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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'A powerful, captivating story about Alice, who is reaching out to express herself through her beautiful-broken words, and Manny who is running to escape his past. When they meet they find the tender beginnings of love and healing.
'Alice is fifteen, with hair as red as fire and skin as pale as bone, but something inside her is broken. She has acquired brain injury, the result of an assault, and her words come out slow and slurred. But when she writes, heartwords fly from her pen. She writes poems to express the words she can't say and leaves them in unexpected places around the town. Manny was once a child soldier. He is sixteen and has lost all his family. He appears to be adapting to his new life in this country, where there is comfort and safety, but at night he runs, barefoot, to escape the memory of his past. When he first sees Alice, she is sitting on the rusty roof of her river-house, looking like a carving on an old-fashioned ship sailing through the stars.' (Publication summary)
Affiliation Notes
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Writing Disability in Australia:
Type of disability Speech impairment from acquired brain injury. Type of character Primary. Point of view First person.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Dyslexic edition
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Joy Lawn & Glenda Millard Share a Long Distance Discussion about The Stars at Oktober Bend & Other Writing Matters
Joy Lawn
(interviewer),
2016
single work
interview
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking about Books for Children , May vol. 31 no. 2 2016; (p. 12-14) 'Glenda Millard is one of Australia's most accomplished and versatile authors, writing novels for children and young adults as well as picture books. ...' -
Review : The Stars of Oktober Bend
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 31 no. 1 2016; (p. 43)
— Review of The Stars at Oktober Bend 2016 single work novel -
Fears and Fantasies Bred by War
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2-3 April 2016; (p. 22)
— Review of The Stars at Oktober Bend 2016 single work novel ; A Tangle of Gold 2016 single work novel ; Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club 2015 single work novel -
Review : The Stars at Oktober Bend
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time , December 2015;
— Review of The Stars at Oktober Bend 2016 single work novel
-
Review : The Stars at Oktober Bend
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time , December 2015;
— Review of The Stars at Oktober Bend 2016 single work novel -
Fears and Fantasies Bred by War
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2-3 April 2016; (p. 22)
— Review of The Stars at Oktober Bend 2016 single work novel ; A Tangle of Gold 2016 single work novel ; Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club 2015 single work novel -
Review : The Stars of Oktober Bend
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 31 no. 1 2016; (p. 43)
— Review of The Stars at Oktober Bend 2016 single work novel -
Joy Lawn & Glenda Millard Share a Long Distance Discussion about The Stars at Oktober Bend & Other Writing Matters
Joy Lawn
(interviewer),
2016
single work
interview
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking about Books for Children , May vol. 31 no. 2 2016; (p. 12-14) 'Glenda Millard is one of Australia's most accomplished and versatile authors, writing novels for children and young adults as well as picture books. ...'
Awards
- 2017 selected White Ravens
- 2017 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Young Adults' Fiction
- 2017 CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Notable Book
- 2017 shortlisted Carnegie Medal (UK)
- 2016 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards — Young Adult Book Award