A novel by Aneeta Prem
But It’s Not Fair
A story about friendship, freedom and the moment a young person realises that somebody close to her may not be free to choose.
Sisters Vinny and Sofia live in East London. When Vinny becomes close to Abby Kambi, an ordinary friendship begins to reveal family pressure, secrecy and danger. After Abby travels abroad for a family wedding and does not return to school, friendship becomes a question of courage: when do you tell somebody, even if you have been asked to stay silent?
The story
Before it is a safeguarding resource, it is a story.
Vinny is 15, loves school and hopes to become a teacher. Her younger sister Sofia is 10, fascinated by celebrities and glossy magazines. Their world changes when Abby and her family move into the neighbourhood. The novel uses friendship, school life and family expectations to build tension before the language of forced marriage is fully understood.
That distance matters. A reader can first care about the characters and what happens to them, then explore consent, coercion, warning signs and safe help-seeking without being asked to disclose personal experience.
The central question
What do you do when keeping a friend’s secret may leave her in danger?
The book opens age-appropriate discussion about the difference between arranged and forced marriage, consent, family pressure, secrecy and the importance of telling a trusted adult when somebody may be at risk.
Schools and education
Use the story with preparation, not as a substitute for safeguarding.
Schools using the book should prepare staff, understand their safeguarding procedure and avoid promising confidentiality that cannot be maintained. Any current lesson plans or teachers’ resources should be checked before publication and linked only where their status is confirmed.
Book sales
Buy the story. Support the work.
Copies bought through Freedom Charity support its charitable purposes. Aneeta does not personally profit from those book sales.