Friendship+Experiment

//**The Friendship Experiment**// by Erin Teagan. Recommended by a 7th grade girl at Barrington Middle School. The protagonist is a 6th grade girl. I have not read it yet; here is the //Book List// Review:

//Booklist (October 15, 2016 (Vol. 113, No. 4))// Grades 4-7. Ever since Maddie’s scientist grandfather died, she’s been carrying on his traditional approach to problem-solving: there’s a standard operating procedure (SOP) for everything. Maddie writes down her step-by-step solutions in her trusty science notebook, and they’re for everything from “How to Survive a Needle” (she and her sister, Brooke, have a hereditary blood disease that requires plenty of trips to the doctor) to “How to Be Friendly” (Maddie’s best friend switched schools, leaving Maddie alone at lunch). But these days, the SOPs aren’t doing their job. Brooke isn’t taking their illness seriously, and Maddie doesn’t know how to convince her. Then there’s Riley, the new science-obsessed girl who just moved to town and is trying to be Maddie’s friend—if only she weren’t so annoying. Practical Maddie has a lot to learn about other people, and her journey will be an eye-opening one for many. Science-minded readers will cheer to meet their match in Maddie as she conquers her demons and learns what exactly it means to have—and be—a friend.