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BFF Breakup
Brooke and Madeline have been best friends since they first met. And now they're going to be best friends in high school, then go to the same college where they'll be roommates, date—and marry—boys who are also best friends. Finally they'll live next door to each other and go on family vacations together. Nothing could possibly change that, right?
Well not so fast. A new school year brings new challenges, and suddenly Brooke and Madeline’s friendship isn’t looking so solid. When the cracks in the relationship become chasms, is there anything worth salvaging at all?
Taylor Morris has written a laugh out loud funny, touching, novel about what happens when "Best Friends Forever" becomes "Best Friends No More."
Well not so fast. A new school year brings new challenges, and suddenly Brooke and Madeline’s friendship isn’t looking so solid. When the cracks in the relationship become chasms, is there anything worth salvaging at all?
Taylor Morris has written a laugh out loud funny, touching, novel about what happens when "Best Friends Forever" becomes "Best Friends No More."
288 pages, Paperback
First published May 2, 2011
10 people are currently reading
284 people want to read
About the author
Taylor Morris
24 books48 followersI write books and stuff for teens and tweens.
Author for celebrity chef and Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis' series, RECIPE FOR ADVENTURE, about how food can take you places, published by Penguin's Grosset & Dunlap. The books are, "Naples!" "Paris!" "Hong Kong!" and "New Orleans!"
HELLO, GORGEOUS! is a series about a well-intentioned blabbermouth who works at her mom's hair salon. The books are "Blowout," "Foiled," "Tangled," "Swept Up," and "'Do and Don'ts." Published by Penguin's Grosset & Dunlap.
I also wrote "BFF Breakup," "Class Favorite" and "Total Knockout: Tale of an Ex-Class President" for Simon & Schuster's Aladdin/MIX line.
I'm a full-time writer and freelance editor.
Author for celebrity chef and Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis' series, RECIPE FOR ADVENTURE, about how food can take you places, published by Penguin's Grosset & Dunlap. The books are, "Naples!" "Paris!" "Hong Kong!" and "New Orleans!"
HELLO, GORGEOUS! is a series about a well-intentioned blabbermouth who works at her mom's hair salon. The books are "Blowout," "Foiled," "Tangled," "Swept Up," and "'Do and Don'ts." Published by Penguin's Grosset & Dunlap.
I also wrote "BFF Breakup," "Class Favorite" and "Total Knockout: Tale of an Ex-Class President" for Simon & Schuster's Aladdin/MIX line.
I'm a full-time writer and freelance editor.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 10, 2017
Brooke and Madeline are best friends and are sure they will stay so until at least the end of time. But when they get to middle school, Madeline meets another girl, Susanna, and becomes enamored by her since Susanna seems more mature and cool. At the same time Brooke and Susanna don't like each other at all.
Little by little, Brooke and Madeline drift apart. Messages, such as supposed appologies which are anything but, a divorce, boys etc. also worsen things.
This is a wonderful book about a relationship between two best friends. It is both realistic and funny. I loved that we see both girl's perspectives, too. 5 stars.
Enjoy!
Little by little, Brooke and Madeline drift apart. Messages, such as supposed appologies which are anything but, a divorce, boys etc. also worsen things.
This is a wonderful book about a relationship between two best friends. It is both realistic and funny. I loved that we see both girl's perspectives, too. 5 stars.
Enjoy!
April 14, 2013
This is one of the best books I've ever read in my life!! The ending just leaves you there, like, "no! Please be friends like you used to be! Share secrets by the creek again! Hang out more!" Taylor Morris, if your reading this, PLEASEEEE MAKE A SEQUEL OR A SERIES!! PLEASEE!?!?
September 13, 2011
Meet Brooke. Then meet Madeline. Then meet Brooke again. Each alternating chapter of BFF Breakup is written from the first-person perspective of one of the two BFF’s, so that each gets to share her side of the story of their BFF Breakup. Every chapter is helpfully titled after the girl whose perspective we’re currently reading, but after the first couple of chapters, this isn’t really necessary. Both Brooke and Madeline are fully realized characters with their own particular style of communicating, and it is a testament to Morris’s strength as a writer that we do not need to be told who is narrating. By the end of the book, we would recognize either Brooke or Madeline anywhere.
