Making Friends is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Kristen Gudsnuk. This unique book follows tween-ager Dany as she struggles in her new middle school. With a little bit of magic, Dany makes some one-of-a-kind friends and sets out on an unlikely adventure. Unfortunately, Dany is self-centered, annoying, and not a likeable character. In fact, most of the characters were hard to connect with, perhaps due to stilted dialogue, and the book itself is a downer. The plot’s fantasy elements create some confusing subplots that were hard to follow. Gudsnuk’s artwork is well-done and will appeal to all ages, especially middle grade readers. Characterized as manga, or a type of Japanese graphic novel, Making Friends is a quirky read that may attract reluctant readers or those who enjoy comic-based stories. 

Review of an Advance Reading Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Graphia

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  10 religious exclamations.

Violence/Gore:  Character makes a verbal threat to “tear limbs from body”; fantasy violence including destruction of buildings; fantasy creature mentions “murdering his parents”; picture of knives going into a girl as metaphor for hurtful words cutting her; a cartoon boy is pushed and verbally threatened by a bully; a cartoon adult gets angry and punches a wall.  

Sex/Nudity:  Back of a cartoon girl is shown without her shirt on as she is changing; two men are shown kissing; minors are shown sneaking into a R-rated movie entitled “Primal Relations”. 

Mature Subject Matter:

Bullying, fighting, anger issues and violent outbursts, homosexuality, dysfunctional families, friendships, minors sneaking into a R-rated movie, death of family members, mention of foster care, jokes about murder, teenager hosts party when parents are out-of-town, sibling disagreements, burying the magical body of a fantasy character.  

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Two people are seen smoking cigars.