Worst Enemies/Best Friends

Beacon Street Girls #1

by Annie Bryant, Roberta MacPhee (Editor)

Charlotte Ramsey is the new girl again. After causing the biggest cafeteria blunder in history, Charlotte's assigned lunch partners-the very stylish Katani, irrepressible Avery, and super-friendly Maeve-can't wait to dump her. Can it get any worse? Absolutely! Nobody is talking, and Katani wants out of the group. What a mess! Can the girls become true friends or will they remain worst enemies forever?

Genres: Childrens, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary, Juvenile

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

The Beacon Street Girls books are inspired by all the preteen girls I've ever known. I wanted to create a world where girls can go to have fun and learn about who they are, while modeling real-life experiences. The first book, Worst Enemies/Best Friends, explores creating and testing friendships, skewed first impressions, and being the new kid at school. In the end, true friendship conquers all. Welcome to the world of the BSG!

Reviews

[Niko · Rating 2 out of 5]

My daughter finished the various American Girls series and picked up a Beacon Street Girls book at the library. So I picked one up, too, to make sure the content and style meet parental requirements. They do. Being an adult male, this would have been a complete waste of my time if I hadn't read it for that purpose. If I were a pubescent girl, I would surely have rated it higher.

It's tough to move to a new city. It's tough to start junior high. Charlotte does both at once and despairs of ever making friends. In fact, the four main characters of the novel start out as "worst enemies." The plot and development are unsurprising. The characters are comically diverse - a veritable United Colors of Benetton billboard. There are some lessons on friendship and honesty, but these are pretty weak elements, to be frank. So is the description of setting and events. More than anything, the book is an impressionistic narrative of tween girl experience, fraught with misunderstandings, insecurities, crushes, secrets, and outfits. Everything works out neatly in the end.

One aspect I appreciated was reading the story told from the perspective of each of the four main characters. The narrator changes every chapter or two, with the name of the narrator appearing at the top of each chapter. Contrived as they seemed, I also enjoyed character attributes that were so carefully included that each reader could surely identify with at least one trait - the flashy romantic drama queen, the quiet klutzy studious one, the sporty socially-clueless animal lover, the slow-to-warm-up clever and loyal fashion-wizard. One has dyslexia and another almost certainly has ADHD. One has a sister with autism. What have we left out...? Artsy girl comes along in a later book in the series... Finally, I really liked the underlying but unstated message woven throughout: don't assume you understand another person's experience; give the benefit of the doubt and be kinder than you need to be.

I am given to understand that the Beacon Street Girls series is offered in opposition to the provocative an objectionable messages that young girls are otherwise constantly bombarded with. It is meant to touch on real and contemporary issues that girls face. Now, none of the characters has a cell phone (hallelujah), and there is no texting (yet?), but they do occasional internet chatting, infrequently use chat acronyms, and there is reference to modern pop culture here and there (such as American Idol). If that makes you squeamish, it's not for you. If you enjoy real literature, it's not for you, either. If your daughter wants to read it, I rate it as safe and probably worthwhile.

[Dineh · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I have made it a goal to finish this series. When I was a kid I was able to read only a couple that she had but never finished the whole series. So I am starting and I loved being able to see how much this book encouraged me as a young kid. I saw different parts of myself in each girl especially Charlotte. Going back I still see parts of myself that can relate to the girls. Just because I’m older now doesn’t mean I still can’t have close friendships, experience the world together, while trying to figure it out all together. This is a great book for girls who love inspiration and dreaming about the endless possibilities life has for them.

[Allie G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far i think that this book is really good. the author makes this book seem like you are there when you are reading it! This is a great series for girls:)I would suggest reading books that are about girls growing up in middle school:)

November 14,2010
I am on page 80 of Worst Enemies/Best Friends and i love this book. I predict that Charlette, Avery, Katani and Maeve are all going to become friends because they are all having a sleep over so that their teacher will let them not have assigned seats at lunch and they seemed to be having a fun time at the sleep over.

November 23,2010
SPOILER ALERT
I am on page 100 of Worst Enimies/Best friends and i think this book is really good so far. Now that the girls had their sleepover and they found a secret tower, i think they are going to decorate it and make it like an apartment like they said. I also think that they are going to get caught up there and get in trouble.

