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LET'S PRETEND WE NEVER MET

Melissa Walker

If it were up to Mattie Markham, there would be a law that said your family wasn't allowed to move in the middle of the school year. After all, sixth grade is hard enough without wondering if you'll be able to make new friends or worrying that the kids in Pennsylvania won't like your North Carolina accent.

But when Mattie meets her next-door neighbor and classmate, she beings to think maybe she was silly to fear being the "new girl." Agnes is like no one Mattie has ever met - she's curious, hilarious, smart, and makes up the best games. If winter break is anything to go by, the rest of the year should be a breeze.

Only it isn't, because when vacation ends and school starts, Mattie realizes something: At school Agnes is known as the weird girl who no one likes. All Mattie wants is to fit in (okay, and maybe be a little popular too), but is that worth ending her friendship with Agnes?
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Published 2017-06-01 by HarperCollins

Comments

Turkish: Yabanci

I've never rooted so hard for a friendship as I did for the one in this heartfelt, heart-tugging, heart-achey new novel. An absolute joy, from beginning to end. -- Corey Ann Haydu, author of The Someday Suitcase and Rules for Stealing Stars

[...] This is a gentle look at the challenges of both fitting in to a new situation and having a friend with special needs. -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

This tale of tween angst is distinguished by strong writing and well-drawn characters. Mattie's thoughtful introspection adds depth; she is sympathetic and likable but not perfect. Her friendship with Agnes, whose behavior seems to suggest she is somewhere on the autism spectrum, drives much of the plot and is very well portrayed in all its difficulties and rewards. The pacing is swift, with Mattie's dilemmas rapidly becoming ever more complex. Hand this to readers who love a good coming-of-age story and to those looking for representations of neurodiverse characters. -- School Library Journal