Sixth grade is supposed to be perfect. Shannon’s got a sure spot in the in-crowd called The Group, and her best friend is their leader, Jen, the most popular girl in school.But the rules are always changing, and Shannon has to scramble to keep up. She never knows which TV shows are cool, what songs to listen to, and who she’s allowed to talk to. Who makes these rules, anyway? And does Shannon have to follow them?
Deanna Destito: Why was it important for you to create Best Friends?
Shannon Hale: When I wrote Real Friends, my first graphic memoir about third-fifth grades, I honestly wasn’t sure it would find a wide audience. The running commentary in my brain was, “Shut up, Shannon, nobody cares that someone was mean to you in fourth grade!” Brains can be SO helpful. But then it did find a wide audience, and I heard from so many kids who let me know the book made them feel seen and understood. And I thought, I have so much more to say! Sixth grade alone is such a turbulent time, a true transition age. I wanted to tell the truth of what sixth grade was like for me in the hopes that more kids could feel validated and less alone in their own experiences.
Destito: Even though it takes place in the ’80s (which I can totally relate to by the way) how are the themes still relevant to young people today?
Hale: Oh, we ’80s kids, we know what it’s like to drink out of a hose in the backyard because we’ve been told not to come back inside till the street lights are on! My kids can’t relate to stuff like that. They are confused and fascinated by the idea of one phone in the entire house, and it’s screwed into a wall, or three TV channels and you watch what’s on or nothing at all. But despite the environmental differences, the emotions kids felt decades ago are the same ones they feel today, and as humans we connect through emotional empathy.
Destito: Why was the audiobook the right step for this work?
Hale: I am passionate about graphic novels. They are reaching readers that no other books can! But they also exclude some readers. Having an engaging audiobook is a great way to make graphic novels accessible to the blind and vision impaired, as well as other readers who don’t thrive with visual formats.
Destito: Did anything change or did you see anything differently about the comic when you created it as an audiobook? Did reading it aloud and in character reveal new perspectives etc.?
Hale: What an interesting question! Best Friends is a memoir, so the primary story is true events that I accessed through imperfect memories. I then interpreted, shuffled around, and formed those memories into a graphic novel story. The audiobook was a chance to tell the graphic novel story with sound rather than images. So we’re really into Plato’s shadows on a cave wall now! I recorded the narration of the audiobook but the rest of the voices were performed by actors, and it was fascinating to hear their take on the characters. I don’t know if the real people the characters were based on would recognize themselves anymore, but the emotional truth behind it remains genuine.
Destito: Why did you want to include your own family in the production?
Hale: That was pure serendipity. When Best Friends first came out, my second child was in sixth grade, so she served as my in-house focus group. When I was working on the audiobook, my youngest—twin daughters—happened to be in sixth grade. I was invited to visit a school in New York City on dates that overlapped with their 12th birthday, so I took them with me on their first-ever NYC trip! Macmillan [Publishing] is in the city, so I thought, this is perfect. What if I interviewed my daughters about what it’s like in sixth grade today versus how it was for me? We had a blast. We had to edit down the conversation some because we could talk together for hours. It was my favorite part of the entire audiobook process. Those two daughters and my husband also performed voices in the audiobook. I love to include my kids in my career wherever I can, but this was the most unique opportunity they’ve had for sure.
Destito: How was creating the audiobook different than putting the story in print?
Hale: When I write a script for a graphic novel, I’m thinking about what the reader sees. The majority of what I write in a graphic novel script the reader never sees. I’m also writing for the artist, LeUyen Pham. I want to give her enough descriptions of what’s happening in each panel while also leaving breathing room for her to add her own expression. The audiobook removes the visuals, so as I worked on the script this time I’m thinking about what the audience hears. I don’t want to bog down the story with endless descriptions of the visuals. I want it to flow at about the same speed as reading the graphic novel. So with the Macmillan team, we employed a lot of visual cues–-sound effects, background noise, music–-to help the reader feel and interpret the story. It’s more like a radio drama than a traditional audiobook.
Destito: Do you enjoy audiobooks and what are the benefits of them?
Hale: I love them! I almost always have an audiobook I’ve borrowed from the library on my phone via the Libby app. I love to read books, but I’m a mom to four kids, so the times I’m free to sit and read are rare. I save my sit-and-look reading times for comics and read most of the rest of my books on audio. I’m also a visual learner, so listening to audiobooks has been great to help me develop better auditory learning.
Best Friends audiobook releases on August 8. Check out a sneak preview sample at the link below!
