Sex education - Janni Visman

Maddy and Selina wear matching plimsolls and wonder about sex. They're twelve years old and best friends. But as they grow older, their friendship becomes more complicated. Selina is beautiful and wild but she is also intensely jealous of Maddy - jealous of her straight blond hair, her talent for making clothes, and especially jealous when Maddy gets more attention than her. Her cruel games of manipulation with both Maddy and the men in their young lives leave their other friendships fraught, yet Maddy and Selina remain together. On leaving school, the two friends move in together, and while Selina swans from lover to lover, and develops a serious interest in drugs, Maddy runs a clothes stall in Camden Market and falls in love for the first time. But even though it's thel the same old story - whatever Maddy has Selina needs - their friendship survives. Until the day Selina makes a revelation that finally breaks Maddy's heart. Through fierce love and fierce war, Janni Visman's poignant debut charts the twisted, moving friendship between two girls as they grow into women. Elegantly written with a hard edge, SEX EDUCATION is a fascinating look at the complex nature of this female friendship.