I Had Such Friends was a wonderful story about youth in a small Australian town. It tackled tough high school issues such as bullying, sexuality, poverty, abuse, suicide and death. It bought out lots of emotion in me. As a parent of a not to far away high school son and a daughter who struggles with friendships, this one really hit a chord for me.

I Had Such Friends is a YA book but absolutely speaks to older adults too. This book is wonderfully written and very relevant to today's society. It tackles some tough subjects and has very likeable characters that you care about. I would love to read a sequel and see how these tennis life's have evolved.

This book will s set in rural Australia and centres on the life of teenagers who are discovering who they are and where they fit into the world. It starts with the popular boy Charlie being killed in a car accident. Hamish, the second least popular boy in school does think it will affect him but little does he know the chain of events about to happen. Charlie's girlfriend was the popular and prettiest girl at school Annie. Annie starts to notice Hamish. At the sameness time the rebel and outsider boy Peter also befriends him. Charlie is an innocent boy, son of cabbage farmers. His life is finally starting to become more than school and the farm.. but is he ready for it?

This is a very emotional book which deals with a lot of tough subjects... grief, love, sexuality, abuse, bullying and general teenagers growing up. Thanks to Pantera Press and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

A moving story about teenagers in a small town in Australia, this emotional novel reminded me just how awful adolescence was, and made me so grateful, yet again, that I don’t have children, as it would be so hard helplessly watching them survive it all - endlessly worrying that they may not.

Hamish Day is the son of poor cabbage farmers, and the second most unpopular kid in school. His only friend, Martin, is even more despised - even by Hamish. When the most popular boy, Charlie, is killed in a car crash, Hamish doesn’t think it will affect him, but then Peter, the school rebel and football star, invites him to hang out together, and Charlie’s girlfriend Annie, the most beautiful girl in his year, asks him on a date. Bewildered, but hopeful that finally he has some defence against the bullies, and his crushing loneliness, he opens himself up to love and friendship. It’s best to go in to this not knowing too much more.

This is a YA book that works equally well for adults (well this adult, anyway.) Teenagers these days have even more to deal with than we did, although some issues are eternal - cliques, dysfunctional families, bullying, the conflict of wanting to be cool but wanting to succeed academically as the ticket out...
The writing was eloquent and the characters realistic. Hamish’s relentless self-deprecation and self-pity, even though he knows he’s not the only one suffering, were tiresome but accurate, but you still care what happens to him. He’s pretty awful to poor Martin, and admits it, but doesn’t know how to be any different - the terrible part of growing up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Please note the ARC format is not suitable for Kindle and requires Adobe Digital Edition to read.

I went to read this book which I had downloaded, o my to find it was only metadata and has been archived so I can't redownload

<b><i>"...I saw you standing there and you looked so separate from everyone around you.  You looked how I felt."</i></b>

Meg Gatland-Vaness, a young Australian author has delivered a terrific debut YA novel with I Had Such Friends.          There was much to enjoy about her story even though it covered topics that have been addressed many times before.

Hamish is a 17 year old high schooler in rural Australia.   His family is strapped for cash - often the plight for our farmers - and this was made evident in the small details about the state of their home, the lack of luxuries, the need for thrift.  His home life is quiet as he and his parents have retreated into themselves following a family tragedy.    He seriously lacks confidence, has only one friend (who is perhaps more nerdy than himself) and is bullied often at school.   That is until he is befriended by one of the cool footballer kids, and the prettiest girl in the school.   However things are not necessarily what they appear, secrets abound and things do not work out for the best.

Covering all manner of themes including grief, domestic violence, emeging sexuality, friendship, bullying and suicide this was a moving story.       I'll admit I predicted several of the bigger events - hoping to be wrong because I cared about these characters - but this did not detract from the story.   At times I felt Hamish's self deprecation was a little overdone but then I'd recall my own angst ridden years, the uncertainties and fears felt by many teens and could only empathise.

Though it's decades since I was in the target market for YA fiction I continue to take great pleasure from this genre and I Had Such Friends was no exception.     Sincere thanks and congratulations to Meg Gatland-Vaness, Pantera Press and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! A fantastic insight into the life of Hamid Day. Some unexpected twists and turns, while leaving the reader eager for more. This gripping book doesnt fear away from tackling a variety of taboo’s and stereotypes in high schools. It addresses real life problems in today’s society and provides an avenue of support for children who may have gone through similar experiences. A very well written book - I am eager for more!

