Frenemies

Reviewed by Neha Kashmiri (age 13) for Reader Views (7/08) Avalon Greene and Halley Brandon have been best friends forever. They live next to each other, share a dog named Pucci, and their mothers have been friends for a long time. Both rule SeaView Middle School with their style-snarky ways. Avalon is happy that her best friend Halley is back from art camp, she's even throwing a party to celebrate their ultra-fabulous friendship. But there's just one problem. What is Halley wearing, and when did she become friends with Sofee a.k.a. Softee? Halley Brandon couldn't wait to show her best friend her new funky look. But when Avalon grades her look a `Maybe,' and is somehow friends with Brianna Cho, Halley realizes that they're growing apart. Soon the girls are disagreeing on everything and they split up their fashion column, friends, and start sharing Pucci. But what they learn then is that when your archenemy knows everything that makes you tick, things are going to get messy. Best Friends. Worst Enemies. Frenemies. "Frenemies" is not the kind of book I would usually read. In a world where fashion, popularity, and portmanteaus (i.e., Frenemies) matter, I would be hiding under a desk. It took me at least ten chapters to figure out what snarky meant, and with the consistency of the word in the book that was a problem. But "Frenemies" was pleasant, and hilariously surprising. Some of the pranks they pulled had me snickering at two in the morning. Alexa Young's writing and the Style Snark column battle kept me going in the monotonous parts of the book (there aren't many, really.) The story ends in an oh-so-obvious need for a sequel (Faketastic) but that wasn't really a problem. Fans of series and books like "Poseur," "Violet on the Runway," "The Clique," and "The Ashleys" will definitely like this book, "Frenemies."

Some of the most painful and unexpected girlfriend breakups occur during the roller-coaster, middle-school years. This engaging teen novel is a book that moms will want their daughters to read in preparation for this rude awakening. Its interesting storyline and relatable characters will surely evoke laughter and tears (simultaneously) from their hormonal daughters:-).

I'm bad at listing out reasons I liked certain books. Frenemies is one of those - I can't pinpoint exactly what worked here. If I had to take a guess, I would say it's the execution. The plot itself wouldn't be able to carry the novel as strongly as the writing did. For that Alexa Young deserves a commended performance. Her snappy, subtly-engaging narrative is brilliant, graceful and effortless. Tip of the iceberg though. I'm sure we all remember what it was like to be thirteen, when even the slightest weird sidelong glance from our best friends would shake our self-confidence. So it's no wonder that when Halley comes back from art camp and is styling is a whole new (and weird, according to Avalon) way, Avalon's quips about her new fashion choices put a strain on their friendship. It's a fast transition, and before they know it, they're parting ways. My only criticism for this novel comes in here, at the friendship portion: We never really see just how good of friends these two girls are. There isn't a lot of back story, which is fine since this is a series. Alexa assures me she's working on making people realize how deep this friendship runs. (Which means character development and character soul-searching, and that makes me go squee!) That said, the split was handled particularly well in the sense that the reader gets to really feel the hardship it poses on both Halley and Avalon. While they're both working hard at establishing new scenes and new personas, they both also miss each other very much, even if they'll never admit it. This rang true. Very much so. I know some reviewers seem to think this book is either immature or too fashion-focused. They're entitled to their own opinion, sure, but I respectfully disagree with both. If anything, I thought both Halley and Avalon were, all things considered, very mature girls. Sure, they got childish when playing pranks to get back at one another (friendship feud, hello), but who doesn't? Some of the things they did were outright hilarious. And the fashion thing was there, sure, but it didn't reach overkill levels; in fact, I hardly even noticed it. Then again, this isn't something that really bothers me. I will never bash Gossip Girl, A-List, It Girl, The Clique, or any other Poppy novel because of their shallow and somewhat unrealistic characters. Those books are serving their marketable purpose and they're pretty damn good for what they're designed to do, which is be guilty pleasures. All I know is this: if Alexa Young set out to create a series resembling any of the Poppy books for the younger set, she failed. This book embodies good writing, fashion, friendship and foes seamlessly, which . Frenemies isn't the cheap-entertainment good; it's the genuine kind. Strong recommendation from Reviewer X. I'll be following this series very, very closely.

When I first started reading Frenemies I worried that it was another fashion-obsessed mean girls story. How wrong I was. Frenemies shows the true complexity of girls' relationships with a fun story of rivalry and affection. The book is funny--including the girls' settlement agreement and their snarky style guide in the school paper, which was a blast to read. Alexa Young gives the girls real friendship and jealousy issues to deal with, and I think most girls--and even women--will empathize with their struggles to maintain their relationship. I found myself unable to put this book down, and now I can't wait for the next one to come out. Frenemies is definitely the new Clique!

What a fun book! I'm in my 30's and bought Frenemies for my niece. I haven't yet given it to her because I wanted to read it first. The humor is delicious and the storyline definitely makes me eager for the next in the series. I think any young adult (and older!) will enjoy this read. It catapulted me right back into middle school and I loved it.