History ComicBook / EmmieAndFriends

# ''Surprisingly Sarah,'': Sarah and Leo have been friends since they were young and share everything--until Sarah starts crushing on Leo's friend Ben. When Sarah is faced with a big choice, she has two options--ask Ben to the school dance or chicken out--and both stories are seen, with Sarah's chapters telling the path of her asking Ben out and Leo's chapters on the path of her chickening out and not asking.

[[folder: Always Anthony]]

* AttackOnOneIsAnAttackOnAll: When Lucas and Eddie threaten to beat up Anthony, Tyler and then the rest of the basketball team step in saying that if they're going to beat up Anthony, they're going to beat up the rest of the team.

* TheBully: The two eighth graders on Anthony's basketball team, Lucas and Eddie. They slammed Jesse, a sixth grader, into a row of lockers the first time, and then into a wall.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Nate Chen and Archie Katzenmeyer, both also big eighth graders, are taken back when they hear that Lucas and Eddie picked on a sixth grader.

* AttackOnOneIsAnAttackOnAll: When Lucas and Eddie threaten to beat up Anthony, Tyler and then the rest of the basketball team steps in saying that if they're going to beat up Anthony, they're going to beat up the rest of the team.

* TheBully: The two eighth graders on Anthony's basketball team, Lucas and Eddie. The slammed Jesse, a sixth grader, into a row of lockers the first time, and then into a wall.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Nate Chen and Archie Katzenmeyer, both are also big eighth graders, are taken back when they hear that Lucas and Eddie picked on a sixth grader.

* FormerFriendsPhoto: Not always photos, but yes. In ''Positively Izzy'' there's one that rips as Izzy talks about her former friends: Hannah, Gabi, and Becca. In ''Just Jamie'' a picture of the four-girl group is shown when Jamie is wondering what changed to make her friends so mean now. In ''Remarkably Ruby'' there's many illustrations of Ruby and Mia as friends before Mia started to push Ruby away. In ''Surprisingly Sarah'' an illustration of how Sarah's former friend Kerri Kowalski blew her off for the cool crowd right after starting middle school.

''Emmie & Friends'' is a series of [[ComingOfAgeStory coming of age]] [[MiddleGradeLiterature Middle Grade]] graphic/illustrated novels by Terri Libenson.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Mia's friend Keya privately calls her out over her obsession around being elected class president--and how she's been treating Ruby. Mia doesn't take it well.

* AlliterativeTitle: All but the first two books have had alliterative titles with the starring character's name: ''Just Jamie'', ''Becoming Briana'', ''Truly Tyler'', ''Remarkably Ruby'', ''Surprisingly Sarah''.
* ArtEvolution: Terri Libenson discusses the evolution of the series [[https://terrilibenson.com/2021/09/the-evolution-of-emmie-friends/ on her blog]], including how her characters have become more proportional, the backgrounds more detailed, and her writing is more detailed and layered.
* ArtShift: The main narrator's chapters are written as paragraphs with frameless illustrations between and around the lines, while the secondary protagonist's chapters--or in ''Becoming Brianna'', the current day chapters--have a framed, more comic-book page style.

* BreakUpMakeUpScenario: Since these are middle schoolers who are making their first forays into testing the strength and meaning of friendships and early relationships, this is all over the series.

* ClassClown: First played straight, then Deconstructed with Joe Lungo. Emmie sees him initially as only a bully who constantly tries to pick on her, and he embarrasses her by reading aloud the love note she writes to her crush. He thinks he's always trying to make people laugh, but the way he does so is spitting spitballs at people and going after the other kids in seventh grade, making him as much of a bully as the kids that once teased him in elementary school. Even Tyler, one of his best friends, notes that Joe's comedy can be a two-edged sword when you're on the other side of it, and Joe's oblivious about how much he leads the charge in hurting people's feelings. He also gets suspected of mean pranks, even when it turns out he had nothing to do with them. It comes to a head in ''Truly Tyler'' when Emmie, finally fed up and thinking that Joe is behind a mean meme of her circulating, humiliates him with a well-deserved comeback after hitting her RageBreakingPoint. Joe for the first time is struck silent, and has a HeelRealization that he's been a big jerk; he makes up for it by finding who created the meme and making them delete it, and apologizing to Emmie in person for how he's treated her. By the time of ''Surprisingly Sarah'', while he's still a jokester, his jokes are no longer hurtful or at the expense of others who don't want it.

