  | Chris makes a friend Author: Gino, Alex | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
Chris does not want to be spending the summer with their grouchy grandmother and social butterfly sister. But they don't really have a choice, once their mom leaves them at Grandmother's house.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 4.80 Points: 5.0 Quiz: 556904 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (09/15/25)
Booklist (11/01/25)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (A) (00/10/25)
Full Text Reviews:
Other - 08/18/2025 Twelve-year-old bookworm Chris isn’t thrilled about her and her soccer-obsessed younger sister Becca spending the summer with their grandparents in Massachusetts. While away from her Staten Island hometown, Chris notices that the distance prompts her BFF Vicky to shut her out in favor of new friends, causing Chris to withdraw. During her self-imposed isolation, Chris contemplates the ableism her chronically ill mother experiences, her relationship with her mom’s nonbinary girlfriend, and her own gender expression: "I tried calling myself he in my head, just to see, and it was weird and awkward. They was a little better, but still not right." But when Chris meets newcomer Mia, the two become fast friends, exploring town and talking for hours in Chris’s secluded reading nook by the creek. What follows is a tender exploration of personal growth and change ("Pretty much all of life is an experiment"), which Gino (Green) delivers via Chris’s blunt first-person perspective, her authentic-feeling missteps, and her raw vulnerability, resulting in a perceptive examination of interpersonal connection. Main characters are white-coded. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. (Nov.) - Copyright 2025
Booklist - 11/01/2025 Chris Rossi doesn’t want to spend the entire summer in Massachusetts with her grandparents and her sister. She’d rather stay home on Staten Island and complete the reading challenge she had planned with her best friend, Vicky. But Chris’s mom, who is chronically ill, needs to rest before her upcoming neck surgery, and on top of that, Chris is worried that her mom’s nonbinary girlfriend Frank might someday abandon the family. Worst of all, Vicky is making new friends in her absence and it feels like she’s leaving Chris behind. Everything changes when Chris meets Mia, who is also in town for the summer. Mia understands her in a way her family doesn’t. This sweet and thought-provoking work explores friendships, family, a deep affinity for reading, loneliness, mental health, disability, and gender identity. Chris and Becca’s complicated sibling relationship shines on the page, and Chris’s exploration of her gender identity is nuanced and thoughtfully explored. Gino’s latest will absolutely become a friend to young readers who need to feel seen. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.
