AustLit

'The Melbourne writer has penned a bestseller every year since 2015 – one of which was optioned for TV. She discusses her failures and her craft – and why she shuns the housewife-author stereotype' 

'A few weeks ago, the PR department at the university where I teach and study arranged an interview with a journalist from a local newspaper, to discuss my plans for life after the completion of my PhD. I had recently been awarded a small grant to develop a new work of Young Adult fiction, and that, coupled with my recent invitation to take up a residency with Sweatshop, a literacy movement in Western Sydney devoted to empowering culturally diverse communities through reading, writing and critical thinking, seemed to be a lifeline at a time when publishing was going through a significant lull. That same week, eight Australian magazine titles were officially closed, the latest hit to an industry already battling decreased Arts funding and COVID-19.' (Introduction)

'Five teenagers. Five lives. One final year.

'The school captain: Ryan has it all ... or at least he did. But when the one thing that his future hinged on is snatched away from him, how will he start to rebuild his life and who will he decide to be?

'The newcomer: Charlie's just moved to Sydney from Melbourne, and she's determined not to fit in. She's just biding her time till Year 12 is over and she can head back to her real life and her real friends ...

'The loner: Nobody really notices Matty. He's just another guy in a hoodie. But at home Matty is everything: he's been holding things together ever since he can remember, and since his mum's latest breakdown, he's never been so alone.

'The popular girl: Well, the popular girl's best friend ... cool by association. Tammi has always done what's expected of her, but when her boyfriend pressures her to do something she's really not ready for, will she finally stand up for herself?

'The politician's daughter: Gillian's the good girl. She's careful not to do anything that will reflect badly on her dad, but this comes at a price: she's never really had fun. Now that her one friend has moved overseas, Gill is pinning all hopes of a social life on one thing: the yearbook committee. ' (Publication summary)

'I hate being invisible.

'I hate that I can′t fight my own battles.

'I hate that I′m stuck in social Siberia.

'Sophie Kazzi is in Year 12 at an all-Lebanese, all-Catholic school where she is invisible, uncool and bored out of her brain. While she′s grown up surrounded by Lebanese friends, Lebanese neighbours and Lebanese shops, she knows there′s more to life than Samboosik and Baklawa, and she desperately wants to find it.

'Unfortunately, her father has antiquated ideas about women, curfews and the Lebanese ′way′. Bad news for Sophie, who was hoping to spend Year 12 fitting in and having fun - not babysitting her four younger siblings, or studying for final exams that will land her in an Accounting course she has no interest in.

'Just when it looks like Sophie′s year couldn′t get any more complicated, Shehadie Goldsmith arrives at school. With an Australian father and a Lebanese mother, he′s even more of a misfit than Sophie. And with his arrogant, questioning attitude, he also has a way of getting under her skin...

'But when simmering cultural tensions erupt in violence, Sophie must make a choice that will threaten her family, friends and the cultural ties that have protected her all her life.

'Are her hates and complaints worth it? Or will she let go ... and somehow find her place?' (Publisher's blurb)