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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Notes
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Dedication: For Evelyn McAlister, to remember her mother, Peg.
Affiliation Notes
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This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has Chinese and Japanese translations.Of a Boy is indexed as an adult book, but has been affiliated with the Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing subset because it has been reviewed numerous times as a young adult book.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also sound recording.
Works about this Work
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Testing the Limits : Postmodern Adolescent Identities in Contemporary Coming of Age Stories
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature in Education , December vol. 49 no. 4 2018; (p. 467-484)'Coming-of-age stories have conventionally constructed the development of subjectivity as a linear, cohesive, and ultimately empowering process. Narrative closure is thus typically contingent on the adolescent protagonist’s ability to acquire an agentic form of self-knowledge and integrate productively into the adult world. In contrast, the failure to transcend adolescent liminality is perceived as a sign of developmental dysfunction that requires social or narrative correction. This article argues for the subversive potential of texts that interrogate these prescriptive boundaries. Through an analysis of two unconventional coming-of-age stories, Eimear McBride’s A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing and Sonya Hartnett’s Of a Boy, it examines how contemporary YA fiction is beginning to question cultural norms surrounding adolescence and reconstruct established modes of representing identity formation. Each novel provocatively challenges established ideas about what constitutes YA fiction, and is symptomatic of the ways in which this inherently fluid genre is expanding and evolving.'
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What I’m Reading
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2017; - y Of a Boy : Sonya Hartnett Essendon North : Radiant Heart Publishing , 2015 8919133 2015 single work criticism
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Sonya Hartnett's Pursuit of Happiness
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 18 October 2014; -
There's No Place Like Home
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 29 April 2012; (p. 18)
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Untitled
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 17 no. 1 2003; (p. 23)
— Review of Of a Boy 2002 single work novel -
Remembered Dreams, Fears and Joys
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Dotlit : The Online Journal of Creative Writing , August vol. 4 no. 1 2003;
— Review of Of a Boy 2002 single work novel -
Too Cruel for School
2002
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 13-14 July 2002; (p. 12)
— Review of Of a Boy 2002 single work novel -
A Rich and Chilling Parable
2002
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 27 July 2002; (p. 19)
— Review of Of a Boy 2002 single work novel -
Children Lost in the World
2002
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 10 August 2002; (p. 11)
— Review of Of a Boy 2002 single work novel -
Of a Boy by Sonya Hartnett
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Autumn vol. 11 no. 1 2003; (p. 30-31) -
In Her Own Write
2003
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 24 August 2003; (p. 7) -
Cover Stories
2004
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 17 July 2004; (p. 1-2) Australian publishers believe buyers are influenced by the design and colour of book covers. -
Her Dark Materials
2005
single work
biography
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 26 February 2005; (p. 38-41) -
Know the Author : Sonya Hartnett
2005
single work
column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 20 no. 2 2005; (p. 14-16)
Awards
- 2003 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction
- 2003 winner The Age Book of the Year Award — Book of the Year
- 2003 winner The Age Book of the Year Award — Fiction Prize
- 2003 shortlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 2003 joint winner The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year
- Urban,