MUST BE FRIENDS

by Corey Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2026

A pair of young girls find each other and a path forward from their chaotic lives in Johnson’s historical novel.

At the beginning of summer in 1927, in an unnamed, medium-sized Midwestern city, two outsiders approach a group of young boys playing baseball and blow them away with their skills. (One of them even hits every one of local bully Billy’s curveballs, and knocks the wind out of him, too.) Afterward, the two outsiders speak privately, revealing their secrets. “How long did it take you to figure out I was a girl?” the young Sam asks as she introduces herself to Jo, and the two tomboys form an instant bond. They quickly learn each other’s stories: Jo was passed among family members after her mother went to prison before winding up with Jo’s abusive, alcoholic stepfather, Steven; Sam grew up in an orphanage in New York City, and after being shuttled between terrible foster families, she struck out on her own. As Johnson writes, “The two young girls bonded over how they’d been betrayed by every adult figure in their short, wretched lives.” When Jo’s drunken stepfather attacks Sam, Jo strikes him with a baseball bat, killing him instantly. Sam suggests that they run away, but Jo has a different idea: “We don’t need him. No one will know.” In a twist that calls to mind Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (1987), the girls dump Steven’s body in the river and begin a new life, one “with no jobs, no school, and no one to tell them what to do.” While adventuring around town, they meet a boy at the library named Howard, who teaches them how to shoot a gun, and a world-famous pianist from Warsaw, Madam Kaminska, who imparts life lessons. They also begin to trust a few adults, including Ed Coltrane, a fireman who saves Sam’s life. But the precariousness of their situation looms in the background, and more nefarious adults will arise to test their resolve and their bond.

Johnson’s core idea—mistreated girls transform a murder into the most positive event of their lives—is undeniably clever. The novel is filled with concise, powerful lines that demonstrate the author’s ability to compress big emotion into simple, powerful statements, like when he captures Jo’s uneasy adjustment to a life no longer defined by violence: “She felt more vulnerable with frivolous talk, in kidding and playing around. Personality was more fragile than history.” The solidarity between the girls is especially moving, particularly when Sam quietly reveals that she needs Jo to teach her how to read. Despite these strengths, the novel’s structure works against its impact. Very quickly after meeting the girls, readers are hit with a sledgehammer of unhappy exposition cataloging the girls’ traumatic pasts; Steven’s violent death is also immediately followed by a harrowing burning-building episode before the novel downshifts suddenly into sweeter territory. Likewise, a surprise last-minute villain sets up an exciting conclusion but ultimately feels superfluous among the already crowded gallery of treacherous adults the girls have faced. But even with the rough transitions, readers will still be able to appreciate Johnson’s unique version of a coming-of-age tale.

Vivid characters and fresh takes on childhood friendship elevate this novel above its flaws.

Pub Date: April 7, 2026

ISBN: 9781642281347

Page Count: 270

Publisher: Izzard Ink

Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

HISTORICAL FICTION | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP | GENERAL FICTION