Secret Friends

By Elizabeth Laird

A secret friendship faces tragedy, revealing the cost of hidden truths.

4.0/5 Goodreads · 199 ratings

160 pages

$10.99Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

Rafaella struggles to fit in at school, her unique appearance making her a target. Lucy, initially a tormentor, becomes her secret friend, sharing dreams and hopes. But when tragedy strikes, their hidden bond is exposed, challenging the boundaries of friendship and empathy. Can their connection survive the harsh light of reality, or will the secrets they kept tear them apart? This poignant tale explores the impact of bullying and the power of understanding in a world quick to judge.

From the publisher

What’s the good in keeping secrets? Secret Friends is a heartbreaking story about friendship and bullying from the multi-award-winning Elizabeth Laird. Rafaella doesn’t find it easy to make friends. She looks and feels different from the others at school. And Lucy is the first to tease, the first to call her ‘Earwig’, until they get to know one another and Lucy sees that Rafaella is full of hopes and ideas, just like she is. Lucy loves keeping her own secret friend, until tragedy strikes and secrets can’t be kept any longer. Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Children’s Book Award and reissued with new illustrations, more than twenty years after first publication, Elizabeth Laird’s moving and unflinching novella brings home the crucial importance of cultivating empathy in young people. ‘[A] humane and honest story. It conveys so much, so simply and so well’ Scotsman ‘[A] fine weepy with a moral, about the dangers of playground cliquishness and cruelty’ The Sunday Times

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