December 5,2010
I am on page 160 of Worst enimies/Bestfriends and i absolutly love this book. I feel like i am there sometimes because i get so into it(:


December 12,2010
I have just finished this book and it was AMAZING :) A connection that i have is that later on in the book Charlette has to lie to save something and one time i had to lie to save something really important so it wouldnt go away. I would really suggest reading this :)

[Jiyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

ATTENTION EVERYONE! Worst Enemies/Best Friends is an realistic book. I like this book because it shows how the person you'll least think can help you out of your problems can have an affect on you.

This book talks about how four totally different girls meet eachother and become friends but they all have diffrent vies about almost everything they do!. They have their ups and downs ,back and fourths. So this mysterious land lady experienced the four friends bickering and having the worst altrcation so she decides to help. All because of the land lady effort towards helping the four girls, she had the friends back communicating and help one another like friends are suppose to. I think the authors purpose for this was to teach the readers that what ever your struggling and going through theres always some light some where to get pass it.

Another reason that I enjoy this book so much is because Sharon Draper (the author) teaches me a lesson that even at the hardest times of your life you have to forget and most of all FORGIVE!
The main character of this book is Charlotte, she **SPOILER ** lost her mother at a very young age, moved several times during her child hood because of her father job, left her bestfriend behind at her old school who she misses very much, Charlotte wonders if she had really found a home and friends for keep.

My favorite part of the book is when the four friends settled their problems as young adults.
I personally wish that Charlotte mother was alive to walk her through each step of becoming a young lady.

~Conclusion~

I give this book a 5 star rate because it teaches a valuable lesson and shows the young readers how they should handle their issues.

I would recommend this book to all of you especially the people who are going through difficulties and dont know how to go about with them.

Im sorry if I didnt leave you all with a clear understanding of this book. Its basically about a group of friends having different opinions about multiple things and a land lady thries to help the girls and guess what?????? however her help works and the four friends lives peacefully and happy together.

[Tannia · Rating 4 out of 5]

the title of this book is "worst enemies/best friends" by Annie bryant. this book was mostly about this girl named charlotte going to a new school and having a hard time finding friends. she had mostly spend the whole year by herself till she met a girl. she was best friends with her and other girls. they had a sleepover but they didn't know that was her house instead it was rented and had to move out in a few month.I would recommend this book to people who like long books. I give this book four stars because it was kind of good.

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a good book because it tells you how to get friends and try to keeping someone in your family

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

finding these books when i was 11 and rereading them over and over again well into my teens inspired my dreams of becoming a writer, studying literature at oxford, and domino effected so much of the person i would eventually become. after i left the greater boston area for college, i came back one october weekend during my freshman fall semester to go see maisie peters with audrey in cambridge (my first concert). i suggested going to charlotte's house (a real place with an address that i discovered years before) as day plans not expecting audrey to so enthusiastically agree, and off we went. it was a perfect day. i've always wondered what that house means, if anything at all, to the writer. i've never loved boston the way charlotte does, and i don't think i ever will because i will never be able to uncomplicate my relationship with my hometown, but i loved seeing it through her eyes then, and i still do now. should i ever move back here, i hope to find 173 summit avenue for sale on zillow. i'm rereading this while home for a visit between my gap 2 years in spain, reunited with my book collection, experiencing my hometown in brand new ways, and thinking fondly of the teenage girl i once was here. years before i stepped foot in oxford, years before i began memorizing it like the palm of my hand with each visit. as always, books you liked as a pre-teen were always better then and rarely all that good now, but i'm glad these books found me when they did, and i am grateful for the hand they had in my personal plot line.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book and it was very realistic. So, it is about four girls: Charlotte Ramsey, Avery Madden, Katani Summers, and Maeve Kaplan-Taylor. They are all very different and the way they start to be friends is very funny and weird. So, Charlotte has lived all over the world: Paris, Africa, and Port Douglas. But now she is back in where she started: Brookline Massachusetts, USA. So Charlotte has a BIG embarassing moment, but surprisingly it brings the girls together. This book has love, comedy, and it's so realistic! Another thing I like about this book is that some of the places are real. Like, for example Irving's Toy and Card Shop. I used to live in Massachusetts, and I actually got to stand in front of the shop. I would have gone in, but it was closed. It may seem boring to you, but to me it was very exciting! So, this is MY opinion: You better read this book.....NOW!!!!!!!

