Besties: Work It Out; Kayla Miller, Jeffrey Canino, Kristina Lu

Summary: Besties: Work It Out

In Besties: Work It Out, besties Beth and Chanda need to find a way to earn some money. Beth wants to give her mom a spa day while Chanda needs money to adopt a new pet (and prove herself responsible to her parents who are constantly comparing her to her big sister). But when the two land a house-sitting gig, they end up breaking their employer’s prized possession. Can they fix the problem without losing their friendship and reputation?

The Good

This was such a quick, enjoyable story. I loved Beth and Chanda and both girls complement each other beautifully. Where Chanda is strongwilled and a bit brash, Beth is gentler, softer around the edges. I also thought their house-sitting gig was pretty sweet. They took care of the house and its owner’s pet, which they enjoyed. They were mostly responsible and handled all their chores well.

The suspense around the broken lamp was realistic and I could imagine myself in that situation. Which one of us didn’t break or misplace an important item at home or away? Both girls are resilient and work to repair the situation in a short while, also coping well with the strain on their friendship. It was overall so refreshing to see caring, responsible tweens in a healthy friendship.

This is a spin-off of the Click series (I reviewed Camp here) and we do see Olive pop in now and again which was nice 🙂

Overall: Besties: Work It Out

Besties: Work It Out is a sweet, realistic graphic novel about friendship, starting a business, animals, and family relationships. Filled with the perfect balance of school drama, this graphic novel provides a look at the effects of peer pressure, the effort needed to correct a mistake, and the importance of loving older siblings. I would totally recommend it!