presumably from Mexico due to Ruano's illustrations highlighting Otomí folk art in her home, absorbs the friend's interests without any reciprocity. The invited girl has trouble finishing her dinner. "But that was okay. You'd never eaten our kind of food before." The blonde laughs when the Latinx girl and her father sing a song that reminds them of home. "That was so weird!" There appears to be no real communication throughout the story--almost the entire relationship is inside the Latinx protagonist's head. An unsuccessful attempt to showcase the bridging power of friendship between cultures. (Picture book. 8-11)

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October 15, 2019
Grades 1-3 A young girl narrator, unnamed and new to school, reminisces on the best friend she immediately made, detailing their fulfilling relationship, how the two shared many interests, and how they stood up for each other when other children were mean, questioning their friendship. The illustrations suggest that this is a cross-cultural friendship that is being forced across differences, and when the narrator invites her friend home, the differences become apparent in a painful way. She suspects that her friend is uncomfortable with the unfamiliar food and family behavior, and when she leaves abruptly, our narrator is mortified. This unusual story is told in an intimate second person, addressing her friend directly and keeping readers close. There is a stillness to the realistic watercolor illustrations that, combined with the narrative, create the sense of watching a film. Fortunately, the resolution is both satisfying and credible, making this book ideal for middle-school classroom discussions about our responses to difference and the manifestations of friendship.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)