Forever Friends

by Candy Dawson Boyd

A twelve-year-old black girl's preparations for the prestigious King Academy's entrance exam are disrupted when her best friend is killed.

Genres: Middle Grade

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Rei · Rating 3 out of 5]

The protagonist, Toni Antoinette is getting ready for her exam to get into a private academy but at the same time, Toni’s best friend named Susan is killed because of a car accident that she got into. In the book, it’s basically about Toni and her experiences with it, how she feels about it and how she can process her thinking about her best friend. In the book, I think Toni is very brave, she’s not even an adult yet and yet she already has these experiences that are very hard for her as a child. I’m not sure how old she is but she definitely not an adult yet and she can behave well although her best friend had died. I thought that because Toni’s best friend died I would think that Toni wants to die too but in the end she gets better. I can tell that Toni throughout the book had many fun experiences with Susan and how she cares a lot about her and what she was going to do if she was alive. I like how the title fits really well with how the plot is in the story because it tells you about the strong bond that Toni has with Susan and how they will never be apart from each other. That was also my favorite part knowing the strong bond of friendship that they had together and will have forever.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published as Breadsticks and Blessing Places in 1985. So this story was written presumably in the early 1980s and set in Chicago. Toni goes to an all-Black elementary school (though her new teacher is a white woman). She is about to take the entrance exam to King Academy, and she's not even sure she wants to go there. Later in the story, she sits in on classes at King, and it's the first time she's been in a school with people of all different races.

Toni is twelve, "almost a teenager," and struggles so much with math while excelling in language arts. (I relate so hard to this.) Everyone is pressuring her to study harder in math. There's a puberty story line, friendships, and well-drawn family life and community.

It gets super sad because the main story line is that her friend gets hit by a car and dies, and Toni struggles to process the death and her grief. It's hard to read that, but I very much enjoyed the rest of the story.

[Laur · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those formative childhood books that just stayed with me. I loved how the protagonist was such a nerd, and hurt with her as she processed her grief. Glad I finally found this again to leave a review.

[Nijla Mumin · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favorite books as a young girl.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down, this is one of my favorite children's books. It's beautiful when the memories of enjoying a great book in many locations and in all seasons feels as warm as enjoying the story itself. I'm guessing I've read Forever Friends 15-20 times. If I didn't take good care of my books, my copy would be tattered and falling apart. It's definitely worn with use.

One reason I think I took most to this story as a child was the African-American protagonist and her family. I grew up in a mostly homogenous school system (private), so reading a story about an African-American girl my age that I could identify with was very powerful experience for me.

Toni (Antoinette) is preparing for a big exam into a private academy when her best friend Susan is killed in a car accident. We walk with Toni as she processes her friend's death. We walk with her moving toward physical and emotional maturity.

Boyd makes you feel like you are right next to Toni - vivid descriptions of waking up in the morning to the sound of the heater running and being warm and snuggly in bed. There's little metaphor that I remember, but Boyd puts you right there. Originally published as Breadsticks and Blessing Places.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book. I have read it multiple times just because it was that good. My sister gave it to me to read. It is about BFF's !!!! This book reminds me of my best friend. That's part of the reason i like it so much. This doesn't really have a happy ending like i wanted it to but it is still good. It focuses on 3 friends and how three really is a crowd. The three does turn into a "two" but under sad circumstances when one of the girls gets hit by a drunk driver and dies. It is so sad. I love it so much and I recommend it to anyone especially those who love sad yet sort of happy stories. It also show how a girl got over the loss of a love one...she didn't really get over it but she did move on without forgetting her friend.

[Brittani Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in fourth grade and again as an adult. I loved it then and I love it now. It was written in a while ago ( I believe in the late 80s) so the language my not be completely familiar to kids now but that's minor compared to what they'll gain from this story.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book! When I was in 7th grade I loved to read it.It's about two life-long best friends facing struggles around them.

[Talina]

To put it bluntly...This book sucks.

[Purest Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

my absolute favorite book growing up.