Lisa Williamson and Jess Bradley are the perfect duo for this new series. Williamson shows a rich insight into the emotional life of a Year 6- 7 child going up to secondary school and manages to portray all of the pain and delights of this without making anyone too much of a villain. 'People grow apart' is the sad but true theme of this story, it's echoed in the lives of the Lola's recently divorced parents as well as with Lola's own significant relationship with her Primary School best friend but it's lightly and amusingly told with such cute illustrations from Bradley. The repeated visual gag about the meaning of Lola's name made me laugh every time I saw it and it's touches like this that are fresh and fun. I really enjoyed the fact that (spoiler) it is Lola's otherwise monosyllabic older brother who ultimately saves the day and puts things into an emotional framework and context that she can accept. Tween boys experience just as much heartbreak at these partings in life as tween girls do so it was lovely to see this depicted so sensitively. It's written in plain, simple language and with Bradley's illustrations making it look so attractive and fun I think that this will appeal to readers of all ages and abilities. I can't wait to get this into my school library as it's going to be very popular I think.

I received a free copy of, Bigg School: Best Friends Forever, by Lisa Williamson and Jess Bradley. from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Best friends forever Chloe and Evie are best friends until they start a new school year and have no classes together. School is hard enough with out friendship problems, Chloe is feeling a little lost without her supposed bff Evie, life is not the same, and change is never fun. I would never want to go back to elementary school again, so much angst and anxiety, this is a really good read.

I really enjoyed this book. Perfect for those navigating those early days of high school and all the changes that come along with it.

I love how accessible the writing is without being too simple. Lisa Williamson really is insightful about the feelings and thoughts of Y7 girls. The writing sometimes brings back fond memories of my old self at that age (and not-so-fond ones as well).

By the way, I am from Hong Kong originally, but for the life of me, I don't get how Jiayi could mean "lucky one". Does anyone have the Cantonese word for it?