Penny, The Review Group's reviewer Penny for Your ThoughtsThe Review Group
Children's ✦ Penny’s Take

Friendship List #1

Lisa Greenwald · 2017
79/100
👍 Worth It

Lisa Greenwald nails the particular anxiety of the middle-school transition — the cafeteria politics, the shifting friend dynamics, the terror of not knowing who you'll be in sixth grade — with a voice that Kirkus and Lauren Myracle both flagged as genuinely funny and real. The bucket-list structure gives the story momentum, and the friendship tension that develops from it is honest rather than manufactured. A natural first pick for any girl dreading the jump to middle school.

✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety92
substance75
craft80
originality70
accuracy80
hype80
age-fit88
human-eye80
Penny’s verdict79
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