Frenemies by Alexa Young

Frenemies
Alexa Young
HarperTeen (2008)
ISBN 9780061175619
Reviewed by Neha Kashmiri (age 13) for Reader Views (7/08)

Avalon Greene and Halley Brandon have been best friends forever. They live next to each other, share a dog named Pucci, and their mothers have been friends for a long time. Both rule SeaViewMiddle School with their style-snarky ways.

Avalon is happy that her best friend Halley is back from art camp, she’s even throwing a party to celebrate their ultra-fabulous friendship. But there’s just one problem. What is Halley wearing, and when did she become friends with Sofee a.k.a. Softee?

Halley Brandon couldn’t wait to show her best friend her new funky look. But when Avalon grades her look a ‘Maybe,’ and is somehow friends with Brianna Cho, Halley realizes that they’re growing apart.

Soon the girls are disagreeing on everything and they split up their fashion column, friends, and start sharing Pucci.  But what they learn then is that when your archenemy knows everything that makes you tick, things are going to get messy.  Best Friends. Worst Enemies.  Frenemies.

“Frenemies” is not the kind of book I would usually read. In a world where fashion, popularity, and portmanteaus (i.e., Frenemies) matter, I would be hiding under a desk. It took me at least ten chapters to figure out what snarky meant, and with the consistency of the word in the book that was a problem. But “Frenemies” was pleasant, read hilariously surprising. Some of the pranks they pulled had me snickering at two in the morning. Alexa Young’s writing and the Style Snark column battle kept me going in the monotonous parts of the book (there aren’t many, really.) The story ends in an oh-so-obvious need for a sequel (Faketastic) but that wasn’t really a problem. Fans of series and books like “Poseur,” “Violet on the Runway,” “The Clique,” and “The Ashleys” will definitely like this book, “Frenemies.”