Double Clique: A Wish Novel

by Anna Staniszewski

From middle-grade darling Anna Staniszewski comes the story of a girl who might just have friendship down to a science. Friendship? Just add science . . . LB messed up. Even though her best friend, Kat, says she’s forgiven her for that whole using-science-to-make-herself-popular thing, things are still pretty weird between them. Then the bully from their old school, Courtenay, shows up -- pretending to be nice! Worst of all, Kat seems to . . . like Courtenay? Just when she thought things were getting back to normal, LB’s friendships are more confusing than ever! She needs a new hypothesis, and fast, to revamp her relationship with Kat before Courtenay can ruin everything again. Sure, LB has never seen a superhero movie or drawn a comic, and LB has definitely never done roller derby before -- but if Kat likes those things, why not try? As she steps out of her comfort zone and into Kat’s, LB discovers a world of new adventures. Maybe her first experiment started this mess, but her second plan is sure to fix it! Will her two wrongs make a right?

Genres: Middle Grade

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 7, 2021

About the author

Anna Staniszewski lives in the Boston area and teaches in the MFA Writing for Children Program at Simmons University. She's the author of over twenty books for young readers, including the The Dirt Diary series and Clique Here series, the picture books DOGOSAURUS REX and BEAST IN SHOW, and the Once Upon a Fairy Tale chapter book series. You can visit Anna at www.annastan.com or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/annastanisz.

Reviews

[Latte Hawthorne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had somewhat of a hard time remembering details about the first book, so I was a little lost for parts of the book. In this book, LB again tries to use science to help her life, but it doesn’t quite go as planned ([sarcastically] no wait, really?). Her best friend Kat says she’s totally forgiven LB for the whole using-science-to-make-herself-popular thing, but things are still weird between them, and LB can’t figure out why. Things get even more complicated when Courtenay (AKA ‘Queen Courtenay’)—the bully from Kat and LB’s old school—transfers to their new school. Courtenay is acting nice, but LB is sure it’s just an act. But Kat seems to want to be friends with Courtenay now, despite LB’s warnings. LB figures science can’t fail her twice and creates a new ‘Friendship Formula’ to revamp her friendship with Kat before Courtenay ruins it forever. But LB and Kat have very different tastes. Will their friendship survive, and has Courtenay really dropped her old personality for good?
What I liked:
* Parker, LB’s crush. His storyline provided a welcome break from all the friend drama, though there was of course some drama with him too.
* LB did at least try to do things Kat liked, and didn’t just say that the problems with their friendship were all Kat’s fault. (I have definitely read books where that happens)
* Bree (I think that was her name. Like I said, I read this a while ago).
* This is really random, but the fact that Owen calls LB “Lil’ Blake” still cracks me up.
* LB’s dad and sister.
* Owen and Priya were a little less annoying in this one, and at times even funny. I literally laughed out loud at Owen’s love song for Priya about protons.
* It was set up where there could be a third book, but there doesn’t necessarily have to be one. But I’m very much hoping for a third book! LB could easily change her ‘friendship formula’ with Kat to a ‘more-than-friends formula’ with Parker (which I think she even mentions at some point in the book).
What I didn’t like:
* LB. I just didn’t really like her.
* LB changed her name AGAIN. first it was Lily, then Blake, then LB, and finally Libby (hopefully that’s the last one). Honestly, I liked her real name (Lily) the best.
* There are a few references to LB’s “unruly hair”, but this is not supported on the cover. It’s a small thing, but still.
* This is another really random thing, but somehow I hated reading the name Courtenay. I like the name said out loud, but for some reason I kept reading it as “Core-tuh-nay”.
* I feel like there was some sort of fight with Parker? I’m not sure because I haven’t read it in a while, but I remember thinking it was totally random and unnecessary. Although I don’t remember what it was about now. Did LB say something that came across wrong? Or was it because Courtenay was flirting with Parker? I think that was it but I can’t totally remember.

Also, this should SO have a third book! Thanks for reading!

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book even better then the 1st great story line and great message never hold a grudge and can people can change BUT only if they want to change and most importantly you never know what someone is going through I feel I could connect with all the characters well and understand each other point of view

[Monika Kozlowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love .

[Trixiter Marczak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story for all ages that "the past is the past, and we all can change "