Let's Pretend We Never Met - Hardcover

Walker, Melissa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062567160 ISBN 13: 9780062567161

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2017

Synopsis

“I love how this book gets the fragile ecosystem that is middle school. There’s a purity to the voice that feels very real, very Judy Blume. Loved it!”—R. J. Palacio, author of Wonder

The Thing About Jellyfish meets The Kind of Friends We Used to Be in this sweet, honest middle grade debut.

If it were up to Mattie Markham, there would be a law that said your family wasn’t allowed to move in the middle of the school year. After all, sixth grade is hard enough without wondering if you’ll be able to make new friends or worrying that the kids in Pennsylvania won’t like your North Carolina accent.

But when Mattie meets her next-door neighbor and classmate, she begins to think maybe she was silly to fear being the “new girl.” Agnes is like no one Mattie has ever met—she’s curious, hilarious, smart, and makes up the best games. If winter break is anything to go by, the rest of the school year should be a breeze.

Only it isn’t, because when vacation ends and school starts, Mattie realizes something: At school Agnes is known as the weird girl who no one likes. All Mattie wants is to fit in (okay, and maybe be a little popular too), but is that worth ending her friendship with Agnes?

About this title

About the Author

Melissa Walker grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and is the author of eight young adult novels, including the Violet on the Runway series and Small Town Sinners. In the nonfiction world, she is a magazine editor and writer who works from the comfort of coffee shops in Brooklyn, where she lives with her husband and two young daughters. Find Melissa on Twitter @melissacwalker or visit www.melissacwalker.com.

From School Library Journal

Gr 4–6—Changes are coming fast for 11-year-old Mattie. First, her family decides to move to her grandmother's town over winter break, the absolute worst time to change schools. Then Mattie's parents begin acting oddly toward each other, and her grandmother seems to be forgetting too many things. Mattie meets the formidably smart and effervescent Agnes but is afraid that associating with Agnes, who's different from other kids, will make it harder for her to fit in. Mattie becomes interested in befriending boys, too, and she guiltily shuns Agnes in order to improve her social life. This tale of tween angst is distinguished by strong writing and well-drawn characters. Mattie's thoughtful introspection adds depth; she is sympathetic and likable but not perfect. Her friendship with Agnes, whose behavior seems to suggest she is somewhere on the autism spectrum, drives much of the plot and is very well portrayed in all its difficulties and rewards. The pacing is swift, with Mattie's dilemmas rapidly becoming ever more complex. VERDICT Hand this to readers who love a good coming-of-age story and to those looking for representations of neurodiverse characters, like Rain in Ann M. Martin's Rain Reign or Willow in Holly Goldberg Sloan's Counting by 7s.—Gretchen Crowley, formerly at Alexandria City Public Libraries, VA

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0062567160
• ISBN 13: 9780062567161
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240