Friends for a Season

A tween swears off friendship after her bestie moves away in this digestible chapter book. Because she attends an international school in an unspecified location, Winter Scott is used to watching classmates come in and out of her life. But when her best friend, Kathryn, departs for Australia, Winter is left feeling jaded about pursuing further connection: if she never says hello to anyone in the first place, then she can avoid the heartbreak that comes with goodbye. The arrival of Catherine, a new student with a French accent, particularly grates on Winter (as if “Catherine could replace Kathryn”). Winter’s coldness and occasional cruelty to the newcomer—“You’re not special just because you miss someone. Get over it like the rest of us,” Winter says of Catherine’s tears about a far-away friend—drives Winter’s classmates away, exacerbating her feelings of isolation. Straightforward, school-day-focused plotting by Mather (the Monster Manners series) centers Winter as she navigates painful and relatable emotions while her cringe-worthy bullying behavior fosters tension. Magno’s digital b&w illustrations pepper short chapters relayed via spare, approachable language and large, eye-catching font. Winter reads as white; supporting characters cue as racially diverse. Ages 6–8. (Jan.)