Jenna’s Truth

Jenna’s Truth by N. L. King, (Serenity Press), revised edition printed 2018 PB 80 pp  RRP $16.99

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

‘If I could have one wish it would be for Jenna’s Truth to save lives. I pray … that one teen somewhere … will come to believe their life matters and that hope exists.’ So writes N. L. King in her explanatory Author’s Motivation.

In 2012, 15-year old Amanda Michelle Todd committed suicide after being the target of horrific cyber-bullying. Her story galvanised N.L. King into writing this story of a girl who is cyber-bullied and survives.

The book begins with Jenna attempting to drown herself in the diving pool of the local swimming baths. She is saved by a teacher. Jenna then takes us back through the stages that have led to her despair.

         

A quiet, unremarkable girl who wants to fit in, Jenna can’t believe her luck when the popular Tina chooses her as a friend. But all is not as it seems. For no good reason, apart from providing vicious entertainment, Tina plans to shame Jenna. She is invited to a high school party and encouraged to drink until she’s drunk. Pictures of Jenna, half-dressed, in bed with Tina’s boyfriend, are posted on social media. The resulting humiliation almost destroys Jenna. Luckily she has an understanding teacher, a good counsellor and loving parents to help her through.

Jenna tells her story in the first 57 pages of this slim volume. The other 23 pages are crammed with useful information about where to go for help, how to report cyberbullying, teaching notes, teaching suggestions, discussion questions and an interview with the author. It has a foreword by suicide survivor Kevin Hines.

Jenna’s Truth could easily be a way for teachers’ and parents to discuss a number of difficult problems. It is recommended for mature teenagers but I think younger readers will benefit from its wisdom as well.

One quibble. Jenna is supposed to take inspiration from the actions of Pi, the fictional hero in Life of Pi. A better choice would have been to reference a book about the bravery and courage of a real person, like Touching the Void or The Librarian of Auschwitz.   

The Pause

The Pause by John Larkin (Random House Australia)

PB RRP $19.99

ISBN 9780857981707

Also available as an ebook

ISBN 9780857981714

Reviewed by Marian McGuinness

Youth suicide -- a hush … hush topic, a brave topic to write about, a necessary topic to write about.

How many of us have been personally touched by suicide? I have, twice, so it was with hesitation that I began to read.

This YA story is Declan’s story. He is 17 and in Year 11 at a selective high school. He is witty, sensitive, a literature wiz and head over heels in love with Lisa. One problem is that Lisa has a Tiger Mother, who Declan nicknames The Kraken. A kraken who beats her daughter when she strays from her mother’s warped ways. A kraken who confiscates her daughter’s phone and sends her away from Declan to live in Hong Kong with her aunt.

Although there is a parallel plot of Declan and Lisa (a bit like Romeo and Juliet), it is primarily Declan’s story as he wonders if his ‘brief flicker of existence might have meant something.’

Something dark happened when Declan was 6, something that has been buried so deep in his psyche that when he needed inner strength, it was too fragile to cope.

The narrative moves back and forth, like a mind in chaos, until we as the reader are standing with Declan, wracked with emotional pain, on the platform as the train approaches. He intends to end the pain.

Graphic descriptions? Yes. But they are in Declan’s mind in those nanoseconds of decision -- the nanosecond of The Pause. That short-long time to decide to live or to die, ‘… crying because I don’t think I’m worth anything …’

With time out in a psychiatric hospital, Declan starts to think about life.  He thinks of the ‘wreckage’ he would have left behind ‘in that moment of pure insanity …’ It is through the kindness and understanding of strangers in his ward, in their own dire personal situations, that Declan begins to heal.

Through Declan’s breakdown, ‘I went nuts. It happens. It happened to me. It can happen to anyone …’ his friends are given quiet permission to be open and frank about themselves.

The positive message is how this experience empowers Declan to own who he is; that he has choices to make and responsibilities to others, but mostly to himself. He learns that life is bittersweet, but you can cope, and that once you open yourself to others and their lives you realise that people are not worth dying for, they’re worth living for.

