Walk Beside Me, Be My Friend

Wishing Star #16

by Joan L. Oppenheimer

To Kris, anyhing seems better than living at home. So one night Kris runs away, but she finds life on the road is no better and Kris decides never to trust anyone or care about anyone again…until she is placed in Chloe Dunham’s foster home and there she meets Regan.

Genres: Young Adult

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Joannebmcmillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the best authors I read when I was young and this book was one of her best - I often use the title of the book as a "quote "

[Jmlozano]

i want to read

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was great when I read it in 6th grade, so I gave it a re-read to get some insight into my 12 year-old self. I remembered nothing about the plot except for the main character being a runaway--I presumed there'd be a teen pregnancy involved, because I was crazy for novels about young people with serious issues, whether it was drug use, attempted suicide, or what-have-you.

No pregnancy here, but Kris IS a teen runaway, tired of having to cook, clean, and take care of her out-of-control younger siblings while her single mother works a night shift. Though the book is preachy and unrealistic in its resolution, I can see why I liked it. The section of the book where Kris is on the road and finding food in dumpsters still has some appeal to the part of me that likes books about survival or the post-apocalypse.

An extra star courtesy of my past self.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember loving this book in junior high! I found it while I was cleaning and decided to read it again for fun to see what I loved back then. It was pretty ridiculous. I was a fan of the tragic books, but the characters were so dry and unreal. Kids books have gotten better over the years. I would give this book a 2, but for the sake of my child self who loved it, I'll bump it to a 3.

[xAndyPandax · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok but it has cardboard characters. Predictable