Unfriended

Rachel Vail's Unfriended is a sharp, twisty friendship story for 11 year olds about what happens when the popular girl suddenly wants you back.

What happens

Truly is in eighth grade. She's small, careful and very organised (her locker combination is all multiples of seven). Her best friend is Hazel, who has green hair, writes only in green ink and is sometimes "a lot". Then Natasha, the best friend who dumped Truly back in sixth grade, taps her on the shoulder and invites her over to the Popular Table for lunch.

Truly can't believe her luck. She doesn't look back. Hazel notices.

What makes it so good is that everyone gets a turn. The chapters swap between six kids, so you hear Truly thinking the Popular girls are the nicest in the school. Then you hear Natasha, who has a secret plan and privately finds Truly's drama dull. Hazel writes a furious letter (A to J, very thorough) about Truly's rubbish non-apology. Brooke seems to float above it all but has a secret of her own. Clay writes a to-do list that falls apart by item thirteen.

Reading it is a bit like watching a group chat you're not part of. You know things none of them know about each other, and you can see the misunderstandings coming a mile off. Who's actually being a good friend here? It's genuinely hard to say, and that's the point.

It's very true to that age too. Who sits where at lunch matters enormously. Everybody is worrying about whether they're babyish, or too much, or not enough. And the phones and social media are always there in the background.

A few things to know first. The characters are thirteen and it reads right at the top of this shelf. There's some mild swearing, lots of talk about crushes and kissing, and a rumour that kids sneak up a forbidden stairwell to make out or do drugs. Money worries and parents fighting sit in the background of a couple of homes.

If your reader is heading towards secondary school, or already stuck in a friendship tangle of their own, this could be a really good way in to talk about it.

What to read next

If they enjoy one story told in lots of voices, try Jason Reynolds's Look Both Ways, which follows different kids on their walk home from school.