Hamish is a high school senior making his way through the last year of high school. He has only one friend. A student at his school just died tragically in a car accident. His name was Charlie.

Annie was Charlie's girlfriend. Or so we thought. Annie befriends Hamish and a relationship (platonic) begins. They become very close, even closer than Hamish's only friend Martin. Where will this go with Annie? Hamish is confused.

Things are even more confusing when Peter, the school jock, begins a friendship with Hamish. This is where in the story things really start to explode. You will have to read to find out.

I found this story to be very realistic. It was well written and very detailed. I would recommend this story for older more mature students.

I tried multiple devices and multiple formats for this book and I still couldn't download it on any eReader. I don't know if it's just my phone and computer but I was not able to read this book and cannot review it. It sounded like it had a lot of promise though, just sadly couldn't download it.

Easy read. Beginning starts out so slow, finally picks up 3/4 way through. Unfortunately, I do believe HS life was depicted honestly and realistically in this book. Heartbreaking.

3.5 Stars for this ARC,(thanks to NetGalley and Pantera Press). Opinion is my own.

High School is brutal, especially for kids like Hamish...poor, skinny, no friends. But, things are not always what they seem. This book starts out slow, then moves quickly over half way through. Abrupt ending. So many topics being dealt with....bullying, child abuse, neglect, death, homophobia. As a parent of a HS child, my heart broke for these kids. So many secrets and no adults to help them navigate life issues. Set in Australia, the author does a good job of describing the surroundings and situations.

‘It was scary having someone know the things that made you vulnerable.’

This YA novel is set in a small town somewhere in rural Australia, where Hamish Day lives with his parents on a struggling cabbage farm. Hamish Day is seventeen years old when Charlie Parker dies. Unlike Hamish, who only has one friend, Charlie was popular. Charlie’s girlfriend, Annie Bower, is the prettiest girl in the school. Hamish and his friend Martin Archer are on the periphery: bullied and ridiculed, surviving. But things change for Hamish after Charlie Parker dies. Peter Bridges, school rebel, becomes friendly with him, as does Annie Bower.

To write more about the plot may reduce the impact of the story on those yet to read it. Be warned, there are a number of confronting issues here, including abuse, grief, suicide, and grappling with sexual identity. The story unfolds in the self-conscious and occasionally awkward voice of Hamish, and it took me a little while to get into the rhythm of the narrative. But the further I read, the more realistic Hamish’s voice became for me. I was returned at times to my own teenage years, to my own recognition of many of these issues. I was reminded of how painful the journey of self-discovery can be, of how our teenaged sense of self is influenced and develops.

Hamish has a lot to learn, and much of that learning will be painful for him. Can we ever make the transition through adolescence to adulthood less fraught, less painful? I found much of this novel sad, but not without hope. I wonder how the young adults reading it feel?

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Pantera Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I Had Such Friends follows Hamish; a farm kid who, quite frankly, only has one friend. He's on the bottom of the high-school-foodchain, just above his friend Martin. When one of the popular kids crashes in a carcrash and dies, things seem to change.. A loner in school suddenly seeks out his attention and for some reason, the dead kids girlfriend starts to talk to Hamish..

In this story we see how much things can change, how important support is for people and how important it is to have people around you who'd catch you if you fall. Without spoiling some of the big parts in this story, I'd like to state that this might be a very important read for people who don't exactly know where they stand in life.. Relationship-wise and people who love reading about that kind of stuff.

This one is right up there for me. It is the kind of voice I love and I'd personally call this a cross-over novel, one that works for adults and YA. It is set in a small Australian town where people play footy, surf and the culture of bloke is at it's peak. It is tough to stand out in this place. You fit or you don't. If you don't you'll be picked on and persecuted and made to pay. Hamish is a poor, skinny kid who has nothing cool about him. The story takes place over Hamish's last year of high school. His only friend, Martin, whom he really doesn't like but you've got to talk to someone, is even more hideously uncool. Hamish has been stuck with him by default even though he can't stand him.

