The Friendship War

Grace is the protagonist and narrator of The Friendship War. Whenever she experiences a challenge, she comforts herself by relying on the scientific method, building theories about the world and coming to her own conclusions about how things work. As a result, she is constantly testing her surroundings and usually has “at least five or six active theories rolling around inside [her] head” (11). Grace’s character arc focuses on the journey she takes to find her courage. At the beginning of the book, Grace is quiet and rarely speaks up for herself, either because she doesn’t want to upset people or is embarrassed to draw attention to herself. As a result, her long-time relationship with Ellie is strained due to a combination of Grace’s quietness and Ellie’s domineering personality. Through the progression of the button fad, Grace realizes that Ellie hasn’t been a good friend. This realization makes her angry because she has done nothing to deserve Ellie’s poor treatment of her. Bolstered by the students’ rising obsession with finding and trading buttons, Grace finally stands up to Ellie, causing a feud that nearly tears the girls apart. Ultimately, however, Grace takes inspiration from her grandpa, using his own struggle with grief as a mirror for her struggle with anger.