In most of the YA books I’ve read, friendships are breaking up, or new friendships are being formed or one person is dominant, usually too dominant. It’s rare to find a friendship like this. Where the girls have been friends since they were little, and completely love and support each other. Where the fact of their friendship is never in any doubt. I have no trouble believing that Lyd, Cass and Em will live in a flat over looking Sydney harbour, that they’ll be bridesmaids at each others wedding (Lydia’s will be to Seb, naturally), godparents to each others children, and that when they are old and grey haired, they’ll be causing as much mayhem as they do at Ashbury.


In these books Jaclyn Moriarty has created some of the most authentic teen voices I’ve read. Both books are told in epistolary form, and all three girls as well as the other characters have such distinct voices. I barely needed the signatures at the bottom to tell me who was writing.


As well as being authentic, Jaclyn Moriarty is funny. The kind of, oh my god I’m going to fall off the bed in a minute because I’m laughing so hard, funny, that I love. She’s truthful, the way she captures that moment when your longing to be an adult, but longing to stay a child, is amazing. She took me right back there. She’s also slightly crazy, especially in The Ghosts of Ashbury High, which is crazy and genius. The plot is twisted and baffling, and yet it makes utter sense and is completely spellbinding too.  It’s pretty much one of my most favourite books, ever. 


Anyway, we were talking of the girls, and if you want a book with great female friendships and sassy, funny, confused, real girls, look no further than Jaclyn Moriarty’s books. I also must give a shout out to Feeling Sorry for Celia and The Spell Book of Listen Taylor, which are equally wonderful.


Stop by tomorrow to hear about Jaclyn’s favourite couple.