Making friends with Alice Dyson by Poppy Nwosu

Wakefield Press, 2019. 264 pages, pb. ISBN: 9781743056127.
(Age: Teens) Recommended. Making Friends with Alice Dyson is a story about growing up, growing apart, first loves and getting to know those around you. It is a story about Alice who is in her final year of high school and is focused on her future. She studies hard, she never gets in trouble and nobody bothers her. That is until a bizarre situation happens with the school's so-called troublemaker, that ends up with her being the centre of attention. Her! Alice the textbook nerd, Alice the nobody. No one ever pays her any mind, and she likes it that way. So why won't he just leave her alone so she can go back to her normal self? From there, things just get more complicated and messy.
Poppy Nwosu writes a story that is driven by teenage emotions, feelings, gossip and drama, and characters that are young and emotional and really capture what teenagers can be at heart, both the good and the bad parts. Parts of the story are not given to the reader right away; the author teases bits of information then skips ahead to something else. This is a good tactic to keep the reader interesting and engaged. While this may seem like a bad idea to some, she makes it work well to further the story. Two important points I think the author is able to get through in this story are that sometimes realizing you love someone isn't clear at first. For the most part, it's messy and confusing but in the end it can be worth it. And lastly, that people can change a lot during high school, or even during just one year, but if you value someone's friendship don't let their changes push you away.
I would recommend this to teenagers.
Kayla Raphael