Zak Monroe is (not) My Friend

This is a thought-provoking story about school friendships, bullying and the transition to secondary school.

The story follows the trials and tribulations of Sam in Year 6, who overhears his friends Fin, Cal and Jay saying that they won’t be putting his name on their ‘friends list’ for the Year 7 tutor group in their new secondary school.

When Fin, Cal, Jay and their families go to Barcelona without him during half-term, Sam strikes up a rather one-sided friendship with Zak Monroe – a new boy in the year group who has already been dubbed ‘weird’ by his peers. As Sam increasingly tries to disassociate himself from anything and anyone that his old friends make fun of, he realises that he is trying to change to please them and that there are more important issues at stake.

There are many different threads to this story that children struggling with change and friendships might empathise with. Transition to a new school is a big part, but also self-belief, resilience, anxieties, acceptance of differences and challenging stereotypes.