John Larkin is a brave writer. The Pause is personal. It’s as much Larkin’s story as it is Declan’s story. As you read, you come to understand that the heart and soul of John Larkin becomes the heart and soul of Declan. It is a story of hope and the beauty of relationships … because of one essential concept … pause.

Larkin’s previous novel, The Shadow Girl, won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adults.

The Pause

The Pause by John Larkin (Random House)

PB RRP $19.99

ISBN 978-0-85798-170-7

Reviewed by Jaquelyn Muller

At the end of the first paragraph in John Larkin’s new YA novel, The Pause, the central character Declan O’Malley declares he is going to kill himself in five hours’ time!  My immediate reaction is to run for the tissues! However, I say this to anyone who finds the subject of suicide confronting, (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?) PLEASE don’t let it scare you off.

What quickly develops is a personally narrated account from a seventeen-year-old boy, who could be anyone we know; complete with a smart mouth, individual styling challenges, raging hormones and an aversion to verbal communication.

The ‘now-that-I-have-your-attention’ introduction gives Declan a platform to weave his story of inner torment, repressed family secrets and the loss of love. Larkin’s clever use of time specific chapters help pace the story that commands your attention to the very end in unexpected ways.

While it is easy to assume this book is one of misery and lost hope, Declan’s seventeen year old voice and sense of irony pepper many funny, light-hearted moments that ultimately illustrate life is worth stuffing up every now and then. In the tradition of It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, or more recently Sliding Doors, The Pause merely asks you to do just that, stop and consider this world without you, (I know in my case my husband’s sense of humour would be non-existent and quinoa sales would not be what they are). 

Through the humour and warmth developed for the characters over the story’s 20 year span, Larkin makes this otherwise difficult topic consumable for the YA reader and with the added reading group questions at the back of the book, promotes a well overdue dialogue that will hopefully be explored in schools.  The Pause is set to follow on from the success of Larkin’s 2011 novel, The Shadow Girl which won the 2012 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Writing for Young Adults. 

Cooper Bartholomew Is Dead

Cooper Bartholomew Is Dead by Rebecca James (Allen &Unwin)
YA PB RRP$19.99
ISBN 9781743319239
Reviewed by Yvonne Mes

Cooper Bartholomew is dead. His girlfriend is devastated and not convinced it was suicide. Cooper was much loved, popular and an all-round nice guy. His friends adored him. So why is he dead? From the developing romance between Libby and Cooper and the relationships with their respective friends and parents the story builds to an unexpected ending.

The story is told from multiple perspectives and takes you backwards and forwards in time. Rebecca James pulls this off to great effect and flips between first and third person point of views for her main and minor characters respectively. This complex way of story telling works amazingly well and adds to the suspense and enjoyment of the story.

Her characters are wonderful, multi-faceted and feel like real people. Between all the mystery of how and why Cooper died, the characters struggle with finding their way as young adults after finishing high school. They discover how the groups that define them in high school change as they grow and they struggle with the choices to make for their futures.

There were quite a few references to sex without it being overwhelming and there was a lot of casual drugs use which made for an edgy read.

Referred to as the new J.K. Rowling in the Wall Street Journal after a bidding frenzy for her novel Beautiful Malice in 2009, Rebecca followed this up with Sweet Damage, another successful, edgy young adult novel. Both novels are now on top of my to-read list.

Yvonne Mes is a children's writer and illustrator. Her first picture book, Meet Sidney Nolan (Random House) is scheduled for release in October 2015. www.yvonnemes.com

 

 

 

 

The Perfectionists

The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard (Hot Key Books)
PB RRP $16.95
ISBN 978-1-4714-0434-4
Reviewed by Jacque Duffy

This is one of those non-put-downable books. It is well written, the main characters are likeable, and the pacing is fast, but I have a problem.

Sara Shepard is the author of many popular books including the Pretty Little Liars series, which I confess to not having read but have heard quite a lot about. Pretty Little Liars has sixteen – yes, sixteen -- books in the series. Don’t get me wrong, I like a series, I don’t mind a little breathing space between books. I like to let the characters have a rest too, especially after a fast-paced book like this one.

