Friend is Not A Verb by Daniel Ehrenhaft

Friend is Not A Verb

Author:  Daniel Ehrenhaft

Publisher:  HarperTeen

Publish Date:  May 1st 2010

From Goodreads:

From the author of the Edgar Award–winning The Wessex Papers comes a hilariously offbeat novel about Henry “Hen” Birnbaum, a teenage boy who dreams of becoming a rock star despite a minor setback, namely: his girlfriend just dumped him and kicked him out of their band. Now his social life consists of night after night of VH1 marathons with his best friend and next-door neighbor, the neurotic Emma Wood.

Then there’s the matter of Sarah, his sister, who mysteriously disappeared for a whole year and just as mysteriously returned. As the story unfolds, the reasons for her disappearance seem more unbelievable than Henry ever could have imagined. Maybe rock god status isn’t too farfetched for Henry. After all, crazier things have happened.

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Friend is Not A Verb caught me by surprise, it was way better than I had anticipated. 

 

Henry is a fantastic character.  He's urban, funny, and just all around great.  His teenage angst is causing rock star fantasies, which I found amusing.  I enjoyed the way the author had Henry imagining background snippets of his life via a imaginary Behind the Music episode. Sarah, Henry's sister really is a enigma throughout the whole book.  You do begin to see some things clearly toward the ending of the book, but I still didn't quite get her.  Emma, the best friend is witty, and fun.  Henry and Emma had a great relationship, and I loved reading their interactions. 

 

I didn't quite enjoy the whole disappearance of Sarah part of the book.  It seemed silly, but I still loved this book, because I could spend hours reading about Henry, and his mundane life.  If Friend is Not A Verb was made into a movie it would definitely be a indie.  It has that independent film vibe. 

 

Friend is Not A Verb is a book I recommend.  It's a great, fast read with some great characters.

 

 

Book received from Around the World Tours