My best friend is a goddess by Tara Eglington

Harper Collins, 2016. ISBN 9780732299903
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. Surprising as it is for fiction aimed at teenage girls; this novel is highly engaging and thought provoking. For once, a book that celebrates intelligence rather than harping on about how being beautiful is everything!
When Adriana returns from eighteen months in Borneo her best friend, Emily, thinks that everything will go right back to normal - Friday night movie nights, and sharing secrets. Her plans go array however when Adriana returns a goddess, even more beautiful than the 'Tens' they always hated, while Emily is still the same old Emily waiting for the 'boob-fairy' to bless her. It isn't only Adriana's newfound beauty that comes between them but, as expected, a boy. Theo is dreamy in every way. He is the embodiment of Emily's artistic fantasies. And Adriana's crush. Like with any best friendship, Emily knows she can't act on her feelings and instead chooses to keep them to herself, forcing a bigger wedge in their friendship than ever before. It isn't long before it becomes clear that Adriana must leave her loser friend behind, but despite this knowledge she clings to Emily's friendship until she has no other option but to destroy it.
The thing about friendships is that things change and people have to adapt to their new situation. It could be that one friend moves, or gets another friend, or maybe there's a boy (or girl) that gets in the way. This is a novel which shows how things sometimes have to change. And how sometimes they don't have to change all that much. I would highly recommend to girls aged thirteen and up; not only is this a guidebook for coping with change, but also a great way to say beauty is not everything.
Kayla Gaskell, university student