[Amila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I ever read in English. Since it's not my first language, I remember being excited about actually understanding what's going on. I was 12, and upon finishing the book, I rated it in a notebook, since Goodreads was not on my radar then, or on anyone's radar at that.

Don't mind the high rating, my 12-year-old self was living her best life reading WE/BF.

[Lee]

I picked up this book for one of the challenges in my book club. I really didn’t know what to expect, especially as it started. But, this ended up being a pretty nice little surprise.

Charlotte has moved from place to place for her whole life. Each time her dad is writing a new book, they live in the location it’s set. She’s had numerous first days and this time she is determined for it to not be a disaster. With the chance to make new friends, there is brief hope that they’ll be friends, but will it all work out?

The beginning is rough. The girls gossip about one another. They are very judgemental of each other. It was hard to feel like this was going I would be able to remotely enjoy when they were constantly picking at each other for every little thing. Eventually, things turned around and it was better.

There were four characters that were focused on throughout this book and each one had chapters dedicated to themself which for how short this book is was a lot.

This might be a good book for the youth and luckily it wasn’t a horrible read to listen to while I cleaned.

[Mariana]

Yes yes yes I'm rereading one of my childhood favorites because it's summer break and I feel nostalgic

It's really interesting rereading this in english, though, since my original copy is in Portuguese. Also, I was expecting a more childish writing but this reads surprisingly well, almost like YA. No wonder I reread it so many times as a kid, I'd take this book everywhere with me aahaha I even promised myself if I ever had a daughter, I'd name her Charlotte in honor of the main character

May 7: I’ve finished it! It is truly a wholesome story about friendship with some morals put in there for good measure

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for 9-14 year olds. And I remember getting it back in junior high and starting to read it but hated reading 🤣 but now that I’m an adult I over all think this is perfect for girls in junior high. It shows that starting in a new school is hard but it comes out with new friends and new adventures. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Amani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still as cute as I remember it being.

[Ellie]

So wholesome & good for my inner child to reread my childhood faves

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Beacon Street Girls” by Anne Bryant is a series of books aimed toward tween/teenage girls. The first book in the series is “Worst Enemies/Best Friends.” The premise of the story is that Charlotte, who is a tween, has moved a lot due to her father being a writer. When they move again, he asks Charlotte where she wants to go and she says that she wants to go to Brookline, Massachusetts where she was born and lived for the first four years of her life. Charlotte’s mother died when she was four.

Being a new girl is hard and starting junior high is hard, so Charlotte had a lot to be worried about when she starts at Abigail Adams Junior High. It is through her experiences here that she learns that first impressions are not always correct. We follow Charlotte as she navigates being the new girl, finding out that not everyone is as she thinks they are, that families are made up differently (some have no mother, others are adopted, etc.) , that having a crush on a boy can cause problems between friends and more. We don’t just see things through Charlotte’s eyes, though. We also have narration from the other girls in the book that become Charlotte’s friends.

I would highly recommend this book to tween/teenage girls. The characters are all plausible and the situations that arise are common enough that any teenage girl can relate to something in the story. This is a series that parents don’t’ have to worry about anything being inappropriate in it such as language or sexual situations.

[Sabine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worst Enemies/Best Friends by Annie Bryant is a interesting book about new friendships and adventure. This book teaches you that you can't judge people by their first impressions. Charlotte Ramsey knows what it feels like to make a fool of yourself in the first day of school. On the first day she got table cloth stuck to her zipper and when she stood up and walked away she took the table cloth and the food along with her. The food got all over the girls sitting there. Since that day they didn't like Charlotte. Then on a sleep-over the girls began to bond and create a hangout at the tower that is in Charlotte's house. What they didn't know was that there was a whole other friendship story that took place at that tower. I really liked this book because it is a story of true friendship that isn't always perfect but is always lovely. I would recommend this book to everyone who has one or more best friend that they can always trust. I think they will like this book because it has a lot of emotion and stuff about friendship.

[Lesli Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book to girls that like friendship and that maybe think bad things about other girls and they don't even know them.I liked this book because at first everything was going wrong/bad and then everything turned around and it was going great for the girls.The girls became best friends had sleepovers,shared a dog and Charlotte lied about the tower and then the lady gave the tower to her and her family.

[Shayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Beacon Street Girls series when I was eleven. Now, not really. I realize that this series is written for children, and I'll try to keep that in mind as I write this review. But this book just isn't good. It's pleasant, but not well-written in any way. Everything is just too unrealistic. If you're going to read this book, don't expect to get anything out of it.

