The Friendship Matchmaker

Randa Abdel-Fattah (author)

Omnibus, Scholastic, Australia: March 2011;166pp

ISBN: 9781862919204

Genres: humour, realistic fiction

Issues: bullying, friendship, school, self-confidence

Lara Zany is the self-appointed Friendship Matchmaker at Potts Court Primary School. Lara's an expert and she's more than willing to share her wisdom.

In fact, she's writing a self-help guide for those who want to Make and Keep friends. Determined that no child will be a Loner (except by choice), Lara stages FIMS (Friendship Intervention Mediation Sessions) at recess and lunchtime and gives talks about vital playground-survival skills, such as fashion tips, what (and what not) to be seen reading, safe conversation starters, where to sit at group tables, and how to ensure you always have someone to sit next to on the school bus.

Given her experience and expertise, Lara is horrified to find the new student, Emily Wong, seems determined to break all of the Rules of Survival and doesn't seem to care what people think of her. A challenge ensues that is a clash of philosophies: Lara believes that the playground is a warzone, to be survived by fitting in at all costs; Emily believes it should be possible to be yourself and still be accepted by the tribe. They each chose a Loser Loner and set about finding them a Best Friend within a month. Will Lara's rules survive the trial or will she, too, learn something from strong-willed Emily?

Very cynical, very funny, very clever and at times rather sad, The Friendship Matchmaker has Randa Abdel-Fattah's signature mix of wit, wisdom and social commentary. Her characters are always more complex than they first appear, so make sure you hang around long enough to find out why Lara designed the matchmaker role for herself in the first place. While Emily and Lara present two rather extreme views of playground politics, Abdel-Fattah helps the reader realise that reality lies somewhere in the middle. The Friendship Matchmaker would make an excellent class novel, especially for girls of about Year 4 age, when friendship groupings are often rather dynamic and changeable things. A very strong anti-bullying theme runs through the novel but mostly it's about the nature of friendship and the need for self-confidence.

Highly recommended.