The theme of friendship
is a vital strand to this rich novel. The children prove the way in which friendship based on
unconditional acceptance, no matter what the background or appearance of people may be, can be
achieved more easily by children than by adults. However, at first, it is clear that April,
because of her lack of friends in the past, is more concerned with trying to maintain her image
of the daughter of a movie star, with her outlandish dress and her fake eyelashes. Note for
example the first time that she plays with Melanie it is only after a while that she forgets the
persona she is trying to project, removes her fake eyelashes so that she can read, and actually
manages to enjoy herself. It is only as she is leaving at the end of this chapter that she makes
a very interesting observation to Melanie:
You know what?
I never did call them that before, but imagining games are just about all I ever play because
most of the time I never have anybody to play with.
Friendship then is something that is a new experience to April, and this explains the
struggles that she has in accepting the friendship of Melanie and how she has to adjust in order
to be part of a friendship group that satisfies her need for belonging and love. What makes
April change in her attitude to friendship is the constant love and acceptance that Melanie and
others show towards her. The novel tells the story of how April moves from being a very isolated
and lonely girl who has not experienced true friendship to being a young girl who is able to
accept herself and others through the love that she is shown. This is demonstrated through the
way in which she gradually changes the way she dresses and does her hair. Having only had her
mother to model herself on, it is only natural that she tries to pass herself as an adult. When
she gets to know other children her age, however, she realises that it is alright to be a child,
just like them.
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