So here’s a question for you, Esteemed Reader: why does Morris begin her story with the BFF’s breaking up (and never mind that the book’s title is a major spoiler). Like the best suspense fiction and the entire series of Lost, Morris shows us the terrible thing that has happened and then flashes back to show us all the events that led to the terrible thing, the exposition made all the more thrilling because the reader knows somehow, someway, it’s all leading up to the terrible thing. And what is this terrible thing? I think it best I let Brooke tell you:
And just like once I could never imagine a world in which we wouldn’t be friends, now I couldn’t imagine a world in which we could ever be friends again. We’d never swim in her pool when it was raining with dark clouds overhead and hoping it didn’t lightning because then her mom would call us in for sure. We’d never race four-wheelers in the back field between our houses. My mom would never make us cinnamon rolls from scratch on Saturday morning after a sleepover, and our moms would never again joke with each other that we were like sisters they shared custody of.
At the beginning of this story is violence—not of the piranha variety, alas, but violence for certain. It’s emotional violence, and emotional violence can be every bit as much a threat as actual violence in a story. The problem, as Morris knows, is violence, even the emotional sort, isn’t really interesting until it’s happening to a character the reader is invested in.
To prove it, I talked last week with a woman in my professional line of work who only recently divorced her husband. This is sad, maybe, or maybe it’s a good thing. There’s no way for you to know for sure based on the information I’ve given you and unless you yourself only just recently dealt with a divorce, I doubt it had any sort of emotional impact. If you have, invoking an emotional response from you is simply shooting fish in a barrel (ahh, cliché’s, how I love you). Unfortunately, a writer cannot count on push-over readers.
In order for you to feel anything, I would have to tell you details like the fact that this woman can’t stop crying and has locked herself in a room for a week, and her sister had to move in to take care of her children because Mommy seems to have forgotten them. Or perhaps her husband was abusive and after one too many episodes, this woman shot him in the gut and was calling me from a shelter, finally free and triumphant. As I’m not a monster, I’m not going to share the actual details with you, but if I wanted you to care about this woman, I would have to.
And that’s what Morris is up to. Because she has chosen to write from the perspective of two characters, we have to care about each of them as well as their friendship. We need to know how they rush to meet in the backyard to share their junior high schedules, even though Madeline is grounded at the time, and how they love to make cookies together and how they can really only discuss their feelings about their parents with each other. Their friendship is what’s at stake from the start of the tale to the end and unless the reader believes in it and cares about it, there is no story.
So do Brooke and Madeline patch things up? I’m not going to tell you, but I will say that their reasons for breaking up are universal and I can’t imagine the reader who won’t sympathize with both girls. Best friendship is the romance of the middle grade world, and as there’s no swearing or outstanding adult content, I would place BFF Breakup firmly in the upper end of middle grade.
It is interesting, though, this idea of best friends being like a marriage during the preteen years. Morris believes this. Why else would she contrast the breakup of our BFFs with the divorce of Madeline’s parents? I myself have had the same best friend since the third grade and during our teenage years, we spent most of our free time doing everything together. Now he’s married and so am I, but we still get together for late night Street Fighter II sessions—we even let his son play.
The girls’ relationship is universal as are their motives for breaking up. Madeline wants to reach out and make new friends, but isn’t that cheating on Brooke? Brooke is jealous and makes a bit of a fool of herself. I think every best friend knows what it’s like to want to make new friends as well as the pang of jealousy when their best friend is having fun with someone other than themselves. What I enjoyed is the number of plot points and instances that reminded me of a love story, such as our BFFs catching each other’s eye across a crowded room:
It would be impossible to perfectly describe the moves Chris laid out on that dance floor. There was spinning on his back, of course, and his signature worm with an added lift-up onto the points of his toes. He also managed to twist and jerk his body in a way that had the whole school cheering him on. I was right there in the midst, cheering too. Corrine and Lily appeared by my side and we encouraged Chris in his first real solo. As I laughed and clapped my hands to the beat, I looked across and saw Madeline. She was standing with her friends, smiling, but looking at me. I must have just caught her. We both paused, and she smiled brighter, just for me, and nodded her head ever so slightly. In that Instant I felt that maybe, somehow, things were going to get better.
