Just Friends?: Mandarin Companion Graded Readers Breakthrough Level

Breakthrough level

by Jared Turner, John Pasden, Shishuang Chen (Editor)

Dapeng and Wendong are best friends attending the same college. When the beautiful Zixin arrives on campus, they soon discover they both share an interest in her. To preserve their friendship, they make a promise not to pursue her. However, when Wendong sees Zixin going for a ride in Dapeng's car, the truce dissolves into a battle between the two friends trying to gain the affection of Zixin. Whom does she really like, or are they "Just Friends?"

Mandarin Companion is a series of easy-to-read novels in Chinese that are fun to read and proven to accelerate language learning. Every book in the Mandarin Companion series is carefully written to use characters, words, and grammar that a learner is likely to know.

The Breakthrough Level is written using only 150 unique Chinese characters and is intended for Chinese learners who have obtained a low elementary or novice level of Chinese. Most learners will be able to approach this book after one year of traditional formal study, depending on the learner and program. This level is designed to help learners begin to read full-length texts in Chinese and combines simplicity of characters with an easy-to-understand storyline that helps beginners grow their vocabulary and language comprehension abilities.

Genres: China, Fiction

Kindle Edition

Published March 9, 2020

Reviews

[Huyen Pham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started learning Mandarin in the lockdown because I was bored and got plenty of time. Never thought that I can actually read a book in Mandarin in at least two or three years, as it took me 4 years in university learning French plus one year living in the country but until now I still can't read French books with ease. So how can I read a book in Mandarin, a language with a different writing system that I have taught myself for only some months?

我们是朋友吗？is at Breakthrough level in series of graded readers by Mandarin Companion. On their website they say that anyone that has learned 150 Chinese characters can read this book. In my case, by the time I started reading, my vocabulary was just about 100 characters but I can say that I was able to understand the book without too much difficulty. Besides, the story is entertaining, I'm impressed by how the authors managed to narrate a story by only 150 words and still make it interesting.

I'll read another book at the same level, try to learn 150 more words in the meantime then go on to their Level 1 books.

[Cat {Pemberley and Beyond} · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one's tricky to rate.

Pros: the story is easy to follow and the production values (as it were) are high. It's a testament to the choice of characters that I'm able to read books in this series with a degree of confidence and fluency.

Cons: the story was good, but I wasn't blown away by it. It lacked the wonder and excitement that 花马 managed to convey.

That said, it is a plus that they're not just writing one sort of story so I'm giving this book a solid 3 stars.

[Thom Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy these mandarin companion books. I’ve moved onto reading the Level 1 books in the morning as they take more cognitive effort and I would read a chapter or two of this breakout level book before bed as I didn’t have to translate in my head as much and could just read it. The story was fun and the illustrations help give a little more context if you’re unsure of a particular segment.

[Cosmos Candies · Rating 4 out of 5]

这本书很有趣。 but the last chapter was confusing to understand. Wish it was a bit longer or something more happened, as it kinda ended abruptly.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apr. 17, 2022
Finished re-reading this aloud with a tutor over a couple months to clarify some words/sentences I missed the first time on my own and verify my pronunciation is ok. Takeaways: 1) stop glazing over characters like 的 just because it feels inconvenient lol, given it is central to the meaning of the whole line 2) I had been influenced by the insecurity/rigidity of American language bros and held back reading any more graded readers due to paranoia about getting the tones wrong when I subvocalize and this turned out to be n/a.

Feb. 11, 2022
I was worried about how the plot of this one would go, since it's written by John Pasden and Jared Turner and since it involves the classic setup of two guys crushing on the same girl (not my interest at all). I was surprised that I found it entertaining, actually, because the dialogue is repetitive and the two friends are behaving so dramatically, escalating into anger and jealousy, that it felt like watching an SNL skit or something. It was extra hilarious when the parents of 谢文东 (Xiè Wéndōng) came in and started interviewing~interrogating the girl.

I managed to successfully read 7 pages per day this week for a Discord server reading challenge, where, if you miss a day, the punishment is to handwrite the characters of whatever you were supposed to read for that day. I feel relieved that I didn't miss a day 😅

Finished this in 3:06 hours, faster than my previous graded reader, but some full comprehension of sentences were lost, like I felt very "huh??" about “那个朋友的奴朋友的朋友？” [ok, it's what I thought: friend of some friend's girlfriend].

