*Thanks to NetGalley and Pantera Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* 'I Had Such Friends' is a haunting, sad book, with elements of hope. Ultimately, the book highlights the redemptive power of love. The protagonist is 17-year-old Hamish Day who lives on a failing cabbage farm in a rural seaside town, I believe in NSW, though I don't know if it is every overtly stated. The novel starts with the death of beloved teenager, Charlie Parker, in a road accident. As the town and high school mourn Charlie, Hamish discovers more about himself and the people around him. Hamish's high school years have not been kind to him and, alongside with his sidekick, Martin, he is relentlessly bullied - both physically and verbally. It is a beautiful story, but not without tragedy.

17 year old Hamish isn't popular. But when a boy in his year dies in a car crash, it sparks some new friendships for him, and causes him to question some important things.

Sometimes I come across a book and I get a feeling that I'm going to adore it. This was one of those times. And that feeling was right. This book was powerful and beautifully written, and I would read it again without a second thought.

Hamish is a super awkward but very lovely character. He lives on an unsuccessful farm and doesn't have a great relationship with his parents, and his sister is no longer alive. He has a nerdy friend, Martin, who loves zombies and school, who also happens to be his only friend.

One day, a popular guy named Peter wants to hang out with Hamish. And so he does, time and time again. They go to the beach and they swim and play football. The Australian setting I feel is a perfect match for this book and you really get a feel for the surroundings.

The prettiest girl in Hamish's school, Annie, starts talking to Hamish, too. Annie was in a relationship with Charlie, the boy who died. He always knew she was lovely based on one time when she willingly sat next to Martin. The two get close, likely due to the grief they both hold close. Or is there another reason Annie wants to help him out?

I had a feeling from the start that this book was going to be gay and I was right which made me so happy, but there was homophobia so read with caution. The relationship was a slow build which I loved and it was ever so sweet and cute from the beginning.

I was majorly invested in the characters and what would happen to them, and I was desperately hoping good things would come to them as they deserved. This book goes into pretty heavy, emotional topics but they were all written with care.

I would easily recommend this book, and it's absolutely one of my favourite reads so far this year.

Looks lovely but the format is sadly incompatible with my device so I cannot provide proper feedback. My apologies. I will be certain to check it out once it’s published. Thanks for the opportunity!

From the opening sentence, "It all started when a kid died", this book kept right on going with the emotional punches. Hamish, our protagonist, wasn't close to Charlie, the kid who died, but he knew him as the most popular guy in the school, a sports star with a beautiful girlfriend, and the polar opposite of shy, nerdy farm boy Hamish, who only has one friend. As Hamish starts to spend time with people who were close to Charlie, he learns some surprising things , not only about Charlie, but also about himself.
The Australian setting is vividly brought to life by the author, and the writing style while simple is very effective. As the book goes on the emotional toll on the characters, and by extension, the reader too, gives the book a weight not always found in this genre.

This file has no option to download onto kindle very disappointing as I was looking forward to reading this but unfortunately I can’t comment on it

Unfortunately this file could not be read or accessed on an e-reader.
No review can be achieved if the file is inaccessible. No mobi file option was given, only e-pub which is not compatible with reader.