And that’s going to do it, except I couldn’t help but notice just how many descriptions of clothing and fashion sense in general permeate BFF Breakup. Ordinarily, lengthy descriptions of every character’s outfit are a waste of time as is much physical description as the reader will inevitably fill in those details with their own imagination anyway. But in Taylor Morris’s case, I believe her descriptions of fashion are right up her reader’s alley. I especially enjoyed how often clothing, either a discussion of or the loaning of, was the trigger for a story event or was used to symbolize the state of the girl’s friendship. For example:
"Hey, let me ask you something. And you have to be totally honest." I nodded. "What do you think of these shorts?"
I didn't know her so I didn't really feel like I could tell her I didn't like them, but I also figured if she got mad, then oh well. It's not like we were friends. So I said, "I like them, but I think they'd be even cuter without the belt."
She considered me, nodding her head. "Now I know I can trust you," she said. "My friends kept telling me they looked cute, but I just knew there was something off about them. That's a really cool necklace you're wearing, by the way."
My hand went to my necklace, a small gold treasure box on a long chain. I was wearing it especially for today. Brooke got it for me on a trip she took to Colorado three years ago. She told me she'd been saving her allowance and birthday money to buy something for herself, but when she saw the necklace, she knew I'd love it. And I did. I wore it when I needed extra goodness in my day.
And now, as always, I’ll leave you with some of my favorite passages from BFF Breakup:
Naturally, Madeline sat on the floor just staring at the lockers across the hall like they were hypnotizing her into buying more ugly accessories.
I felt it again. Oh, why hello there, tears. So nice to see you again after three whole hours of your absence. (very Stephen King -- MGN)
"Hardly," she said, and held out her hand for me to slap, tap, then bump. Just like always.
"What is this?" an oh-so-maternal voice bellowed. Yes, my mother actually bellows.
To read an interview with author Taylor Morris or to read interviews with some of today's best writers and literary agents, check out my blog www.middlegradeninja.blogspot.com.
So here’s a question for you, Esteemed Reader: why does Morris begin her story with the BFF’s breaking up (and never mind that the book’s title is a major spoiler). Like the best suspense fiction and the entire series of Lost, Morris shows us the terrible thing that has happened and then flashes back to show us all the events that led to the terrible thing, the exposition made all the more thrilling because the reader knows somehow, someway, it’s all leading up to the terrible thing. And what is this terrible thing? I think it best I let Brooke tell you:
And just like once I could never imagine a world in which we wouldn’t be friends, now I couldn’t imagine a world in which we could ever be friends again. We’d never swim in her pool when it was raining with dark clouds overhead and hoping it didn’t lightning because then her mom would call us in for sure. We’d never race four-wheelers in the back field between our houses. My mom would never make us cinnamon rolls from scratch on Saturday morning after a sleepover, and our moms would never again joke with each other that we were like sisters they shared custody of.
At the beginning of this story is violence—not of the piranha variety, alas, but violence for certain. It’s emotional violence, and emotional violence can be every bit as much a threat as actual violence in a story. The problem, as Morris knows, is violence, even the emotional sort, isn’t really interesting until it’s happening to a character the reader is invested in.
To prove it, I talked last week with a woman in my professional line of work who only recently divorced her husband. This is sad, maybe, or maybe it’s a good thing. There’s no way for you to know for sure based on the information I’ve given you and unless you yourself only just recently dealt with a divorce, I doubt it had any sort of emotional impact. If you have, invoking an emotional response from you is simply shooting fish in a barrel (ahh, cliché’s, how I love you). Unfortunately, a writer cannot count on push-over readers.
In order for you to feel anything, I would have to tell you details like the fact that this woman can’t stop crying and has locked herself in a room for a week, and her sister had to move in to take care of her children because Mommy seems to have forgotten them. Or perhaps her husband was abusive and after one too many episodes, this woman shot him in the gut and was calling me from a shelter, finally free and triumphant. As I’m not a monster, I’m not going to share the actual details with you, but if I wanted you to care about this woman, I would have to.
And that’s what Morris is up to. Because she has chosen to write from the perspective of two characters, we have to care about each of them as well as their friendship. We need to know how they rush to meet in the backyard to share their junior high schedules, even though Madeline is grounded at the time, and how they love to make cookies together and how they can really only discuss their feelings about their parents with each other. Their friendship is what’s at stake from the start of the tale to the end and unless the reader believes in it and cares about it, there is no story.
