Friends are an important part of Shannon's life in Friends Forever, but the real focus is her personal struggle with depression and how she's able to start accepting and loving herself just as she is. This is a touching, uplifting memoir that tackles serious issues of depression and sexual harassment realistically, with heart, so that it's sure to inspire empathy for 13-year-old Shannon. Faith also plays a part in the narrator's journey toward self-acceptance in a way that's personal and not preachy. The author talks about it and her OCD symptoms in the afterward, and provides online resources for help and information. The narrator experiences symptoms of depression, which offers a good chance to talk with readers about mental health. Eighth-graders bring alcohol to a friend's house, and the narrator has a strong, negative reaction. Bullying kids at school use name calling to humiliate and physically harass a smaller student. The author also talks more about it, and how to handle it, in the note afterward. An incident of sexual harassment is vaguely illustrated, but the victim's fear and disgust afterward is clearly shown. A few illustrations show kissing that's partly obscured. Shannon's in eighth grade now, so some kissing and romantic dynamics become a big part of the story. Parents need to know that Friends Forever is a graphic novel that continues author Shannon Hale's memoir about her childhood begun in Real Friends and Best Friends.
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