Accidental Friends

Pielichaty may not quite inhabit the same fictional stratosphere as Jacqueline Wilson, but she has her own solid fan-base, on the basis of her Simone titles and the popular After School Club series, both for younger readers. Her characters similarly inhabit a recognisable up-to-the minute contemporary world and have problems teenagers can readily identify with. Accidental Friendsis aimed at older children and the publicity features a rather heart-sinking checklist of ‘issues’ tackled in the book: teenage pregnancy, body image, children in care…

However, prospective readers (and adult book purchasers) will be relieved to learn that Pielichaty is on sparkling form. The story is told through the clever device of the paper game, ‘Consequences’, in the form of an art project undertaken by Emma, one of a quartet of unlikely friends who meet at the fictional Hercules Clay College, after their GCSEs. Lacking confidence on the eve of examination, Emma recruits a neutral audience in the form of the College’s Polish cleaner, Kazia. The narrative is in flashback, interspersed with lively/sympathetic dialogue with Kazia and this same humour and empathy informs a fast-moving story. The key events (among them Emma’s pregnancy, Leon’s conviction for aiding and abetting arson and so on) have already happened and the joy of the story lies in seeing how these likeable characters pull their lives together with each other’s help and the second chance that a college education offers. Far from being a dutiful, formulaic plod through ‘teen problems’, this is a spirited tribute to teenage resilience: blunt-speaking Grace, who has a rare disorder called Poland’s Syndrome, is particularly appealing, but readers will root for all the characters and race to the satisfying conclusion provided by the ‘mini-film’ which provides the finale for Emma’s art-installation.