Melanie Dulaney's Reviews > Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?

Best friends Aurora and Frenchie are about to start 6th grade but the powers that be have placed them in two different classrooms which doesn’t work for Aurora at all. Despite the fact that Frenchie is non-verbal and has some behaviors that most find off-putting, Aurora clicked with him and now the two are inseparable. But maybe they can make it work if she walks him to his classroom daily and they spend lunch, recess and out of school time together. Frenchie’s aide has managed to make a connection with him by using a “bird of the day” picture and Aurora is beginning to make friends in her class. But things take a dangerous turn when one day Aurora is distracted and does not walk Frenchie to his classroom and instead of going on his own, Frenchie spots the rare piebald deer that he had seen earlier with Aurora and begins to follow it, feeling certain that Aurora will join him. The entire town begins a desperate search.

Leslie Connor creates such a special friendship between Aurora and Frenchie. Aurora may be loud and a little over-active, but she watches Frenchie carefully and learns what every movement, pose and eye blink means. Their friendship is reflected in the closeness of their parents as well giving readers a warm feeling about them all before Frenchie disappears. That clear warmth between them all and the severity of Frenchie’s neurodivergence’s makes the search much more intense and allows Connor to introduce a number of interesting townspeople playing key roles in the hunt. Great characters.

I loved Connor’s Crunch and Home for Dogs and Goddesses and “Frenchie” is every bit as wonderful. Text is free of profanity, sexual content and violence. Physical descriptions of characters are vague, allowing readers to fill in the blanks in any way they wish. Frenchie lives with a single mom and Aurora’s two parent home includes a younger brother. Highly recommended for libraries serving grades 4-7.

Thanks for a digital ARC, NetGalley.