Real Friends: The Series Boxed Set - by Shannon Hale (Mixed Media Product)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Get all of your favorite friends in one boxed set featuring these bestselling and beloved graphic memoirs: Real Friends, Best Friends, and Friends Forever!

From award-winning creators Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham comes a series about friendship, family, and finding your own path, inspired by Shannon's real life. This box set includes:

Real Friends
When best friends are not forever...
When Shannon makes her first ever friend, she thinks she's found her bestie for life. But when her friend joins up with another circle of friends called The Group, Shannon feels left out. Will they stay friends? And is Shannon in The Group? Or out?

Best Friends
Follow your heart. Find your people.
Now that Shannon's best friends with the most popular girl in school, sixth grade is supposed to be perfect. But suddenly, everyone has to watch the same shows, love the same songs, and like the same people. Is Shannon being true to herself?

Friends Forever
Eighth grade. It's complicated.
Now a wise eighth grader, Shannon thinks she's got it figured out--her true friends, her favorite hobbies, and the key to happiness. But no matter what she does, Shannon never feels okay. Can she ever be truly happy--just as she is?

Review Quotes

Praise for Best Friends:

"Somehow, Hale and Pham have made the "normal girl" into the ultimate cool girl." --The New York Times Book Review

"This uncommonly honest portrayal of the lures and pitfalls of popularity will likely ring true to many elementary and middle-school readers." --Booklist, starred review

"A terrific look at middle school culture . . . This authentic, important book will mean a great deal to many kids." --School Library Journal, starred review

"A must-read for fans of Raina Telgemeier or Victoria Jamieson . . . This glimpse into middle school is insightful, introspective, and important." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A natural suggestion for fans of Cece Bell and Raina Telgemeier, this book offers an honest, empathetic, and encouraging narrative for young readers braving the ups and downs of the tween years." --Horn Book

Praise for Real Friends:

"Fresh and funny." --New York Times Book Review

"The book's truth is as vibrant as its art." --Washington Post

"I have two boys, they love these books. They love to talk about the friendships, I love that I am discussing all of these issues through the lives of these girls. There is something about it that's so wonderful." --NPR

"Wistful, affecting, and utterly charming." --Booklist, starred review

"A heart-stabbing tale of the everyday social agonies of girlhood." --Wall Street Journal

"Shows us the incredible kindness and solidarity that girls can and do display." --The Mary Sue

"Bound to resonate with most readers, especially fans of Raina Telgemeier." --School Library Journal, starred review

"A wonderfully observed portrait of finding one's place in your world." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Nails what it's like to navigate elementary-school friendships." --Parents Magazine

"Sure to be loved by anyone who has ever felt like an outsider." --Victoria Jamieson, New York Times-bestselling and Newbery Honor author of Roller Girl

"Fresh, fun, and achingly real. Bravo!" --Jennifer L. Holm, New York Times-bestselling and Newbery Honor author and co-creator of Sunny Side Up and the Babymouse series

"This book is SO GOOD. SO MANY FEELS." --Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese

About the Author

Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham are best friends who have been publishing books for young readers for two decades. They have created three bestselling series together: the graphic novel Friends series, the early chapter book Princess in Black series (with Dean Hale), and the picture book Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn.

Shannon lives in Utah with her husband, four kids, and two cats where she writes award-winning novels like The Goose Girl, Book of a Thousand Days, Dangerous, and the Newbery Honor winner Princess Academy, and pens other books with her husband Dean, including Diana, Princess of the Amazons (illustrated by Victoria Ying), Rapunzel's Revenge (illustrated by Nathan Hale), and two novels about Marvel's unbeatable Squirrel Girl.

LeUyen lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two sons, a cat, and an orange gecko. She is the author/illustrator of the books Big Sister, Little Sister, A Piece of Cake, The Itchy Book, and Outside, Inside. She is also the illustrator of over 100 books for kids, including Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace, Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio, and The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Heiligman. Her illustrations have won numerous awards, including the prestigious Caldecott Honor for Bear Came Along with Richard Morris.

Shannon and LeUyen plan to keep making books together for many years to come and to stay friends forever.