Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Pearl | 1945 | Shannon Hale | N/A |
| 2 | Real Friends | 2017 | Shannon Hale | Buy |
| 3 | Best Friends | 2019 | Shannon Hale | Buy |
| 4 | Friends Forever | 2021 | Shannon Hale | Buy |
| 5 | Just Friends for Now | 2023 | Shannon Hale | N/A |
The Real Friends series by Shannon Hale contains five books published between 1945 and 2023. It starts with The Pearl, followed by the trilogy that gives the series its name: Real Friends (2017), Best Friends (2019), and Friends Forever (2021). The most recent entry is Just Friends for Now, which came out in 2023.
The titles suggest a focus on friendship and its ups and downs, with each book building on the relationships set up in earlier entries. Readers who pick up Real Friends first will want to continue through Best Friends and Friends Forever in order, since the story carries forward across those books.