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Best Friends is a children's novel by Jacqueline Wilson, first published in 2004.

Plot summary

RACHAEL BYRNE and RONNIE FISHER are a pair of wetards that will be bestest friends always. RACHAEL says she loves RONNIE with all her heart and she never wants to loose her...she is her life and is missing her like crazy xxx

The Book about two best friends, Gemma Jackson and Alice Barlow, who were born on the same day, like twins, and love to spend time together.

Gemma and Alice have known each other all their lives, but when Gemma reads Alice's diary at a sleepover, she discovers that Alice is keeping a secret from her. The next morning, after Gemma confesses to Alice that she read her diary, Alice decides to tell Gemma her secret. Her family are moving to Scotland.

At Alice's moving away party, Alice suggests they run away. They nearly get away, but their parents catch them after a boy in their class they passed by, Billy McVitie (nicknamed Biscuits), tells his mum, at his baby sister Polly McVitie's christening, that they are running away.Although later when Gemma confronts him he tells her he only told his mother Alice's and Gemma's names.

Gemma is heartbroken when Alice is gone,and to make matters worse, Alice's mum, Karen Barlow(who is particularly snobby) blames Gemma for making Alice run away (as Gemma is known to be the mischievous one), and bans Gemma from speaking to Alice. Gemma is then mean to Biscuits as she is convinced it's his fault that she and Alice got caught. This is hard, as she has been paired up with him for a school project.

While she is stubborn with Biscuits about the project, she is also worried about Flora Hamilton, a girl Alice has become friendly with at her school in Scotland.Gemma is convinced that Flora can only be bad news and is trying to steal Alice off her.

Although Gemma is starting to feel a bit better, and making friends with Biscuits, she is still worried about Alice. Her and Alice's birthday is coming up soon. Every year before Alice left, Gemma and Alice would cut their birthday cake together, and make a wish for them to be best friends for ever. Now that they are banned from speaking to each other and hundreds of miles apart, Gemma knows that it will be impossible for them to make their wish, but worries that as Alice is getting keen on Flora, they might make the wish with together instead.

Gemma's Grandad has to go up to Scotland one day, near where Alice's new house is, so he decides to let Gemma come too, as an early birthday party.

When Gemma gets there, it starts out awkwardly, as Alice's new bedroom is pink and Gemma hates pink, especially the pink dress Melissa (a china doll that Gemma's granny left to her when she died, which Gemma gave to Alice), is wearing. However, by lunch everything is going fine.

When Flora arrives, however, things begin to change. Flora appears to be more mature than Gemma, and turns her nose up at some of Gemma's ideas. She also makes Alice laugh at some of Gemma's antics, which are silly to her. When Alice and Gemma go to cut the cake Gemma wants her and Alice to cut it, so that they can make their special birthday wish to be best friends forever. Karen gives the cake knife to Flora, and Gemma is so angry that she throws the cake in Flora's face. She is then told to get out of the house.

When Gemma gets home, everyone starts to plan her birthday party. They invite the McVities and Biscuits makes a cake for Gemma. They have pizzas in the garden and Gemma's dad even makes her a tree house. Gemma is sad though because Alice didn't even send her a card.

The book ends with Gemma opening a package from Alice containing a card and Alice's charm bracelet, with a new charm right next to Gemma's favourite one, Noah's Ark. The new charm has four words on it: "Best Friends For Ever".

Goof

In this book Biscuits' surname is McVitie, but in Cliffhanger his surname is Baker, as Tim wrote a postcard to him with the name as Mr "Biscuits" Baker.

Characters

Gemma Jackson: Gemma is the story's main protagonist and narrator. She is fairly tomboyish, hyperactive and clumsy, who enjoys football, bike riding and spending time with her Grandad. She is Alice's best friend and is devastated when she learns that Alice is moving away to Scotland, having seen each other nearly every day since the cradle.

Alice Barlow: Gemma's best friend. In contrast to Gemma she is quite the girly girl, who loves dressing up, ballet and the colour pink. She appears traumatised when she and her parents move away to Scotland having being parted from Gemma. However, she is spoiled with all sorts of glamorous items in their new home.

Billy "Biscuits" McVitie: The girls' schoolfriend, a tubby boy who loves food, both eating and cooking. Gemma and Alice form a temporary hatred for him when he "tells on them" to his mother about their plots on running away. When Alice is gone, Gemma and Biscuits become closer as friends and work together for a project on famous TV chef "Fat Larry", as well as Biscuits making Gemma her special birthday cake at her party.

Grandad: Gemma's grandfather, who is undoubtedly Gemma's closest relative. Gemma prefers spending time with him than that of her family. Grandad adores Gemma and spoils her with cream cakes and a road trip to Scotland so Gemma can see Alice.

Karen Barlow: Alice's mother, who turns quite snobby when she and her family move to Scotland. She has a distaste for Gemma and her boisterous ways and wishes Alice had made friends with a different girl.

Liz Jackson: Gemma's mother, who craves for Gemma to be more girly. She tries to dress Gemma in hair bobbles and dresses but fails, for Gemma despises that kind of clothing. Sometimes it appears as though she secretly wishes Alice were her daughter instead.

Callum Jackson: Gemma's elder brother who appears quite close with Gemma, teaching her to ride a bike and comforting her when she feels down about Alice.

Jack Jackson: Gemma's other brother, who supposedly shuts himself away on his computer half the time. He does, however, let Gemma use his computer for emailing Alice via Flora.

Flora Hamilton: A girl who befriends Alice in Scotland. Gemma often frets that Flora is trying to "take Alice away from her" and becomes highly suspicious of them together. Flora is very pretty, mature and also a good ballet dancer. She lets Gemma email her to communicate with Alice, something Gemma feels very uneasy about. During Gemma's visit to Scotland Flora is disdainful of Gemma's childish ways and tries to get Alice to do what she wants to do. She ends up with the birthday cake in her face after Gemma loses her cool once and for all.

Mrs Watson: Gemma's class teacher. She is quite a strict teacher, but has a sense of humour and is very understanding

Mrs Cholmondly (pronounced Chumley): An old lady who Grandad has to pick up in his taxi during their visit to Scotland. She has broken her ankle and is very grumpy and fussy and needs the toilet regularly.

Bob Barlow: Alice's father who is not quite as stuck up as her mother. Alice trusts him enough to tell him that Gemma is coming to visit (they didn't tell her mother, because she would have said no.)

Polly McVitie: Biscuits' baby sister, who was christened on the day Alice and Gemma tried to run away.

Ayesha: Callum's girlfriend. Gemma feels quite jealous of her, because often Callum wants to spend time with Ayesha instead of with her. However, Callum still finds quite a bit of time to spend with Gemma.

• Misplaced Pages articles with plot summary needing attention from July 2008
• Articles lacking sources from July 2008
• Young adult novels
• British novels
• Novels by Jacqueline Wilson