Why Friendship Matters in Middle-Grade Books

The Role of Friendship in Middle-Grade Adventure

When you think back on middle school, what comes to mind first? Probably not the spelling lists or the math quizzes. More than likely, it was the people around you, friends who made you laugh, stuck by you, or maybe drifted away as life shifted. Friendship is the heartbeat of those years. It’s where loyalty is tested, laughter is shared, and identity starts to take shape. That’s why middle-grade adventure books so often highlight friendship—because for kids, it’s the most important adventure of all.

For me, though, middle school didn’t come with a circle of close friends. My family moved a lot during those years, which meant I attended three different schools from sixth through eighth grade. I was always the new kid, walking into classrooms where everyone else already seemed to know each other. By the time I started to feel comfortable, it was time to move again. Friendships, when I could find them, rarely lasted long.

Books became my lifeline. They gave me companions I could count on,  characters who went on adventures together, who argued and made up, who showed me what it looked like to belong. Even when I felt alone, I could step into a story and remember that friendship was possible. That experience shaped the way I see middle-grade fiction today. Stories matter, not just because they entertain, but because they show kids how to navigate some of the hardest parts of growing up.

Why Friendship Stories Matter in Middle-Grade books

At this age, kids are wrestling with big questions: Who am I? Where do I fit? Can I trust that people will stick by me? Friendships are the training ground where they work those things out. They’re where kids practice loyalty, forgiveness, and honesty, often for the first time in real ways. They’re also where they discover that conflict doesn’t have to end a relationship; it can actually make it stronger if they learn how to work through it.

That’s why middle-grade adventure stories almost always center on a group of friends. The journey itself matters, of course, but the relationships along the way are what keep readers turning the pages. A tricky clue or a daring challenge may spark excitement, but it’s the laughter, the banter, and even the disagreements between characters that give a story heart.

Friendship in The BUG Boys

When I started writing The BUG Boys, I knew friendship had to be at the center of the story. Zeke, Josiah, and David don’t all see the world the same way. They push each other’s buttons. They argue about decisions. Sometimes they misunderstand one another. And yet, those differences make their bond stronger.

What I love most is that they don’t give up on each other, even when it would be easier to walk away. Whether they’re facing a scavenger hunt clue that has them stumped or a moment that stretches their faith, they keep showing up for one another. That, to me, is what real friendship looks like, not perfection, but persistence.

Stories as a Safe Place to Learn

Kids need to see that modeled. Many of them are experiencing friendship disappointments for the first time: being left out of a group chat, sitting alone at lunch, or watching a best friend drift toward another crowd. A story becomes a safe place to process those feelings. They can watch fictional friends stumble and recover, laugh and forgive, and realize they’re not the only ones trying to figure it all out.

When I was that lonely kid carrying his lunch tray through a new cafeteria, books gave me courage. They whispered, You’re not the only one. My hope is that The BUG Boys will do the same for someone else, that readers will see themselves in these characters and find encouragement to value the friends they do have, or the courage to keep hoping for the ones they don’t yet.

Walking Away with More Than Entertainment

At the end of the day, I don’t just want kids to be entertained by this story. I want them to walk away reminded of the power of friendship, the kind that sticks, forgives, laughs, and grows. Because those are the friendships that shape us long after middle school ends.

So if you’re reading this as a parent, teacher, or middle-grader yourself, my encouragement is simple: cherish the people who walk beside you. True friends may not always agree, and they may sometimes frustrate you, but they’re also the ones who make the journey worthwhile.

That’s what friendship has always meant to me, and that’s the heartbeat behind The BUG Boys.