* ADayInTheLimelight: The other books after ''Invisible Emmie'' star secondary characters, extras, and background characters from the first book who each go on to have their own turn to star in and narrate a story. Brianna actually stars in ''two'' books, with ''Becoming Brianna'' only narrated by her.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Every middle-school age character that has had the spotlight title in a book so far was first introduced in ''Invisible Emmie.'' It takes until their own books for Jamie, Maya, and Ruby to get properly named, however; they were initially only background characters to Emmie's story. (Maya is briefly referred to by her last name only.) Terri Libenson has stated she takes suggestions from her readers for which character to feature next in their own book.
* {{Interquel}}: ''Truly Tyler,'' ''Remarkable Ruby,'' ''Surprisingly Sarah'', and several of the flashback chapters in ''Becoming Brianna'' happen during the school year, setting them before ''Just Jamie'' which happens on the very last day of seventh grade. Furthermore, several chapters of ''Becoming Brianna'' are also a {{Prequel}} to ''Invisible Emmie'' (as they happen before December and the day of Emmie's embarrassing note) and a {{Sequel}} to ''Just Jaime'' (as they happen after the last day of school when Jamie and Maya are both no longer part of their former GirlPosse).

* KidsAreCruel: With the exception of ''Positively Izzy'' and most of ''Becoming Brianna'', each book has at least one character who picks on the main one. Celia is the AlphaBitch who judges and talks about everyone. Joe (until his HeelRealization) is a ClassClown who picks on others, especially Emmie. Ben calls Sarah creepy for hovering around him (due to her crush) and nicknames her RWR for "Really Weird Reyes". Many students post mean memes about each other. Emmie is humiliated by a meme spread through the school of her being a downgrade from Tyler's ex-girlfriend, Celia, on [[BlandNameProduct SnapGab]]. Ruby is the ButtMonkey of many of these and is often made the butt of jokes due to her klutzy accidents in school--and until her own book she is only referred to as "Baked Bean Girl" because of an incident of her rushing to the bathroom while stating what she just ate that upset her stomach.

* TheReveal: Three of the books have each had a reveal towards the end of the story that shows the characters and/or events of the story in a new light.
** ''Invisible Emmie'': [[spoiler:Katie isn't real: she's a person Emmie made up to be [[AlternateSelf the popular, skilled, confident girl she wishes she could be.]] When Emmie confesses this to Brianna and lets her go, Katie fades away in the background.]]
** ''Positively Izzy'': [[spoiler:Mrs. D., the drama teacher and Brianna's mother who is pushing Brianna to try something outside of her comfort zone, is the same person as Izzy. Izzy's story is set in the past when Mrs. Davis was in middle school.]]

* SwitchingPOV: Every book but one switches between the main narrator and a secondary P.O.V. character who often interacts with them. This also allows for TheReveal in three of the books.

* StrugglingSingleMother: Izzy's mother is a single mom who works various shifts as an ER nurse, with [[DisappearedDad Izzy's father nowhere to be seen.]] [[spoiler:He's implied to be deceased at the end when Brianna is talking about her mother's side of the family, and this is confirmed in ''Becoming Brianna'' when Brianna's mother Izzy says her father--and Brianna's grandfather--is dead.]]
* TheUnReveal: Brianna looks over the order list for the talent show and remarks worriedly that the fifth performer is good. Izzy is said to be performing as number five, but this is actually a RedHerring. [[spoiler:Since her story is set in the past.]]

** Averted with Jamie and Maya. Jamie forgives Maya only slightly after she comes over and [[TearsOfRemorse tearfully apologizes]] for all she's done over the past month. She does offer to let Maya earn her trust back over time, and by the finale they are not only close friends again, but both girls are now part of Emmie's friend group.

