Real Friends vs. the Other Kind (Middle School Confidential) [Paperback]

Annie Fox M.Ed. (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up | Series: Middle School Confidential

“If you’re like us, you probably have questions about friendships. Maybe you’re not sure if someone is a real friend or the other kind.”

So goes the story of Jack, Jen, Chris, Abby, Mateo, and Michelle—six students trying to figure it all out in middle school. Real Friends vs. the Other Kind, the second book in the Middle School Confidential series, follows these characters as they work to forge friendships while navigating tough social situations. The book offers insider information on making friends, resolving disputes, and dealing with other common middle school concerns—like gossip, exclusion, and cyberbullying. There’s also expert advice on crushes, peer pressure, and being there for friends who need help. Filled with character narratives, quizzes, quotes from real kids, tips, tools, and resources, this book is a timely and engaging survival guide for the middle school years.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–8—Jack, Abby, Mateo, Jen, Chris, and Michelle are the middle school students of various ethnicities who take readers through this slim, interactive guide. Chapters cover such topics as friendship dilemmas, so-called friends, when friendships aren't working, crushes, and making new friends. Each chapter opens with a scene played out by the students in cartoon panels. Next, bits of text, along with a multitude of side boxes, address the topic at hand. Sidebars of different "FILES" ("Real Friend," "Labeled and Judged," "Quit Pressuring Me") quote actual tweens and teens. "Need to Know?" bytes recommend relevant books and Web sites. Lists of questions are offered, along with the answers. There's a lot packed into this colorful title that falls somewhere between self-help and peer advice.—Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“In her second book in the series, Middle School Confidential: Real Friends vs. the Other Kind, Annie Fox delivers another powerful, helpful, and entertaining book for kids. . . . Reluctant readers could easily be attracted by this style where they can flip to any page in the book to get the information they need without having to read the entire book.” —Once Upon a Book

“Nine out of ten people agree that middle school can be the toughest period in a young person’s life . . . and this wonderful book by our friends at Free Spirit can help a young person in that journey. This graphic book (comic book style for those of us who grew up a while ago) should be slipped into every new middle schooler’s backpack or under his or her pillow.” —Reach and Teach

“There’s a lot packed into this colorful title that falls somewhere between self-help and peer advice.” —School Library Journal

 “Amazing, colorful, and educational. . . . Middle school kids would definitely benefit from reading this.” —Sue Scheff, parent advocate, founder of P.U.R.E.™, and author of Google™ Bomb and Wit’s End

“Fox does a remarkable job of laying out familiar middle school scenarios.”—ParentingPink.com

Learning and Laughter Favorite Educational Product Award Winner

Kidlutions™ Preferred Product Award (PPA)

“Young readers will be able to relate to the teens in the books and will feel as though they’re having a conversation with their friends. Entering middle school can be tough, which is why it’s great to have a series like this that middle graders can turn to.”—Lori Calabrese, children’s books examiner, Examiner.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing; Book 2 edition (June 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575423197
• ISBN-13: 978-1575423197
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Social Issues > Violence

More About the Author

When Annie Fox's first book "People Are Like Lollipops" (1971, Holiday House) was published, she wasn't old enough to legally sign the contract! By the time she turned 21, though, she decided that helping kids was going to be her life's work. After graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies then completing her Master's in Education, computers changed her life as she began to explore ways in which technology could be used to empower kids.

In 1977, Annie and her husband David opened Marin Computer Center, the world's first public access microcomputer facility. Her work there led her to write her best selling book, "Armchair BASIC: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microcomputers and Programming in BASIC" (1983, Osborn/McGraw-Hill). After a detour into the world of screen writing, Annie returned to computers as an award-winning writer/designer of children's CD ROMs. (Putt-Putt; Madeline; Get Ready for School, Charlie Brown; and Mr. Potato Head Saves Veggie Valley are just a few of the titles on which she has worked.)

In 1996 Annie dreamed up the idea for The InSite (TheInSite.org), a place "for teens and young adults to turn their world around." She served as creator, designer, writer, and executive producer of that award-winning site. One of The InSite's most popular features was Hey Terra, a Cyberspace Dear Abby. Her book "The Teen Survival Guide to Dating & Relating: Real World Advice About Guys, Girls, Growing Up And Getting Along" (2000, 2005 Free Spirit Publishing) is based on hundreds of emails to Terra and Annie's responses to them. "Teen Survival Guide" is now available as a free PDF download from TeenSurvivalGuide.com.

Her other books include: "Too Stressed to Think? A Teen Guide to Staying Sane When Life Makes You CRAZY," co-authored with Ruth Kirschner (2005, Free Spirit Publishing) and the popular Middle School Confidential™ series (2008, 2009, 2010 Free Spirit Publishing). Always looking for new ways to use technology to reach tweens and teens, in April 2010 Annie launched Cruel's Not Cool! (CruelsNotCool.com) an anti-bullying Facebook forum. In April 2011 Annie's first app "Be Confident in Who You Are" (developed by Electric Eggplant and based on on Book 1 of the Middle School Confidential series) was released for iPad (see MiddleSchoolConfidential.com).

Through her public events for kids, tweens, teens, parents, and educators, Annie continues working toward her goal of empowering young people through increased self-awareness, emotional intelligence skills and stress-reduction strategies.

When not answering teen email, Annie enjoys yoga, meditation, baking, gardening, photography, hiking, traveling, and, most of all, being with David and the rest of the family.

Visit Annie at her website, AnnieFox.com
Follow Annie on Twitter: @Annie_Fox
Follow Annie on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Annie.Fox.author

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review from Books That Heal Kids, May 25, 2010

By 

Books That Heal Kids "Roxanne" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Real Friends vs. the Other Kind (Middle School Confidential) (Paperback)

I own the whole middle school series. I work as a school counselor and our 5th graders love it! These are helpful books that will support kids as they transition to middle school.

Just bringing up this topic can raise anxiety in the room. So wouldn't it be nice to have a hip, relevant, contemporary book series to help students transition from elementary to middle school? Done and done! Series found. And how do I know Middle School Confidential is doing wonders for future middle schoolers? Because kids are asking me for the fourth book (publication pending)! Since the moment I introduced the books, I've barely seen them since. A steady stream of 5th graders have been checking them out from my bookshelf. When asking kids how they like the series and how it's helping them - I was delighted by their responses. Students are taking skills they've learned from Middle School Confidential and utilizing them in their daily lives. One student recommended I share with 5th graders an activity called "Who Are Your Real Friends?" from Real Friends vs the Other Kind because it helped her evaluate her own friendships. A book that decreases friendship drama? Love it.

The students who have read the series have had a noticeably improved attitude about entering middle school. That shift in perspective is allowing kids to not dread but embrace their middle grade years. I encourage teachers, school librarians, and parents to get these on your bookshelves. They won't be sitting idle for long.

Looking forward to the fourth book!