But here is my problem. The Perfectionists has a lot of characters, starting with five girls plotting revenge against the school’s most popular boy slash bully; each of those girls has her own group of secondary characters, some of which are crucial to the plot. That is a lot of characters to make mental notes about.

I was enjoying this book immensely; not only are these girls managing to get themselves into all kinds of trouble - most of the time not of their own doing - but there has been a murder. Towards the latter half I found it hard to put the book down. I read faster and faster, needing to know who the bad guy/girl is and if the girls were going to be safe.

Then it ended.

Just like that.

I have no idea if these girls whom I had become so fond of were safe.

Looks as though I will have to wait for book number two; I hope it comes out fast.

The book, if read in a classroom situation, would raise healthy discussion. The serious matters of sex, drugs, bullying, suicide and revenge are raised in this story. The characters are fully formed and each has their own story to tell.

The story obviously gives room for sequels and I am sure each would be an enjoyable read.

 Jacque Duffy is the author and illustrator of the series ‘That’s not a …’ learn to read books used in all Queensland State Primary Schools, a picture book The Bear Said Please, and one local history coffee table book.

www.jacquesartandbooks.com

 

Life, Death and Detention: Short Stories about School and Other Stuff

Life, Death and Detention by George Ivanoff (Morris Publishing Australia)
PB RRP $15.95
ISBN 9780987244499
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

This book was George Ivanoff’s first book, published in 1999. He has written over 50 books since then. Although out of print for some time, it has been on the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge since it began in 2005. It’s reprinting is welcome because of the excellent content of the stories.

Confronting, powerful, poignant, and at times shocking, it contains ten stories about school life and all the terrors faced by youth during those educational years, the result of bullying, the absence of duty of care from teachers and headmasters, and peer pressure. These stories have strong themes including, attempted suicide, grief/mourning and love, the angst of first love, and loss.

An interesting thing about these stories is the Afterword by the author, where he addresses the reader with a short response to the story; a note about the reason for the ‘deliberate uncertain ending’. This is meant to draw the attention of the young reader to the various outcomes, how the situation depicted can have many endings, depending on the reaction of the victim and ‘the other/s’ involved.

The only story that is unrelated to the rest is the slightly Sci Fi, Sugar. All the rest are within the boundaries of school and schoolyard. Ghosts is a slightly different slant on coping with grief, and The Writing’s on the Wall is about conversational graffiti, although both stories are set inside the school boundaries.

Ivanoff, although having moved the stories into the 21st Century, and having edited some prose where it was not clear due to his earlier inexperience as a writer, has remained true to the original contents of the book in this revised edition.

This is an impressive collection of stories, highly recommended by the reviewer to anyone wishing to understand the separate world of school bullies, the absence of care and interest for young people’s dilemmas, and the chaos of young lives biding time behind the boundaries of schools, where changes may occur slowly, but seem never-ending.

Survive

 Survive by Alex Morel (hardie Grant EGMONT)

PB RRP $22.95

ISBN 9781742973067

Reviewed by Lillian Rodrigues-Pang 

This book had me hooked. Jane had attempted suicide a couple of time and when we meet her she is about to execute another attempt. This one is better planned and she believes she will succeed. Suicide is a part of her family history, and she is convinced that she is destined to follow as well.

Her father committed suicide throwing her into a depression that she won’t acknowledge. When we meet Jane she is in an institution and planning her own death. She boards a plane to visit her mother over Christmas though she has researched and bought all the pills she needs to not wake up at the destination. The plane however hits turbulence when she is in the bathroom, then crashes leaving Jane and one other young man as the sole survivors. From the top of the remote frozen mountains Jane discovers that she wants to survive and she works hard to do so.

This book delves into a difficult and serious topic without any moralising. Most teenagers will think about suicide at some point in their changing lives. The story takes the classic scenario of “wanting death till faced with it” and makes us believe and care for the main character. The writing is scenic and the character well developed. The language and personality of Jane is well constructed. The book hits the target audience of 14+ with accuracy. I recommend this book as a reinforcing statement about what is good in life.