MARGARET BEARMAN

We were never friends

Lotti lives under the shadow of a genius: her father George Coates is a brilliant and celebrated Australian painter.When Lotti meets the outcast waif Kyla at a suburban Canberra school, two worlds are set to collide. Slowly Kyla is drawn into the orbit of the Coates family. Or is it the other way around?

As Lotti and Kyla navigate their way towards adulthood, dark secrets start to unravel, with devastating consequences …WE WERE NEVER FRIENDS is unforgettable novel about friendship, the pursuit of a creative life and the legacies we leave behind.

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Currently 5 stars on Goodbooks.

On Readings list of books to get excited about in 2019.

What others have said ...

Melissa Ashley

Ben Hunter

Kristen Tranter

‘Margaret Bearman’s intimate, unsettling novel of family dysfunction perfectly captures the ambivalent passions of girlhood while offering an incisive critique of the cult of artistic genius. Sharp and subtle at the same time, refusing any easy certainties, WE WERE NEVER FRIENDS is a haunting portrait of the human capacity for cruelty and love in equal measure.

‘A compelling and authentic journey into the heart of a suburban Australian family. What is art? What’s true courage? I could not put it down.’  

'I’m hooked! It’s a powerful and fast-paced story of girlhood, art, friendship and cruelty. The cover is stunning, and the prose is just as good.'

Best selling author of THE LEGACY

Best selling author of THE BIRDMAN'S WIFE

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