Mattie has to move from her home in North Carolina to Pennsylvania, in order for her parents to help take care of her grandmother. She is worried about making new friends, but almost immediately after moving, over the Christmas break, she makes friends with her next door neighbor in the apartment building, Agnes. Agnes is smart, creative and fun... but she's also weird and socially awkward. When the girls return to school, Mattie starts to make friends there who don't seem to want anything to do with "the weird girl." Mattie has a hard time deciding who she owes her friendship and loyalty to if she can't have both. Meanwhile, she is also learning that her beloved grandmother is showing early signs of senility, and having her first crush on a boy at school.
Honest and sweet, but relatively simple story with exactly the sort of ending you expect it to have. No surprises. ( )

I could intensely relate to the drama that is central to Let's Pretend We Never Met, seeing parallels from my own life with circumstances for the character of Agnes.

At Calistoga Elementery School and at Calistoga Junior/Senior High School, I was the weird girl, the person ostracized and shunned by the school population. There was no understanding for an autism spectrum when I was going to school, so my differences went unexplained.

Learning that the character of Agnes in this book is possibly autistic, made me interested in reading it. I'm interested in the ways that authors portray characters who are on the autism spectrum -- and in this case, Agnes is also "the girl that no one likes" at protagonist Mattie's school.

Other readers have complained that Agnes is not specifically identified as being autistic; instead, Mattie overhears Agnes's mother say that Agnes has a "social disorder" and anxiety.

Well, Agnes's behavior seems consistent with a person who is on the autism spectrum, and as a reader, I can attempt to interpret the behaviors and motivations of characters in stories.

It's possible that Agnes's mother might find it simpler to tell people that Agnes has a "a social disorder" -- especially people whom she's only recently met. Agnes' mother might worry that people might make assumptions on the basis of stigma attached to the word "autism."

To be clear, in matters of disability representation, Agnes is a secondary character. This book tells Mattie's story, and centers around her perspective, so Agnes and her disability are presented through a neurotypical character's viewpoint.

I value this book for its possible encouragement for "up-standers" against bullying. (As my regular readers may know, this is a crusade that is dear to my heart.)

The targets of bullying shouldn't have to combat bullying alone. An entire community needs to unite in support of bullying's victims. And fictional works like Melissa C. Walker's book can help foster that united community. ( )

Literary Merit: Very Good
Characterization: Good
Recommended: Highly
Level: Middle School

Mathilda Markam, otherwise known as Mattie moves from North Carolina to Pennsylvania with her family in the middle of the school year to be closer to her grandmother whose overall health is declining. Instead of living in a comfortable country home, Mattie who is an only child living with her parents move to an apartment. Mattie doesn’t like moving because starting a new school is a challenge trying to make new friends and leaving those behind, those who were dear to her heart.

As she begins getting settled in her apartment, they hear loud banging noises coming from the apartment next door. Mrs. Markam and Mattie decide to see what is going on, so knock on their neighbor’s door, only to meet Agnes P. Davis, age eleven, and in the 6th grade just like Mattie. So begins the friendship between the two girls; even though they have very different personalities. Mattie is a reserved, deep thinker when it comes to interacting with people, while Agnes is a very loud, outspoken and acts impulsively, just like a younger child.

Maeve, Mattie's grandmother, upon meeting Agnes calls her a “Lightening Bug” which she refers to her throughout the book to symbolize her nature. Agnes and Mattie in spite of their differences grow close together over Christmas break because of both their personal needs for one another. Mattie wanted to make new friends to feel at home in her new residence and Agnes, needed a friend since she did not have one. Agnes was an only child living with her working mom, while her father resided in Boston. Agnes was very lonely and greatly appreciated having Mattie for a friend. During the holidays they worked on painting Mattie’s bedroom. Agnes always had lots of great ideas on how to decorate it, some of which always didn’t appeal to Mattie. Agnes, always wanted to lead rather than follow, and acted in peculiar ways causing Mattie to have some concerns about her; especially, after hearing a conversation between her mother and Mrs. Davis about Autism and therapy sessions.

After the winter break when it was time to return to school, while waiting for the school bus, a baby bird falls from it’s nest and instead of going to school, Agnes decides to stay home to nurse the bird back to health; and since her mom worked, there was no one there to tell her otherwise. Mattie on the other hand decides she does not want to miss school and gets on the school bus. Her first day is a stressful, but a good one as she meets new friends who are inviting her to sit with them at lunch. In her conversations with them, she learns that Agnes is a not liked by her fellow students and they do not accept her as part of their crowd. On the other hand, her teacher, Mr. Perl really likes Agnes and finds her academic ability comparable to a genius and one amazing girl.

Mattie who does like Agnes and wants to be her friend at home, totally, ignores her at school because she is worried about keeping her new friends. This really hurts Agnes, and she stops hanging out with Mattie. In the end, of all people Maeve, who is showing signs of loosing touch with reality and forced to sell her home to move into a apartment, that will give Mattie the courage to face this heart wrenching situation head-on with a positive outcome. The story touches the heart and prompts students to do the right thing -- regardless of what others may think -- if you are to earn the respect and self-worth you hope to achieve. ( )

Moving from North Carolina to Philadelphia in the middle of her sixth grade year is hard for Mattie, but she knows that her family is moving because her beloved grandmother needs their support. In their new apartment, Mattie soon befriends Agnes, who is smart and creative but occasionally a little bit odd. Mattie loves playing with Agnes during the holiday break (even though she would have said she's too old for "playing"), but what will happen to their friendship when school resumes?

Complex characters and honest treatment of difficult issues make for an engaging read. Recommended. ( )