Publisher: Atom
Release: 1st May 2014
Genre: UKYA, Contemporary, Friendship
Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis:
"My best friend was now my deadliest enemy, the one person I'd hate beyond all measure for the rest of my life . . .
Franny Barker's best friend, Alice, is the worst girlfriend in the world according to the many boys of Merrycliffe-on-Sea. She toys with them, then dumps them. But she'll never dump fashion-obsessed Franny. Nothing and no one can come between them. Not even tousle-haired rock god, Louis Allen, who Franny's been crushing on hard. Until Alice, bored with immature boys and jealous of Franny's new college friends, sets her sights on Louis. Suddenly, best friends are bitter rivals.
Is winning Louis's heart worth more than their friendship? There's only one way for Franny to find out."
Review
Alice Jenkins is the worst girlfriend in the world. Notoriously known in Merrycliffe-On-Sea as the girl who will happily steal your boyfriend only to dump him the next week Franny is the only girl who stands by her best friend. Sure, Alice has a bad reputation but they’ve been friends since they were in nappies and besides Alice would never do anything to hurt Franny, right? After ups and downs put strain on their friendship the battle lines are firmly drawn when Alice goes after Franny’s long term crush and suddenly the title ‘The Worst Girlfriend in the World’ starts to take on a whole new meaning.
When I first read the synopsis for this book I wasn’t sure if we’d get along. Despite being a diehard Sarra Manning fan books on this subject tend to make me see red but Sarra Manning did a brilliant job of examining the unspoken rivalries between girls and how we masochistically compare ourselves especially to our friends. I loved this story where friendship in all of its glorious highs and devastating lows was the central theme.
As with all Sarra Manning novels the characters were funny, bright and thoroughly British. Franny and her friends were so much fun to read about and although I should have disliked Alice I could always understand her actions and could see why she was Franny’s best friend. The Worst Girlfriend in the World was such a fun read but it also tackles important themes such as growing apart from old friends, mental illness, caretaker teens and finding your place in the world whilst never forgetting your roots.
In a nutshell queen of teen Sarra Manning has delivered another hilarious yet important book about the complex friendships between girls all wrapped up in a coming of age story. I suspect readers will be talking about it and sharing it with their own best friends all summer long.
