I Had Such Friends

So, then it happened. Peter Bridges pulled into the bus bay. You’re not allowed to do that.

“Hey Hamish,” he said, and I couldn’t for the life of me work out how it was that he could possibly know my name. “Want a ride home?”

When Charlie Parker dies, it affects everyone who knew him. Everyone, that is, except for seventeen-year-old Hamish Day, the boy who lives on a cabbage farm and only has one friend. 

But Hamish soon finds himself pulled into the complicated lives of the people left behind. Among them is Annie Bower, the prettiest girl in school. 

As he uncovers startling truths about his peers, his perspectives on friendship, love, grief and the tragic power of silence are forever altered.

Set in rural Australia, this powerful Australian YA debut deals with the delicate themes of unrequited love, abuse, neglect, sexuality, bullying, prejudice, death and suicide. Reminiscently capturing the warm and raw voices of Charlie Kelmeckis from The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Clay Jensen from Thirteen Reasons Why, this is an important story about self-discovery, grief and finding your voice.