At the start we are told that Charlie one of the schools most popular guys has been killed in a car crash which also involved the utterly gorgeous Annie, the school sweetheart, most beautiful creature who ever walked the earth. Annie has survived and emerged sad and lonely. Hamish has worshiped her from afar but always known that he has no chance with her. She and Charlie are the school elite, but now Charlie is dead and everything is different. Change is on the way, one day Peter the school bad kid, gives Hamish a ride home from school and everything starts to happen. Peter and Hamish become the kind of friends who don't talk about anything but spend time together and gradually gradually they begin to build a relationship. At the same time Hamish and Annie are becoming girlfriend and boyfriend and Hamish has gone from untouchable to being in demand. But all is not what it seems.

This book is about relationships, attitudes, sexual tension and racism. You have so much in here! I loved Peter, I loved him so much more than Hamish and what happens to him is horrific. I loved so much about this book but I admit that it isn't perfect. There are some problems with the writing in places. And I really had a problem with Annie, she seems to be almost unnecessary to the story other than a bit player. I loved the relationship with Hamish and his parents and could totally see that playing out. I thought the sex was really well written too. There are problems but overall I thoroughly loved the story and the way that the scenes felt so realistic. I loved Hamish struggling to keep up with Peter at the beach with the way he pondered lying to his parents.

I'd love to see this book in lots of small town libraries, it is shocking and I think quite realistic in the way the casual homophobia is visited upon teenagers. It is certainly not a hopeful book. The actions of the teenagers and their rage against Peter and Hamish is horrific to read. It makes you understand why country Australians race to the big cities to reinvent themselves as gay people. I know this happens in every country! I read this at the time that I watched Hannah Gadsby and her Nannette show and possibly that is why is resonated so strongly with me.

I'm going to be buying and recommending this book. Possibly with a tighter review than this, as I've got a bit statementy here!

If you are a fan of Jasper Jones and books by Scot Gardner then this book is going to work for you.

Thanks to Netgalley for access to this book.

I really enjoyed this book in spite of the sad parts. Hamish, a high school senior in Australia, is the narrator and he is funny and honest. HE tells it like it is. I wish he had a better self-image because he called himself a loser constantly, which obviously he wasn't. He has one best friend and he lives with his parents on a remote cabbage farm. This is the story of how he made new friends through a series of events that happen in his life. A classmate dies, another classmate starts talking to him and hanging out with him out of the blue and a girl asks him out. I don't want to ruin the story because even though the book is short, a lot happens. Hamish learns to love and be loved and how to have other friends and succeed whereas before he was just kind of stuck in a rut. He is a great character, soooo funny and sarcastic and does not sugar-coat his life before his new friends or after. Definitely worth reading! Tackles some tough subjects like suicide, sexuality, loneliness, alcoholism and child sexual abuse. Honest and real.

This book covers issues faced by today's youth, such as sexuality, suicide, grief and homophobia in a deep, dark way through an investigation of student's death. However, there was so much covered in so little time that it felt like an overwhelming block of information, losing the quality and development of the plot and the characters. This is not to say that the coverage of these isn't appreciated - it is, definitely - but while things hit home and pulled me in all kinds of emotional directions, it was like reaching for strands but finding my hands empty. Perhaps if it was longer, it would have read better for me.

The characters were alright, but I didn't take to Hamish at first. I only found him tolerable after 70% of the plot, but it was too late to really draw me in. I mostly disliked his actions, but he did manage to redeem himself towards the end. He was...just alright, in the end.

The plot was okay, the writing, too. It definitely had potential, but it wasn't for me.

This book covered some heavy topics, and I love that the back matter of the book included awareness messaging and information about suicide prevention organizations in Australia (where the book will be published). These seniors in high school go through a lot, and everyone is not as they seem (I know that’s a horror cliché but I really just mean that the one-dimensional stereotypes people present hide the complicated, multifaceted person they really are, and this book wandered that line in a creative way.

This novel dealt with identity both in an academic setting, as well as personal/sexual identity which I haven't seen very much. Our main character Hamish doesn't really know who he is outside of farming with his family, and studying with his only friend until two other students take an interest in him. Why they were both independently drawn to Hamish and how his relationships with them develop created a powerful narrative. Hamish discovers himself through his interactions with Martin, Peter, and Annie. Some friendships fall apart and some don’t, that’s just how life is. The people who really matter should love and understand you, and not everyone in your life deserves to stay in your life. Representing positive and negative reactions to the events that take place in this novel creates a reality and almost anyone is sure to be able to relate to. Seeing LGBT+ representation in a religious suburban/rural town is something that a lot of kids can identify with, and the various reactions to these characters was both heart-breaking and heart-warming.

