By Elizabeth Laird, pp. 93
Summary
Secret Friends is a great and very well written book. Rafaela, the main character, is very different to the people in her new school and does not seem to fit in. But outside of school is a whole new world. Consequently, she becomes the victim of bullying. She meets Lucy who seems to understand her well and they get on like they have known each other for a very long time. Throughout the story we see how Lucy reacts to the way people have been treating Rafaela and how it affects her, so she makes a life changing decision later on in the story...
Characters
Rafaela
Rafaela is from a foreign country and does things differently from other people. She has a shy personality, but when you get to know her you find out many new and amazing things about her. Rafaela is different to other people because of many things including her hair which is frizzy and a shade of light brown; however people in her school have fair straight hair which singles her out. Also her origin because where she comes from is maybe an African country and most people at her school are from England. Finally her name, Rafaela is not an English name like Lucy’s.
Lucy
Lucy sometimes doesn’t know which side to take so she is sometimes confused. Should she stay with the coolest girls in the school (Kate and Sophie) who exclude Rafaela, or should she be herself and stay with Rafaela, letting no one change the way she acts if she is around different people? Lucy doesn’t have a very strong relationship with her mum and seems to behave in a way that almost makes you think she has issues involving her family.
Rafaela’s father
He is quite culturally traditional and likes to listen to his sad foreign music. Rafaela’s father is quite old and really cares about Rafaela he is not the most social of people and quite insular.
Setting
The story takes place in school which makes an everyday realistic effect on the setting. Later on in the story, in chapter 2, the setting changes to a calm small compact house with delightful smells and sounds of foreign music and sweet and spicy foods. This happens when Rafaela surprisingly invites Lucy over to her house.
Themes
One of the major themes in this book is Friendship. Sometimes in friendship you don’t know which way to act, which kind of friend you want to be and how that you are going to show that you care. For example on the first day of school when Lucy first meets Rafaela and does not know how to react to her different approach. They both bumped into each other in the corridor and introduced themselves, then that is when Lucy takes it the wrong way. “I can’t call you that,” I said, bursting out into laughter. ”I’m going to call you earwig eerie eerie-earwig.”
Another theme in the book is Bullying. When Rafaela and Lucy first met and Lucy called her names and that is when the bullying started and Rafaela was disliked because of the size of her ears. Another theme is Death which is a strong theme. When you lose someone you love and care about. Lucy and Rafaela’s family lost Rafaela. Linked to this theme is Guilt. Lucy started the bullying and when everyone found out about the tragic accident that had occurred they felt guilty about putting her down so much that it led her to wanting to change her appearance. Even Kate and Sophie felt guilty about leaving her out in their discussions.
Conclusion
In my opinion this book is an emotional rollercoaster. It has sadness and loss when Rafaela passed away. It also has happiness when Rafaela had found a true friend. I would recommend this book to mainly girls aged 10 to around 13 years old because high school can be harder than primary school and it teaches you a lesson about strong themes and how to be a good loyal friend also about what the outside world can be like.
