Super Frenemies!

Super Frenemies! is the fifth book in Cale Atkinson’s series about a little boy named Chester and his ghost bestie, Simon. For this part of the story, Atkinson features a character that was introduced in the last book: Amie, the stubborn classmate with the ghost-hunting father. While the book may be in the “Simon and Chester” series, this is definitely a Simon and Amie adventure; Chester gets sucked into a ghost trap leaving Amie and Simon to get over their differences as they try to rescue him. While they may not always see eye to eye, the pair are able to compromise and trust each other enough to work together, find their friend, and bring him home.

I appreciated the subtle recapping of the previous book, Super Friends (www.cmreviews.ca/node/3867:; an early conversation between Simon and Chester reminds readers of anything they may have forgotten. Much of this book is spent getting to know Amie and her father better, with more backstory and insight into their motives. Amie just wants to spend more time with her dad and prove herself as a reliable partner. Her father, meanwhile, is nursing old wounds from childhood. If you really want to look for deeper messages, Super Frenemies! is full of them: forgiveness, for one, and moving past first impressions; the importance of teamwork; letting go of preconceived notions. There is so much good stuff here, all wrapped up in a fun and colourful package.

As usual, the highlight of this book is the artwork and, in particular, the facial expressions. It will never cease to amaze me how Atkinson can convey so much emotion on the face of a cartoon ghost who is literally just eyes and a mouth. It must be the eyebrows. This ability extends to the human characters as well; readers can see the disappointment on Amie’s face and the devastation on the face of her father in the flashback to his childhood.

While this particular story might be a touch less funny and silly than the others in the series, Super Frenemies!” is still compulsively readable and, overall, a joy. I love Simon and Chester, and Amie is growing on me too!