It took a very long time for me to get in to this book. The main character is not particularly likeable and I found myself completely annoyed with his constant complaining and judgments. This might have been a more successful story if it was more filled out, At 288 pages there was definitely room to add.

I feel like this book could have been good but it tried to tackle too many big issues in a short amount of space and ended up not doing them the justice they deserved.

There was also the issue that for probably 75-80% of the book, I just couldn’t stand the main character. He had basically no redeemable qualities, though he did finally get his act together towards the end. He is awful to his so-called best friend (and for someone who calls himself a nerd, he sure was judgey about cosplay and video games and anime). He’s pretty sexist, judging all the girls at school except the one he’s friends with because of course, she’s not like those other girls. And he’s so terrified of sounding like a girl or coming across as sissy, like that’s the worst thing you could possibly be perceived as.

One could argue that this is a fairly typical representation of a lot of country boys, and you’d probably be right… but I can’t stand when this stuff is unchallenged within a text. And highlighting it with the occasional “I know it made me a bad person to think that” doesn’t really make him any better.

Oof. That was a bit of a rant. Sorry. Hamish just really bugged me.

The story tries to tackle sexuality, grief, domestic violence, and coming of age issues, and sometimes it nearly hits the mark. But I just never felt any kind of emotional pull while reading, and I predicted the outcome, too. It just never really felt true enough. A lot of this is probably because I didn’t like Hamish enough to care, but I think also the writing style was a bit detached and disjointed, making it hard to really get drawn in.

I do think Gatland-Veness shows promise as a writer. This one just didn’t work for me.

Thank you to Pantera Press and NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I had to sleep on this one before I could review it. It's a story that's going to stay with me for a while.

3.5 stars but I've decided to round up after all. I Had Such Friends is a tale of two halves. The first half I found a bit frustrating, written in the style of a 16 year old boy & clearly trying to aim for that demographic, I didn't think I'd be able to push through. Hamish is an unpopular teenager living on a farm in the outskirts of a small town in rural/coastal Australia. He narrates the story of his final year of high school, beginning with the accidental death of one of his classmates.

I struggled with the simplicity of the narrative at the start. The second half of the story revolves around new relationships that Hamish forms, town secrets & grief. I loved how the after effects of grief & loss were explored and loved the realism of navigating teenage relationships.

I disliked that every person in the story had a "hidden secret". It was a bit overdone & the ending was a bit rushed. contrived maybe, a bit too neat & tidy. I saw the twist & the ending a mile away.

This is something I can picture being taught in English classrooms around the country although it may be just a bit too dark

Hamish Day lives in a small country town with his two parents on their cabbage farm.
He has one friend and they seem to get on just fine, until one of the popular boys from school is killed in a car accident - forcing Hamish and the rest of the school to put things into perspective.

This book focuses on some pretty heavy themes - death, suicide, LGBT-ness in a non LGBT-friendly environment.

I enjoyed this, and didn't expect half of the things that happened. A quick read but one that will leave you thinking about it for days afterward.

“It all started when a kid died.”

As chilling and captivating opening sentences go, this one was a good hook.

Charlie Parker, beloved by all, has died, and the community is left to pick up their shattered lives and move on. Hamish didn’t know Charlie, but he soon comes to know the people that Charlie left behind, and in the process he learns more about himself than he ever thought possible.

I’ve heard/seen this coming-of-age young adult novel likened to The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Thirteen Reasons Why, and I can definitely see Charlie’s innocence and Clay’s naivety in Hamish Day. I could also feel Finch and Violet’s (All the Bright Places) individual turmoils, as well as the isolation and exclusion of Jasper Jones.

This book does not pull its punches, it is raw, it is unforgiving, and it takes a serious (albeit on the surface) look at the vast array of social issues affecting our youth (and let’s face it - everybody) today: abuse, bigotry, bullying, depression, sexuality, suicide and death. What I felt, was a glimpse of the sheer desperation of people trying to hold on, emotionally, mentally, physically, financially.

While I enjoyed the poignancy of this story, and commend the difficult issues that it covers, it didn’t move me as other books in this genre have. It was well-written, and as an Australian myself, I could just about feel the dusty rural roads, and smell the salt in the air, plus there was a good use of breaking the 4th wall which kept me engaged, a week later, I am still thinking about this story and find myself missing the characters.

Thank you to Meg Gatland-Veness, Pantera Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.