Dany is an awkward seventh-grader navigating her way through the perilous world of middle school when she stumbles upon her great-aunt's enchanted sketchbook; suddenly, her talent for drawing gives her the amazing ability to create friends out of thin air. But Dany's creations start to turn on her; first her perfectly engineered best friend, Madison, begins to search for meaning in her own life. Then Prince Neptune (the disembodied head of the handsome villain of Dany's favorite show, the Sailor Moon-esque Solar Sisters) plots his evil reign over Connecticut. At once cringeworthy and delightfully absurd, Making Friends, much like middle school itself, is somewhere between teenage cynicism and a childlike mastery of fantasy. Although Gudsnuk's characters are sometimes suspiciously wise beyond their years, and her stylized visual references perhaps a bit too meta-referential for some younger readers, they will certainly recommend this story to readers for whom middle school is a distant and painful memory. Middle-schoolers, meanwhile, will appreciate Gudsnuk's light touch in bringing an empathetic, joyful, and judicious treatment to those tough in-between years.

Dany-s first shock comes while drawing idly in a sketchbook that she-s inherited: her drawing of Prince Neptune, a favorite anime character, springs to life from the page. Apparently, the sketchbook can make anything that she draws real. Adrift in middle school, insecure Dany is thrilled to realize that she can create a cool best friend who won-t scorn her, but she forgets to give her creation, Madison, a credible backstory. Injecting fantasy into an angsty school-life story allows Gudsnuk (creator of the Henchgirl series) a wealth of plot twists. Dany learns the ropes of middle school with help from a loyal, funny friend, Tom, while grappling with the implications of Madison-s free will and her own new abilities. Gudsnuk-s sturdy cartooning gets added spice from Prince Neptune-s anime world as well as elfin mini-characters who make snarky asides: -adios, muchacho,- one says to the defeated Prince after he fails to take over the world during a school pep rally. Gudsnuk-s powers of imagination will make her plenty of friends, too. Ages 8-12. (July)