Vocabulary Notes
出去吃 - chū qù chī - kinda hard to say smoothly
在 zài (in/at) is not 生 shēng (oh, "pregnancy", I see)
谁 shuì (who) - annoying, I have to keep looking this one up because it looks like 隹 zhuī, a short-tailed bird [update 4/17/22: will pronounce this shéi, don't recall where shuì came from]
关 guān ("close", I see) is not 笑 xiào (to laugh)

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first time listening to an audiobook in Chinese. I'm glad I chose to start with a Breakthrough book rather than a Level 1 or 2 book because it was much more challenging than expected. The story is funny and genuine and an entertaining listen. However, I had trouble understanding the dialogue, as in it was hard to tell when it was narration or the characters actually talking. I'm used to audiobook narrators altering their voice or something to indicate dialogue but this narrator read everything very flat. Part of this is my deficiencies in listening comprehension. Overall a good book though. Vocabulary lists are provided on the Mandarin Companion website which is very helpful for understanding the audiobook and for future study.

[Tofu Meow · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are so great! I was able to read the breakthrough level after a couple months of learning mandarin.

Unlike the Pleco graded readers, the vocab is actually appropriate for beginners and not a lot of random unknown hanzi.

[Silvia Luoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, I thought this story cannot interest me. But I was simply wrong. It’s funny and also real—in some aspects. It is also easy for Chinese learners since many words are repetitive throughout the story itself. Very enjoyable! Recommended!

[Cori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was definitely my favorite of the series so far. The plot is simple, but the romance theme led to a lot of moments that made me laugh.

[Gabrielle (Estel.Edits) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speaker in dialogue confusing at times.

[Ula · Rating 4 out of 5]

这是第二本书的汉语我看了！ 非常喜欢Mandarin Companion， 这本书很笑。

[Aubrey Stapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely useful, I love these books

[Lance Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book for people learning Chinese who already have a basic grasp of some common vocabulary and grammar. It was intimidating at first since there were a number of new words and the sentence structure was more complex than in my other learning materials, but with practice it all made sense. The the introduced vocabulary is underlined and numbered which makes it easy to refer back to the definition. By the end, I was able to read at a good pace and with high comprehension. Reading this book has helped me to greatly improve my character recognition, and reading out loud has helped my pronunciation.

It feels amazing to have read a complete story in Chinese. There is only so much that can be done with such a limited vocabulary but the story was entertaining. I can't wait to get more from this series.

[石满仙 · Rating 5 out of 5]

我们是朋友吗 is the peak of literary genius. In every word, one can find the essence of true humanity. One cannot help but be swept away into it's majestic storyline, each plot point well thought out and beautifully executed. The brooding romance between the two male leads is indescribable and passionate. ZZX, the character with the most interesting and intricate plot arcs, is forced into countless uncomfortable situations and must navigate her life in this patriarchal society (without revealing the identity of her mysterious girlfriend). Through love, betrayal, and high-speed car chases, this book demonstrates the ingenious power of a brilliant story. Also it can teach you Chinese.
This book is the perfect fit for anyone who identifies as human. The most breathtaking book you will ever read.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just Friends? is seriously so entertaining for a beginner's book! Like it actually made me laugh a little cause the two lead dudes are so over-the-top. This is the second Mandarin Companion book I've read, and I'm still not quite sure how the authors managed to make an entertaining story out of just 150 unique characters. I did find a slight typo in the key word section in my copy, but it was so tiny that it didn't take away from how helpful this book is! I really learned so much from reading this, and even after just having read two books in Chinese now, I already see an improvement in my Chinese reading ability!

[Jessica Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so great for putting vocab together. The vocab is indeed beginner level but it was so repetitive and kind of entertaining that it kept me reading. Its very encouraging to be able to undertand a full text in a foreign language without having to look up more than a few words.I feel a lot more confident with how to use this vocab more colloquially and will definitely be reading more of these "companion" readers.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute and short book. I struggled a bit with some of the grammar but I plan to do a re-read and take note of grammar and new words, and create my own sentences to reinforce their meaning. Despite this being a breakthrough level book, the authors were able to tell a decent story with multiple characters, emotions, and conflicts. I enjoyed it:)

[Violet Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

很有意思！！！

[Xena · Rating 3 out of 5]

FINISHED IT 40 MINS BEFORE 2024 ENDS
i mean 3 stars cuz it was more of a lang enhancement book LOL
Story was yeah ok
Overall helpful in chinese reading
MY FIRST CHINESE BOOK YAYYY

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2024: A bildungsroman (read in 2025)

[Haifa Busamra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very easy to read it.

[John Osborne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book I have finished in the Mandarin Companion series. I wanted to like this book, but I just really didn't. In comparison with "In Search of Hua Ma" this story felt very uninspired.