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Penni Russon Penni Russon i(A84180 works by)
Born: Established: 1974 Tasmania, ;
Gender: Female
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Works By

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1 An End, a Beginning, or Even a Middle… a Promise, a Yearning, a Warning Penni Russon , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , vol. 25 no. 2 2021;

— Review of Speculate : A Collection of Microlit Eugen Bacon , Dominique Hecq , 2021 selected work short story poetry ; Black Moon : Graphic Speculative Flash Fiction Eugen Bacon , 2020 selected work poetry short story
1 1 y separately published work icon The Endsister Penni Russon , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2018 12247047 2018 single work children's fiction children's fantasy horror

'Unforgettable characters, chaotic family life and an intriguing ghost story combine in this funny, absorbing tale of a family who inherit a mansion on the other side of the world.

'I know what an endsister is,' says Sibbi again.
We are endsisters, Else thinks, Sibbi and I. 
Bookends, oldest and youngest, with the three boys sandwiched in between.

'Meet the Outhwaite children. There's teenage Else, the violinist who abandons her violin. There's nature-loving Clancy. There's the inseparable twins, Oscar-and-Finn, Finn-and-Oscar. And then there is Sibbi, the baby of the family. They all live contentedly squabbling in a cottage surrounded by trees and possums...until a letter arrives to say they have inherited the old family home in London.

'Outhwaite House is full of old shadows and new possibilities. The boys quickly find their feet in London, and Else is hoping to reinvent herself. But Sibbi is misbehaving, growing thinner and paler by the day, and she won't stop talking about the mysterious endsister. Meanwhile Almost Annie and Hardly Alice, the resident ghosts, are tied to the house for reasons they have long forgotten, watching the world around them change, but never leaving.

'The one thing they all agree on - the living and the dead - is never, ever to open the attic door...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 What a Stone Can't Feel Penni Russon , 2015 single work short story young adult
— Appears in: Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean 2015;

Vega’s best friend Bonnie is dying of cancer. They share the secret of Vega’s ability to enter objects with her consciousness. When Bonnie dies Vega extends her consciousness into the corpse. A consideration of friendship between young women, and of the nature of loss.

1 A Necessary Labour Penni Russon , 2013 single work short story
— Appears in: Review of Australian Fiction , vol. 5 no. 2 2013;
1 Softly the Fall Penni Russon , 2012 single work short story
— Appears in: Island , Winter no. 129 2012; (p. 66-69)
1 Quote i "Outside", Penni Russon , 2011 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Best Australian Poems 2011 2011; (p. 142)
1 6 y separately published work icon Only Ever Always Penni Russon , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2011 Z1811624 2011 single work novel young adult fantasy 'Claire lives in an ordinary world where everything is whole. But inside Claire is broken. The silvery notes of her music box allow her an escape from her grief into a dream-world, into Clara's world.

Clara's world has always been broken. She finds broken things to swap at the markets; she walks the treacherous route past the brown river where lone dogs prowl; she avoids the seamy side when she can, but with powerful people pulling the strings, it's not always possible.

Which world is real?

Claire's and Clara's paths are set to collide, and each has much to lose - or gain.' (Publisher's blurb)
1 Trick of the Light Penni Russon , 2011 single work short story
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings , July no. 6 2011; (p. 102-108)
1 1 y separately published work icon Dear Swoosie Kate Constable , Penni Russon , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2010 Z1662612 2010 single work novel young adult

'India can see the future, and Poppy has a past. And when they discover old letters in the school attic it seems destiny has a plan for them. Who is the mysterious Swoosie? What does she have to do with Poppy's high-school sweetheart parents, and India's mum? Meanwhile plans for the reunion of the class of '89 are underway, and there's a lot of bad hair going round.

'Does the past have the power to change the future and can the future heal the past? India and Poppy are about to find out.' (From the publisher's website.)

1 All That We Know of Dreaming Penni Russon , 2009 single work short story
— Appears in: The Best Australian Stories 2009 2009; (p. 231-238) The Big Issue , 13 July 2009; Something Special, Something Rare : Outstanding Short Stories by Australian Women 2015; (p. 26-35)
1 2 y separately published work icon Little Bird Penni Russon , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2009 Z1618344 2009 single work novel young adult

'Everything I know about love I learned in one short year. Somehow I'd coasted along all my life and then I fell in love twice, bam bam, just like that, and it left my heart spinning...

