Changes

When a new girl arrives at Jaz's school she is delighted and warms to her immediately. The only problem is that Nadima does not speak any English at all. However , Jaz is the type of girl who is not going to let this get in her way and in her typical straightforward manner determines to make sure that this friendship blossoms. Initially , this appears to have worked and the girls bond through a shared love of music, movies and food, especially chocolate! But then difficulties, misunderstandings and past traumas get in the way and Jaz struggles to cope with the consequences.

Nadima is a lovely, likeable character and I warmed to her immediately as do the other girls in her class. Jaz is a louder, more assertive character and can even be a little stroppy at times and on occasion ends up in trouble at school. However , this masks insecurities that she prefers to hide rather than talk about. She is dyslexic and struggles with some of her schoolwork - something she finds embarrassing - and she is also missing her best friend, Lily, who has moved on to a new ''best friend'', the popular and confident, Kara. Her friendship with Nadima , therefore , is all the more important and the girls develop a strong bond very quickly. But then a charity fundraising event and a family history project cause problems that Jaz in her impetuous way makes even more upsetting. Jaz is devastated at the thought of losing her new and dear friend and determines to put things right somehow.

It is the story within the story that gives this enjoyable tale its greater depth and impact. Nadima and her family are from Syria and it is only in the second half of the book that the author truly makes the reader aware of the suffering they have endured before they arrived in England. The deceptively light touch used by the author makes the impact of this all the more moving. This is handled at just the right level for this age group and would make an effective starting point for a discussion on today's refugee crisis. This would be excellent for use in schools and as a story , this is one that would encourage empathy in young readers beautifully not only with regard to refugees and recognition of religious and racial differences but also in relation to friendship and family issues such as step-parents. There is humour too and the family relationships, particularly between Jaz and her older brothers are well -drawn.

If you enjoyed this book the Bookbag would recommend [[The Butterfly Club by Jacqueline Wilson]] another story about friendship by the queen of this genre. For an introduction to the subject of refugees for younger readers , you may like [[My Name is not Refugee by Kate Milner]] a picture book highly recommended by Sue. We also liked [[Wilfred the (Un)Wise by Cas Lester]].