So do Brooke and Madeline patch things up? I’m not going to tell you, but I will say that their reasons for breaking up are universal and I can’t imagine the reader who won’t sympathize with both girls. Best friendship is the romance of the middle grade world, and as there’s no swearing or outstanding adult content, I would place BFF Breakup firmly in the upper end of middle grade.
It is interesting, though, this idea of best friends being like a marriage during the preteen years. Morris believes this. Why else would she contrast the breakup of our BFFs with the divorce of Madeline’s parents? I myself have had the same best friend since the third grade and during our teenage years, we spent most of our free time doing everything together. Now he’s married and so am I, but we still get together for late night Street Fighter II sessions—we even let his son play.
The girls’ relationship is universal as are their motives for breaking up. Madeline wants to reach out and make new friends, but isn’t that cheating on Brooke? Brooke is jealous and makes a bit of a fool of herself. I think every best friend knows what it’s like to want to make new friends as well as the pang of jealousy when their best friend is having fun with someone other than themselves. What I enjoyed is the number of plot points and instances that reminded me of a love story, such as our BFFs catching each other’s eye across a crowded room:
It would be impossible to perfectly describe the moves Chris laid out on that dance floor. There was spinning on his back, of course, and his signature worm with an added lift-up onto the points of his toes. He also managed to twist and jerk his body in a way that had the whole school cheering him on. I was right there in the midst, cheering too. Corrine and Lily appeared by my side and we encouraged Chris in his first real solo. As I laughed and clapped my hands to the beat, I looked across and saw Madeline. She was standing with her friends, smiling, but looking at me. I must have just caught her. We both paused, and she smiled brighter, just for me, and nodded her head ever so slightly. In that Instant I felt that maybe, somehow, things were going to get better.
And that’s going to do it, except I couldn’t help but notice just how many descriptions of clothing and fashion sense in general permeate BFF Breakup. Ordinarily, lengthy descriptions of every character’s outfit are a waste of time as is much physical description as the reader will inevitably fill in those details with their own imagination anyway. But in Taylor Morris’s case, I believe her descriptions of fashion are right up her reader’s alley. I especially enjoyed how often clothing, either a discussion of or the loaning of, was the trigger for a story event or was used to symbolize the state of the girl’s friendship. For example:
"Hey, let me ask you something. And you have to be totally honest." I nodded. "What do you think of these shorts?"
I didn't know her so I didn't really feel like I could tell her I didn't like them, but I also figured if she got mad, then oh well. It's not like we were friends. So I said, "I like them, but I think they'd be even cuter without the belt."
She considered me, nodding her head. "Now I know I can trust you," she said. "My friends kept telling me they looked cute, but I just knew there was something off about them. That's a really cool necklace you're wearing, by the way."
My hand went to my necklace, a small gold treasure box on a long chain. I was wearing it especially for today. Brooke got it for me on a trip she took to Colorado three years ago. She told me she'd been saving her allowance and birthday money to buy something for herself, but when she saw the necklace, she knew I'd love it. And I did. I wore it when I needed extra goodness in my day.
And now, as always, I’ll leave you with some of my favorite passages from BFF Breakup:
Naturally, Madeline sat on the floor just staring at the lockers across the hall like they were hypnotizing her into buying more ugly accessories.
I felt it again. Oh, why hello there, tears. So nice to see you again after three whole hours of your absence. (very Stephen King -- MGN)
"Hardly," she said, and held out her hand for me to slap, tap, then bump. Just like always.
"What is this?" an oh-so-maternal voice bellowed. Yes, my mother actually bellows.
To read an interview with author Taylor Morris or to read interviews with some of today's best writers and literary agents, check out my blog www.middlegradeninja.blogspot.com.
Read
September 14, 2013How many of us have gotten into fights with out best friends? Fights so bad you aren't sure that you'll ever be friends again? I know I have! And then throw into the mix a group of new friends seemingly taking your best friend away. Isn't that a lot of tween girls' fear? Well that's what BFF Breakup is all about. Having a best friend and losing her. It's such a realistic premise that many girls will be interested just because it's something they can so completely relate to. What's great is that the story goes beyond just an interesting premise. The story itself is well written, true to the age of the character and reader and it doesn't sugar coat going through something like this.
