How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don’t Have a Clue. Jess Keating. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books), 2015. 299 pp., trade pbk., $10.50. ISBN 978-1-4926-2794-5. Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-11. Review by Teresa Iaizzo. ***½ /4 Reviewed from Advance Reading Copy.

excerpt:

Then I realized that maybe I didn’t need to be a grown-up to save something. There was already a wound in my own life that needed saving, only it wasn’t a paw or a tail, or even an animal at all.

It was a friendship.

My seat belt tightened as Mom drove faster down the winding highway. Liv and I were like that fox, weren’t we? An unhappy accident-her moving far away so many months ago-had changed things in an instant, like a car hitting an animal. And now we were struggling because we didn’t know how to be friends anymore, just like that fox was struggling to live.

Mom and her crew had come along to fix him up. But who would fix us up?

It had to be me.

Maybe the wildlife rehab place could teach me how.

Being a 13-year-old girl can often be difficult, especially when your best friend moves away, but what happens when she comes for a surprise visit and you just happen to be best friends with your old enemy? This is the central idea behind Jess Keating’s How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don’t Have a Clue, the third installment in her “My Life is a Zoo” series.

      The story revolves around Ana Wright, a soon to be 13-year-old girl who loves animals (her family once lived in a zoo!). After her best friend Liv moves away, Ana finally begins to make new friends, even befriending her once sworn enemy Ashley. Things are looking good until Liv decides to make a surprise visit. Ana is shocked to see the new Liv with purple hair and new piercings, but she vows to preserve their friendship. The only problem is that Liv doesn’t know about Ashley.

      In order to maintain her friendship with Liv, Ana lies to her about Ashley and tries to keep everything the way it was when they were younger. The problem is that they have both grown up and have changed. As a result, their friendship feels forced at best. Things come to a head at Ana’s thirteenth birthday party when Liv witnesses Ashley giving Ana a gift and then storms off. Eventually, with the help of her mother and new friends Ashley and Bella, Ana is able to patch things up with Liv as they both realize that part of growing up includes change, and that is okay.

      Ultimately, I feel that How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don’t Have a Clue is a great read for children who are about to enter their teen years. It perfectly captures the many fears and challenges children experience at this point in their lives. As a result, the plot is very realistic with fast-paced, accessible language that will appeal to young readers. More importantly, Ana Wright and her friends are very relatable characters. Readers can easily identify with their many fears and insecurities, especially about growing up. Keating did a great job at capturing a very vulnerable time in many young peoples’ lives with this great coming-of-age story.

Highly Recommended.

Teresa Iaizzo is a Senior Library Assistant with the Toronto Public Library.

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