* GirlPosse: Deconstructed. Jamie has, at the start of the book, been teased constantly by the group for around a month because she's not into the stuff the others like (including makeup, fashion, and boys) and always talking about topics they don't care about such as volleyball and old Vine videos. She's been left out of group hangouts and gets backhanded compliments and jokes about her from the other girls, mostly Celia. Eventually, she is kicked out of the group by Maya on Celia's orders and pressure. The very same day, Maya receives the same treatment for speaking up against Celia's constant bashing of Jamie (using the same phrase that was used against Jamie, "don't be so sensitive") and leaves the group immediately. Months later, Grace is hinted to be the new ButtMonkey in their place, picked on by Celia who has formed a new group with Lindsey Donsky. It’s pretty clear that whomever Celia decides is the target of her insults is picked on by her and backed up by the others.
* HeelRealization: Maya obeys Celia out of a desire to remain part of the popular girls, even doing her dirty work for her and kicking out her best friend Jamie by text. When Celia attempts to humiliate Jamie at the pool by untying her swim suit, Maya finally realizes that Celia is not the friend she should stay loyal to, leaves, and goes to Jamie's house to beg her for forgiveness.
* InelegantBlubbering: Jamie, shortly after Maya dumps her as a friend and kicks her out of the friend group over text message. She tries not to react but when her French teacher asks her if she's okay, she bursts into a tidal wave of tears. She even describes her hard, snotty crying sarcastically as "attractive."

** Maya, after not speaking up while Celia treated Jamie horribly for a month or longer and being the one to kick her out of their group of friends at the start of field day, has a sudden HeelRealization when Celia starts to insult Maya in the same way she did Jamie. She leaves the group and goes to Jamie's house to apologize and ask if she'll be forgiven. Jaime states that she'll forgive Maya...in time, and that it will take a while, rather than Maya being EasilyForgiven for what she's done. The epilogue--set at the end of the summer--has Jamie explain that they're best friends again, but it was hard at first to be close to her; it took lots of time together and Maya ensuring her that she wouldn't break Jamie's trust again.
** Brianna spontaneously invites her now-new friends Jamie, Maya, Tyler, and Anthony to her bat mitzvah after-party. Rather than her mother brushing this off casually and allowing them regardless of the costs (or any wacky get-rich-quick shenanigans), Mrs. D. says that unless the money can be made up for four extra plates, they just can't come and Brianna will have to tell them that. After failing to get much money in selling books or extra clothes, Brianna agrees to earn the extra money from baby-sitting and paying for her extra guests with her bat mitzvah gift money.

* SayingTooMuch: Leon accidentally blabs to Ben about Sarah's crush on him in his timeline (where Sarah didn't ask), which horrifies Ben as he thinks she's weird and creepy.

** It's seen as a a good thing that Emmie gains CharacterDevelopment to speak to people other than Brianna and speak up against people teasing her. In fact, her older sister is proud of her for standing up for herself, and Brianna mentions she likes how Emmie speaks her mind. The problem, however, is that when Emmie delivers harsh truths, she sometimes lacks the tact to deliver them in a way that doesn't hurt the receiver. If it's someone like Joe who deserves her vitriol, it's one thing; it's quite another when she does the same with Brianna, who naturally takes offense at the suggestion that she's being used by another student and couldn't have anything in common with popular Zoe.
** Maya, after not speaking up while Celia treated Jamie horribly and being the one to kick her out of their group of friends, has a sudden HeelRealization when Celia starts to insult Maya in the same way she did Jamie. She leaves the group and goes to Jamie's house to apologize and ask if she'll be forgiven. Jaime states that she'll forgive Maya...in time, and that it will take a while. The epilogue--set at the end of the summer--has Jamie explain that they're best friends again, but it was hard at first to be close to her; it took lots of time together and Maya ensuring her that she wouldn't break Jamie's trust again.
** Brianna spontaneously invites her now-new friends Jamie, Maya, Tyler, and Anthony to her bat mitzvah after party. Rather than her mother brushing this off casually (or any wacky get-rich-quick shenanigans), her mom says that unless the money can be made up for four extra plates, they just can't come. After failing to get much money in selling books or extra clothes, Brianna agrees to earn the extra money from baby-sitting and paying for her extra guests with her bat mitzvah gift money.
** Tyler and Emmie, after lots of friendship angst, come together in the end to work on an excellent, dual point of view comic they submit to the Student Showcase--and Sarah Reyes wins. Emmie explains that Sarah was serious competition and she and Tyler were so caught up in their own story (literally and figuratively) that they forgot she was.

* FormerFriendsPhoto: Not always photos. In ''Just Jamie'' a picture of the four-girl group is shown when Jamie is wondering what changed to make her friends so mean now. In ''Remarkably Ruby'' there's many illustrations of Ruby and Mia as friends before Mia started to push Ruby away. In ''Surprisingly Sarah'' an illustration of how Sarah's former friend Kerri Kowalski blew her off for the cool crowd right after starting middle school.

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: While it does have two viewpoints like previous books, they're split along a "what if?" scenario instead of a day from two viewpoints.