I've said it before, but it needs to be said again. One thing that I find wrong with some middle grade (tween) books I read is the voice of the characters. They don't sound like kids I see and hear everyday at school. This wasn't really an issue with Brooke and Madeline. Their reactions (the cute boy you like sitting next to you), their language (deciding the word disco would mean whatever you wanted it to) were spot on. But what was more completely tween was how they reacted during the fight. Avoiding each other, refusing to look at each other, blurting out things they have no clue where it came from, saying bad things about the other to new friends because of anger. It was all there. I think the most realistic was when Madeline sent Brooke and apology email thinking it was worded just perfect not at all realizing how it might sound to Brooke. I've heard apologies like that! Their reactions rang true to me. Kids are really are really turned off by books that don't represent them accurately. I don't think that would happen with this book.
A secondary story is Madeline's parents separating. I think this too is a situation that some tweens could relate to. And I did believe Madeline's reaction to it. She was angry and confused which all seemed natural. I did think the parents handled it a little dis-functionally, kind've letting the kids deal with in on their own, but it wasn't bad enough to really bother me. Having Madeline going through this crisis added another layer to the problems between her and Brooke. Not only were they growing and changing, but now they had to figure out how to handle a crises with one of them. It also set up nicely why Madeline thought her new friend Susanna was 'better" than Brooke. And it helped show some of Brooke's naivety. I wondered if this story line was really necessary - could it have just focused on the first - but I realized it was really needed. It pushed along a lot of what happened and fueled the emotions both girls were feeling.
There were a few scenes that I did have a bit of a hard time believing. They mostly involved Brooke and a boy named Christopher. Christopher would be seen as a bit odd by most kids this age (he wears ties to school). Brooke though thinks he's cool. Some of the scenes where she encourages his personality were a little harder for me to buy into just because I know how kids this age can have a hard time encouraging individuality because it could put the spotlight on them in a wrong way. It know it was to help encourage being ok with who you are and letting others be who they are, but I also know the struggle with this at 7th grade. This wasn't a huge deal, but it was the one point I wasn't completely sure of.
I won't say what happens in the end, but I was very pleased with how it was handled. It wasn't all perfection and sunshine and rainbows. It was more realistic and I liked that. I think a young reader would take more away from the book because it didn't try to snowball them into believing something they know would be somewhat unrealistic. Honesty with this age goes a long way and this book was honest.
Final Thought: Good real look at losing your BFF
Best stick-with-you image: When Madeline turns really mean to Brooke. Ouch!
Best for readers who: Have every had a fight with their BFF
Best for ages: 9-12
For the Boys? Nope. Pretty much a girl topic.
I've said it before, but it needs to be said again. One thing that I find wrong with some middle grade (tween) books I read is the voice of the characters. They don't sound like kids I see and hear everyday at school. This wasn't really an issue with Brooke and Madeline. Their reactions (the cute boy you like sitting next to you), their language (deciding the word disco would mean whatever you wanted it to) were spot on. But what was more completely tween was how they reacted during the fight. Avoiding each other, refusing to look at each other, blurting out things they have no clue where it came from, saying bad things about the other to new friends because of anger. It was all there. I think the most realistic was when Madeline sent Brooke and apology email thinking it was worded just perfect not at all realizing how it might sound to Brooke. I've heard apologies like that! Their reactions rang true to me. Kids are really are really turned off by books that don't represent them accurately. I don't think that would happen with this book.
A secondary story is Madeline's parents separating. I think this too is a situation that some tweens could relate to. And I did believe Madeline's reaction to it. She was angry and confused which all seemed natural. I did think the parents handled it a little dis-functionally, kind've letting the kids deal with in on their own, but it wasn't bad enough to really bother me. Having Madeline going through this crisis added another layer to the problems between her and Brooke. Not only were they growing and changing, but now they had to figure out how to handle a crises with one of them. It also set up nicely why Madeline thought her new friend Susanna was 'better" than Brooke. And it helped show some of Brooke's naivety. I wondered if this story line was really necessary - could it have just focused on the first - but I realized it was really needed. It pushed along a lot of what happened and fueled the emotions both girls were feeling.