'Ruby-lee is cynical about love; after all, she's watched her sister Shandra call off her wedding three times a week. But when Shandra volunteers her to babysit her friend's seven month old baby, Ruby-lee discovers just what love means. First she's overcome by powerful feelings for tiny Maisy, then she starts spending time with Maisy's dad, Spence. She even begins to imagine a future together, as a family. But where will Ruby-lee's fantasies lead? And what sort of trouble could they get her into? When it looks like Ruby-lee might lose everything, she has to discover what love truly is to find her own heart.' (Publication summary)

1 6 y separately published work icon The Indigo Girls Penni Russon , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2008 Z1469826 2008 single work novel young adult

'Tilly, Zara and Mieke have always spent each summer together at Indigo Bay. But this year Tilly and Zara will have to spend the first week together without Mieke. Tilly isn't sure how she'll get along with golden girl Zara. Mieke has always been a buffer between them.

'But what Tilly doesn't know is that Zara is battling hidden demons, and has her own concerns. Will they survive this summer unscathed?' (Publisher's blurb)

1 Six Word Stories (After Hemingway) i "FISH BRIDE. Wedding feast. She's gone.", Penni Russon , 2008 single work poetry children's
— Appears in: Short : A Collection of Interesting Short Stories and Other Stuff from Some Surprising and Intelligent People 2008; (p. 35-36)
1 1 y separately published work icon Josie and the Michael Street Kids Penni Russon , Camberwell : Puffin , 2007 Z1447440 2007 single work children's fiction children's Josie and her Mum are moving house, to a place miles away from her best friend, the beach and everything. But then Josie finds a treasure map and meets the kids from Michael Street.
1 3 y separately published work icon Drift Penni Russon , North Sydney : Random House Australia , 2007 Z1377083 2007 single work novel young adult

'Undine thinks she could be happy living in a world where Stephen is still alive. Back in the real world, Trout could be happy too - as long as he doesn't think about Undine's disappearance, or why her shadow appears in his photographs. Phoenix is new in town, a drifter, passing through with his conjuring tricks. But they can't keep drifting forever, and one hot summer night their worlds collide. Coincidence or confluence? Illusion or reality? Trout isn't sure he wants an answer and Phoenix isn't telling. All Undine knows is that she must find a way to return home. Someone is calling her name. Sister, come to me...

'In the spellbinding conclusion to the Undine trilogy, the girl and the magic must become one to quell the darkness forever.' (Publication summary)

1 3 y separately published work icon Breathe Penni Russon , Milsons Point : Random House , 2005 Z1204873 2005 single work novel young adult fantasy

'Trout walks the streets at night, obsessing over Undine and the events in the Bay, haunted by the image of his own death. In his search for answers he is drawn back to the chaosphere and to Max, who may hold the key to Undine's magic. But can he trust the mysterious Max? Undine promised her mother that she won't use her magic in her final year of school, but her father, Prospero, thinks her promise is dangerous. Against the idyllic background of Corfu, home of her father's ancestors, conflict rages inside her and Undine must answer the most important question of all: is she the magic, or is she the girl?' (Publication summary)

1 1 Undine Trilogy Penni Russon , 2004 series - author novel
1 6 y separately published work icon Undine Penni Russon , Milsons Point : Random House , 2004 Z1141816 2004 single work novel young adult fantasy 'Undine isnt your ordinary teenage girl. She doesnt like Tuesdays, has a best friend named Trout, and can cause storms to form out of thin air. She comes from a tight-knit family that includes her mother, brother, and aunt. She has always been told that her father died before she was born but a mysterious whispering voice convinces her that he is still alive. Trout, thanks to his love of Shakespeare, links the words that the voice is speaking with The Tempest. After the book itself appears in her house, Undine figures out where the voice is calling from and goes to meet her father. Teens will empathize with this girl who has magical powers that she cant control and a desire for a father who loves her for herself, not the powers she possesses or what he can gain from them'. Source: online bookseller.
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