Rating: 5/5
Source: Amazon
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.
Last year I reviewed Unboxed, another one of Non Pratt's novellas and I loved it. It was a very emotive read for less than 150 pages and this was no different.
Second best friend is the story of Jade, a girl who until recently thought she was the same as her best friend Becky. All that changes when when a boy, of course it's a boy, tells Jade that Becky is the hot one, so what does that make Jade? Becky gets better grades, gets chosen for solos in orchestra AND she's the hot one? This causes Jade to have a bit of a crisis.
We've all been there or I know I have at least, feeling inferior to your best friend when there's no need to. Chances are there's something you can do that your best friend can't but Jade doesn't see this, suddenly the person she could always rely on becomes this abnormally high standard that she can't reach -making her turn from friend to frenemy. This causes things to quickly get out of hand.
This is a story about how young minds work, and Non has once again captured the essence of youth in her characters perfectly. Reading this book I was transported back to the dramas of high school -and I suppose it also helps that I experienced the same dramas at university, this book can be relatable for people of all ages.
I always remember hearing/reading the phrase; Compliment a girl and she won't believe you, but insult a girl and she'll never forget it. This phrase is the soul of this book, the emotion in the pages is so real and I know it will ring true with so many people. Non is the queen of making us feel things quickly and with such force that the story will stay with us. I wish I had read this book when I was younger, I highly recommend it to anyone going through a tough time in school or, like I said, university has the same trials and tribulations unfortunately.
It's never any fun living in someone's shadow but it's even less fun to believe you belong there to the extent that you put yourself in that place. A lot of people, young or old or somewhere inbetween, think they come second best to their best friend but spoiler alert; you don't.
Thanks for reading!
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