There were a few scenes that I did have a bit of a hard time believing. They mostly involved Brooke and a boy named Christopher. Christopher would be seen as a bit odd by most kids this age (he wears ties to school). Brooke though thinks he's cool. Some of the scenes where she encourages his personality were a little harder for me to buy into just because I know how kids this age can have a hard time encouraging individuality because it could put the spotlight on them in a wrong way. It know it was to help encourage being ok with who you are and letting others be who they are, but I also know the struggle with this at 7th grade. This wasn't a huge deal, but it was the one point I wasn't completely sure of.
I won't say what happens in the end, but I was very pleased with how it was handled. It wasn't all perfection and sunshine and rainbows. It was more realistic and I liked that. I think a young reader would take more away from the book because it didn't try to snowball them into believing something they know would be somewhat unrealistic. Honesty with this age goes a long way and this book was honest.
Final Thought: Good real look at losing your BFF
Best stick-with-you image: When Madeline turns really mean to Brooke. Ouch!
Best for readers who: Have every had a fight with their BFF
Best for ages: 9-12
For the Boys? Nope. Pretty much a girl topic.
July 8, 2011
Brooke and Madeline have been best friends since the first day they met and they take their BFF status very seriously, sure that nothing will ever tear them apart. At least, until they start middle school and Madeline makes a few new friends -- girls that don't get along with Brooke. And when her new friend Susanna understands the drama in Madeline's family so much better than Brooke ever could, the BFFs find themselves in a fight that threatens to tear their best-friendship in two. This book is told through the POVs of both girls, making it easy to empathize with both of them and difficult to choose sides. Madeline is the more girly of the two and quickly makes popular friends in middle school while tomboy-ish Brooke finds these new friends insipid and annoying. Added to this is the fact that while Brooke has a Leave-It-to-Beaver-esque nuclear family, Madeline's parents fight constantly. While Brooke wants to help her best friend, especially when the fighting in Madeline's house reaches a head, she isn't quite sure how to -- and with Susanna around she really isn't given the chance.
While I was expecting the fight between Brooke and Madeline to be something concrete, over something specific, it's much more of a slow boil that starts at the end of the summer, when Madeline is grounded and can't spend as much time with Brooke. Things get worse after she meets Susanna and when it becomes clear that Brooke doesn't like the new friends, but it's hard to point to one clear incident as a reason for the rift that forms between the two. There are reasons (multiple), but they take place over such a long span of time and increasingly build on one another. Brooke is insulted when Madeline calls her out on being sarcastic while Madeline refuses to stick up for Brooke when Susanna makes fun of her. The fact that Susanna is better able to understand Madeline's home life only adds to her feeling that Brooke isn't the best friend anymore.
Despite a big focus on Madeline's parents, none of the characters aside from Brooke, Madeline, and a few school friends are very fleshed out. Their parents and siblings have a big effect on them, but reading this book I felt like I didn't know Madeline's parents well enough to really have an opinion or feel what she was going through and how their fighting hurt her. While I usually love a family focus in books, for this one it fell flat and when the book really came alive was during the conversations between Brooke and Madeline. The two (at least pre-fight) have the sort of relationship and language that only best friends have; one-word conversations, shared inside jokes and secrets. This makes it easy to root for them and to wish that they would just talk to each other throughout the better part of this book. Because, unfortunately, this was a story (and a fight) that could have been solved so easily with just a little communication on the part of the characters. It was easy to understand why they couldn't or wouldn't just talk to each other, but this didn't make it any less agonizing or annoying to read their many miscommunications. I liked these girls and wanted to see them work things out; honestly I wasn't prepared for the ending. This is to say that in this sweet, cute middle grade novel, I fully expected a happy ending and what I got was bittersweet, an ending almost as full of loss and regret as the rest of the novel. Or at least, that's how it felt to me.
On the whole, this was a cute novel that reminded me somewhat, at least in the basic premise and the way the story was told, of Rival. The minor characters weren't as strong as I wanted and the ending left me sad, but I have a sense that that's more my fault than the book's. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to junior high girls, especially since I feel like so many might be able to relate to the story.
While I was expecting the fight between Brooke and Madeline to be something concrete, over something specific, it's much more of a slow boil that starts at the end of the summer, when Madeline is grounded and can't spend as much time with Brooke. Things get worse after she meets Susanna and when it becomes clear that Brooke doesn't like the new friends, but it's hard to point to one clear incident as a reason for the rift that forms between the two. There are reasons (multiple), but they take place over such a long span of time and increasingly build on one another. Brooke is insulted when Madeline calls her out on being sarcastic while Madeline refuses to stick up for Brooke when Susanna makes fun of her. The fact that Susanna is better able to understand Madeline's home life only adds to her feeling that Brooke isn't the best friend anymore.
