Big & Little Questions (According to Wren Jo Byrd)

Praise

“Big & Little Questions is by turns heartbreaking and heartwarming—exactly like real life. Julie Bowe takes on the tough questions about what it means to be honest, to be a good friend, and to be a family, and offers answers that, while not always easy, are always true.”—Linda Urban, author of Weekends with Max and A Crooked Kind of Perfect

“Bowe so masterfully took me inside the head and heart of Wren Jo Byrd that I felt like a ten year old again—and loved every minute.”—Barbara O’Connor, author of How to Steal a Dog

“Bowe (the Friends for Keeps series) effectively conveys Wren’s fears and frustrations: “I don’t know why I’m the one who has to go away when none of this was my idea,” she confides to her cat, Shakespeare. Wren’s decision to hide her difficulties at home, even as it affects her life on many fronts, powerfully illustrates how deeply upsetting family changes can be. Bowe’s genuine portraits of the key relationships in Wren’s life—with her friends, parents, and even the often-difficult Marianna—make for a warm and rewarding story about dealing with change.”—PW, starred review

“Bowe’s first-person voice for Wren is quietly contemplative, frustrated, and confused by the disruption in her family but also determined to sort out how things will work. It’s a realistic young voice nicely free from snarky irony, and it’s focused on the arts of questioning and paying attention to the answers.”—Kirkus

“Bowe gets most everything right here: the pain and often embarrassment that comes with divorce, the agony over losing an old friend, and the way secrets . . . have ways of slipping out.”—Booklist




Praise for the Friends for Keeps series:
“Preteens will gobble up this girl-friendly depiction of the world of early middle school and its ensuing changes.”—Kirkus (My Extra Best Friend)

“[T]his engaging presentation portrays the crossroads friends face as they navigate school popularity, classroom crushes, and the various problems on the path to maturity.”—School Library Journal (My Forever Friends)

“Like Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid, My Best Frenemy emphasizes the conflict between wanting to do the right thing and wanting to earn popularity.”—School Library Journal (My Best Frenemy)

“Bowe is spot-on with Ida May’s feelings. . . . Issues surrounding divorced households are handled realistically.”—Kirkus (My New Best Friend)

“A wry, sweet, proud protagonist . . . (this) hits all the right emotional notes.”—Booklist (My Last Best Friend)