[Brianna]

My 10 year old self: This is an amazing book that you will not want to put down. It is about 4 girls, and them getting along, just like real life. It is like BFF, but better. I think this is because it doesn't have any swears and the author is just... different. More me. Anyways, this is a great book. Borrow? Buy? Skip? Absolutely borrow this book, and if you buy books, then buy it.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

i did not enjoy this book at all. my friend recommended it to me, but i had to push myself to keep reading it. it was way below my level, and not my style at all.

[emily lopez;) · Rating 2 out of 5]

i dident finish but! i read it and it was stupid and funny:)

[Destiny · Rating 1 out of 5]

um no

[Sunwoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about a girl called Charlotte who moved to US and is trying to make new friends in her school. But things don't really go as planned...

[erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

the good old days when I used to read this series!!! If you are reading this review, look no further, READ IT!

[Griffin]

Beacon Street Girls is a more modern version of the Babysitter's Club, intended for preteens growing up in a world surrounded by online bullying, eating disorders, underage drinking, and more. I hadn't heard of it, but did a little research and found out it was created by gathering a team of marketing professionals, former American Girl employees, branding experts, and education experts. It's meant to be a cleaner, fresher take on problems facing girls, but in more innocent situations. The series clearly has good intent, and I would be curious to see how it develops.

This is the first book in the series, meant to introduce us to the four main characters and their backstories. It's super diverse: we've got adopted characters, multiracial characters, single parents, divorced parents, rich characters, autistic siblings, and all kinds of lives in various stages of upheaval. Again, basically a modern day BSC.

The book starts out very catty, and perhaps a bit too much like a Disney TV movie. The main character, Charlotte, has recently moved to Massachusetts with her author father after living in Paris, Australia, and Tanzania. She's had many first days at many schools, and always knows they're going to go wrong. Of course, this one does too, and she makes several enemies quickly. But guess what? The worst enemies quickly become best friends after a series of hijinks.

I won't rate this book because I'm not at all the intended audience, but it was a mindless audiobook read I put on in the background while embroidering and working on a book bingo for book club. The audiobook has four distinct narrators but was a bit tricky to listen to, when they're all meant to be 7th grade females. Heck, sometimes the narrator even changed mid- chapter with no warning, and it confused me. Might be easier as a physical book for younger readers.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm often on the lookout for books to gift to my nieces. This caught my eye when I was at the library. It's cute. It does have a neat and happy ending like most tween reads.

My criticism of it is I had a hard time keeping up with which character was speaking. Each chapter is a different POV. Each of the four girls' voices is not distinct, so remembering who is narrating was a challenge for me. It might have worked better to have the entire book from one character's POV, like the Cupcake Diaries series by Coco Simon. This wouldn't have detracted from the book at all.

[Your Common House Bat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took another trip down memory lane with this one lol. It wasn’t too bad for an intermediate level book. Though I feel like there were some issues (like autism) that could have been conveyed more accurately. That portrayal felt a bit stereotypical. I also feel as though the book was written at a lower level than the target audience. But I can see why I liked this one as a kid; Charlotte is a lot like I was, an aspiring writer who moved schools a lot. So it wasn’t the best read but not the worst either.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pre-Read for my daughter based on CatholicGirlReads recommendation.

Meh. Secular books that is christian-friendly. Concern for animals/environment highlighted but no other secular agendas observed. Focus on girl relationships (mild girl drama) and the importance of friends. Not amazing but not offensive.

I let Elizabeth read it (6th grade) but am not heavily promoting the series. She isn't overly interested in girl drama and that is probably a good thing.

[Bhakti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story of four girls who almost hate each other in the beginning, but fight for their friendship even through the ups and downs throughout the book. Add mysterious land-ladies, secret rooms and charm bracelets, and voila!- you have a delightful series that teaches friendship and kindness to anyone who reads it.

[Tamires Coitiño · Rating 5 out of 5]

Primeiro livro "de verdade" (em termos de enredo maturo) que li aos 12 anos. Minha tia me presenteou o livro em meu aniversário e posso dizer que foi aí que minha paixão por livros começou. Antigamente era mais fácil dedicar tanto tempo à leitura, hoje o tempo passa rápido e as responsabilidades estão sempre conosco, porém espero um dia voltar a ler como quando era criança.