Zak Monroe is (not) My Friend

Sam Taylor is in year six at Patchdean Primary. He and his three best friends have been best friends since Baby Bears nursery. There are ten weeks to go before they all move on to year seven at St. Thomas’s Academy. Sam overhears his friends talking about the Friends List where each person is allowed to put down the names of three people they would like in their secondary school tutor group and how they are not going to put Sam’s name on their list. Sam is horrified by this and determines to change himself so they will notice him and put him on their list.

How will this decision play out for Sam? And will he discover the true meaning of friendship? This is a very timely and necessary book as it discusses with great sensitivity and nuance issues which are almost universal. Interestingly, it also shines a light on the fact that sometimes people who are being bullied can also bully others in a misguided attempt to protect themselves.

Packham encourages readers of nine plus to find their own identities, do what makes them happy, so long as it’s not harming anyone else, and not apologise for it. There is also a wonderful cross-generational friendship between Sam and his grandmother.