Despite a big focus on Madeline's parents, none of the characters aside from Brooke, Madeline, and a few school friends are very fleshed out. Their parents and siblings have a big effect on them, but reading this book I felt like I didn't know Madeline's parents well enough to really have an opinion or feel what she was going through and how their fighting hurt her. While I usually love a family focus in books, for this one it fell flat and when the book really came alive was during the conversations between Brooke and Madeline. The two (at least pre-fight) have the sort of relationship and language that only best friends have; one-word conversations, shared inside jokes and secrets. This makes it easy to root for them and to wish that they would just talk to each other throughout the better part of this book. Because, unfortunately, this was a story (and a fight) that could have been solved so easily with just a little communication on the part of the characters. It was easy to understand why they couldn't or wouldn't just talk to each other, but this didn't make it any less agonizing or annoying to read their many miscommunications. I liked these girls and wanted to see them work things out; honestly I wasn't prepared for the ending. This is to say that in this sweet, cute middle grade novel, I fully expected a happy ending and what I got was bittersweet, an ending almost as full of loss and regret as the rest of the novel. Or at least, that's how it felt to me.
On the whole, this was a cute novel that reminded me somewhat, at least in the basic premise and the way the story was told, of Rival. The minor characters weren't as strong as I wanted and the ending left me sad, but I have a sense that that's more my fault than the book's. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to junior high girls, especially since I feel like so many might be able to relate to the story.
February 1, 2012
I love Taylor Morris' books and this most recent one is no different. She really nails the middle-grade voice and the situations that arise at that crucial moment when you start junior high and things start to change. The book is told in alternating perspectives and it was nice to see both sides of the friendship breakup.
Morris also throws in the divorce issue and how it affects everyone involved, especially the children. It's handled really well and realistically and I think it can help tweens going through that.
Navigating the friendship waters at a new school is hard and Morris really did a good job making that come to life. Brooke and Madeline are wonderful characters, and the friend groups they fall in with as they drift apart are written well too. It was fun spending time in this world and the book just flew by.
The only thing that confused me was the timeline. The first three chapters are marked "After" and then the rest of the book is "Before" and the ending doesn't seem to go with the "After" chapters. Maybe I just missed something and am the only one not understanding it, but it bothered me a tiny bit.
Overall, I absolutely loved this new book from Morris and if you're looking for a fun middle-grade book, this is it. And be sure to check out Morris' other MG books too!
Morris also throws in the divorce issue and how it affects everyone involved, especially the children. It's handled really well and realistically and I think it can help tweens going through that.
Navigating the friendship waters at a new school is hard and Morris really did a good job making that come to life. Brooke and Madeline are wonderful characters, and the friend groups they fall in with as they drift apart are written well too. It was fun spending time in this world and the book just flew by.
The only thing that confused me was the timeline. The first three chapters are marked "After" and then the rest of the book is "Before" and the ending doesn't seem to go with the "After" chapters. Maybe I just missed something and am the only one not understanding it, but it bothered me a tiny bit.
Overall, I absolutely loved this new book from Morris and if you're looking for a fun middle-grade book, this is it. And be sure to check out Morris' other MG books too!
October 12, 2012
I just finished reading the book BFF breakup by Taylor Morris. I loved this book I would reccomend this book to ALL girls! My favorite character was Brooke because she knows how to get herself out of the problems she brings herself into. She knows how to handle things and is verry thoughtful. On the other hand Madaline just wants to make the fight even worse than it already is. When she tries to handle things they only get worse. Thats why my favorite character is Brooke. Another important character in the story is Susanna whitch is why their whole fight even started. I personally don't like Sunsanna's character. She is mean and always trying to make people feel bad and is trying to split up Brook and Madaline!
This book was about two girls Brooke and Madaline who thought they were going to be best friends until the end until they go to sign up for fall semester classes at their school. Madaline meets a new friend Susanna when she is signing up for her classes. Instantly Susanna does'nt like Brooke because of her sarcasm all the time. The rest of their friendship is still unditerminded. Read this book to find out why the are fighting and if they will make up.
