Of course, this brilliant book is Non Pratt's new novella Second Best Friend, a story about friendship and rivalry and school politics. It is a story that is wonderfully written, with a lot of heart but also an abundance of honesty.
Intrigued? Check out the blurb here...
Jade and Becky are best friends, but when Jade’s ex-boyfriend lets on that everyone thinks Becky is the better of the two, Jade finds herself noticing just how often she comes second to her best friend. There’s nothing Jade is better at than Becky.
So when Jade is voted in as Party Leader ahead of her school’s General Election only to find herself standing against Becky, Jade sees it as a chance to prove herself. If there’s one thing she can win, it’s this election – even if it means losing her best friend.
I was so excited to get my hands on this book; not only is Non Pratt an all-time favourite author of mine - her writing is so wonderful and gritty and honest - but also I have been loving Barrington Stoke books at the minute. I love that they are relatively short - perfect for a quick bedtime read, or for more less confident readers, and also the pages are of superb quality.
As for Second Best Friend, this was a brilliant read and everything I expected from Non. I loved the premise of a story about the complexity of teenage female friendships, in the context of a school election. There simply are not enough books about female friendships in YA (especially if we compare this to the number of books there about romance and love triangles!) and this was a refreshing book that did not diminish how complicated, wonderful and heartbreaking female friendships can be.
I also loved that the main bulk of the story was focused on the school election, which was something totally different to anything else I have read in YA. However, what I enjoyed the most about this book was the voice - it was so fresh and imaginative and realistic. I could relate to so much in the story and I feel like this is the perfect handbook of friendships for teenagers! My favourite thing about Non Pratt's writing is that the characters are such realistic representations of teenagers, and she manages to present the happenings and complications of teenage life without being condescending in any way.
If you're looking for a quick read that makes you savour every word, then Second Best Friend is definitely the story for you. This book has just made me even more excited for what else is up Non's writing sleeve!
Check out my interview with Non Pratt here: http://delightfulbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/author-interview-5-minutes-with-non.html
Check out Non Pratt here: https://www.thebookseller.com/tag/non-pratt
Buy Second Best Friend here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Second-Best-Friend-Non-Pratt/dp/1781127573/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516055373&sr=8-1&keywords=second+best+friend+non+pratt
Check out Barrington Stoke's other brilliant titles here: https://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk
Until next time :)
No comments:
Post a Comment