Real Friends

Living with Wendy feels like living with a chained bear that everyone else thinks is friendly and harmless. To make this clear, Wendy is often illustrated as a huge bear, especially when Shannon is feeling particularly afraid of her or particularly alone within her family. Wendy’s moods can be unpredictable, but as she is five years older than Shannon, she has a lot more freedom and often takes on a leadership role for her younger siblings.

Initially, Wendy is depicted as a frightening bear because that is how Shannon perceives her. She does not understand why her parents do nothing to protect her from Wendy’s anger. At the end of the book, Shannon learns more about her older sister and realizes that Wendy has never really had friends of her own. The bear, once frightening, starts to look sad and lonely. Once Shannon and Wendy reconcile, Wendy is still sometimes depicted as a bear. The depiction no longer seems like a reactionary sentiment based on fear. Instead, it is a way for Shannon to understand all of her sister’s complexity while still maintaining a positive relationship. In the last panels of the book, when Shannon imagines going on adventures with all of her friends, her sister is there, once again drawn as a bear. The things about Wendy that used to frighten Shannon are now sources of strength that Shannon can admire in her older sister.