This book was about two girls Brooke and Madaline who thought they were going to be best friends until the end until they go to sign up for fall semester classes at their school. Madaline meets a new friend Susanna when she is signing up for her classes. Instantly Susanna does'nt like Brooke because of her sarcasm all the time. The rest of their friendship is still unditerminded. Read this book to find out why the are fighting and if they will make up.
October 3, 2011
Most girls, even young girls, expect to face a romantic break-up at some point in their lives, but seldom is a girl warned about the desolation of a best friend break-up. Brooke and Madeline have been best friends forever but, as they start middle school, their friendship starts to fall apart. In alternating chapters, Morris offers each girl's POV and shows their struggles to deal with the fall-out and maybe even try to fix things.
I particularly liked the contrast of the new friends that each girl make. The mean girls are just that, but we get enough back story to know they're not monsters. And the nice girls are supportive and caring, without being sticky-sweet. I think many upper elementary and lower middle school readers will relate to the story and root for Brooke and Madeline to patch things up.
I particularly liked the contrast of the new friends that each girl make. The mean girls are just that, but we get enough back story to know they're not monsters. And the nice girls are supportive and caring, without being sticky-sweet. I think many upper elementary and lower middle school readers will relate to the story and root for Brooke and Madeline to patch things up.
January 19, 2012
Fun and oh so true. Enjoy!
Brooke and Madeline have been best friends since the moment they met, and they intend to stay that way: After high school, they are going to be college roommates and date—then marry—boys who are also best friends. Their families will live next door to each other and go on vacations together. And nothing is going to change their plans….
Except, maybe middle school. As Brooke and Madeline encounter new challenges, suddenly their friendship isn’t looking so solid. And when the cracks in their relationship become chasms, they must decide if there’s anything worth salvaging—or if their dreams of “Best Friends Forever” were mere fantasy. Told in alternating viewpoints, BFF Breakup is as touching as it is laugh-out-loud funny—and it chronicles a transformation that many readers will relate to.
Brooke and Madeline have been best friends since the moment they met, and they intend to stay that way: After high school, they are going to be college roommates and date—then marry—boys who are also best friends. Their families will live next door to each other and go on vacations together. And nothing is going to change their plans….
Except, maybe middle school. As Brooke and Madeline encounter new challenges, suddenly their friendship isn’t looking so solid. And when the cracks in their relationship become chasms, they must decide if there’s anything worth salvaging—or if their dreams of “Best Friends Forever” were mere fantasy. Told in alternating viewpoints, BFF Breakup is as touching as it is laugh-out-loud funny—and it chronicles a transformation that many readers will relate to.
September 5, 2011
BFF Break Up
This fictional book is great for the girls in your school (upper elementary or middle school) who have friends and are fearful of losing them. I enjoyed this quick read though the mixes of emotion in BFF Break Up and can relate to both sides of the story. The book is well crafted and writes for both points of view and has “tween” lingo/verbiage and emotions running wild. I think that even girls who maintain the friendship of elementary school can identify with the struggles of keeping it tight and light with your homies.
This fictional book is great for the girls in your school (upper elementary or middle school) who have friends and are fearful of losing them. I enjoyed this quick read though the mixes of emotion in BFF Break Up and can relate to both sides of the story. The book is well crafted and writes for both points of view and has “tween” lingo/verbiage and emotions running wild. I think that even girls who maintain the friendship of elementary school can identify with the struggles of keeping it tight and light with your homies.
Read
October 30, 2012This book was really good. Are there any girls out there that are going through a rough time? I think this is just what you need. This book is about 2 girls that are like paper and glue. So when they get into this really huge fight and there's like zero chance they'll never be friends again. But they come through for each other and become friends again.
July 20, 2011
Brooke and Madeline's friendship is tested as they start middle school, and are plagued with typical "mean girl" issues many girls face. BFF is a realistic depiction of the insecurities, meanness, and tender moments girls face as they grow up. Good girl appeal.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2012
I LOVED this book! I think it gives some great insight on what drama in middle school is like! Great job Taylor Morris!
October 24, 2012
Cute story of friendship.
July 24, 2013
I really like like how it switched the points of view between Madeline and Brooke every chapter...
February 20, 2012
i like this book! its one of my favorites!
Want to Read
June 2, 2014How do I read this this is so hard to read this book Where are the pages
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