Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson

I was a fair bit younger when I went through my Jacqueline Wilson phase, and most of her more recent books I haven't read. But I picked up the reader for this one, and it's like - ah. She's reliable. So, Sylvie and Carl have always been best friends, with their own private fantasy world and Sylvie's own assumption they're going to grow up and get married. Only of course it doesn't work like that. Carl changes schools, and they both have to learn who they are without each other. It's not a fun road.

I liked this one a lot - particularly how Miranda inflicts her friendship on Sylvie, and then the dynamics between the three main characters. It's the sort of thing I want to write. The characters are distinctly themselves, and seeing the way they affect each other is awesome. It's also unlike anything she's written before, and I think that's really admirable.