ARC Review: Asking For a Friend by Kate Mallinder
10:00
Series: None
Author: Kate Mallinder
Published May 21st 2020 by Firefly Press
Goodreads Synopsis
A feel-good YA story from the author of Summer of No Regrets about valuing the friends that value you. Agnes, Hattie and Jake travel on the school bus together but don't know each other well. They plan a week in Weston as a 'study break' before exams but none of them admit the real reasons they need to get away. Agnes must find her sister. Hattie can't bear being home now all her friends have ghosted her. And Jake is afraid he's ill and has absolutely no idea how to tell anyone. Thrown together, what will happen when the secrets start to spill out?
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
Asking For a Friend follows 3 teenagers who plan a trip to Weston-super-Mare during the Easter holidays before GCSE begin. We see Agnes, who is really struggling with the change in routine after her sister, Rose, moved to Weston; Hattie has been ghosted by her group of friends after one of their boyfriends kissed her, and every one decided she was the cheat; and Jake, who has found a lump, and is worried it's serious, but has cut himself off from everyone. None of them are particularly close, but they ride the bus together and form an unlikely bunch when the idea to get away from their problems, and for Agnes to find her sister, comes together. At first, it's awkward, but the more time they spend in Auntie Sadie's B&B, and talking through what's worrying them, the greater their friendship becomes.
This book was so real, and I can honestly see some of my pupils at school doing things like this. Each of the main characters were fully fleshed out, and Kate didn't shy away from difficult topics, such as cancer, cheating, Aspergers, bullying, and toxic friendships. I think Agnes is the first character I've ever read with Aspergers, and I thought it was done perfectly - I don't have Asperger's myself, so maybe others think differently, but have taught a few pupils who do. Hattie and Jake don't know what to do, at first, but once they fully understand Agnes' quirks and routines, it's great. Hattie is sort of obsessed with her phone, and social media, which isn't helping her mental health when she is being blocked and tagged in all sorts of negative posts, so she is down for most of the book, but when the three have a bit of a blowup, which leads to a dangerous situation, she reveals what's been happening in her life, and Jake and Agnes help her get through it, and make her realise her 'friends' aren't good for her, and the relationship is toxic. Jake, like I said, was worrying about a lump he found, and if it was cancer or not, bit didn't want to tell anyone. He left the basketball team, and all of his friends, and was falling into a difficult spiral of worry and anxiety which really wasn't good for him. Talking about it with the girls first, and then with his mam, helped him come to terms with it.
There's absolutely no hint of romance in this book, whatsoever, and considering I adore books with romance, this one was perfect without it. If it had been there, it probably would've ruined the book, and we really don't want that. Really, I don't know what I was expecting from Asking For a Friend, but I enjoyed it so much! I'll definitely be reading more of Kate's books in future.
Dates Read:
Rating
4 Stars
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