‘Let’s give her some more time,’ she says. ‘I can see this all blowing up into something it isn’t. If we just give her some time to get over it…’ She rubs her neck and frowns. ‘We don’t want any of this stuff about Bevan to get out. We’ll all be in trouble. They’ve already got their hands on Deborah’s pictures.’ She squats beside Patricia. ‘You’ve got to stop this, Patricia. They’re going to know something’s up. Get a bloody grip.’
Amy and her classmates are on school camp and they are hot. The temperature is soaring, and tempers are frazzled. In particular, things are tense between Amy and her best friend Clare. The handsome camp leader Bevan is singling Amy out for attention, but it is Clare who has the hots for him. Amy, quite honestly, isn’t interested in men – she’s a lesbian.
But after yet another fight, Amy visits Bevan in his hut, and things quickly turn serious. Soon, Clare has disappeared and Amy and their other friends are left not sure what is going on or who to turn to. In the aftermath of the night, friendships are strained, adults and teens alike reveal their true colours, and Amy must learn to examine her motives and her real feelings.
Posse is a YA novel with bite. Amy is a lesbian who is open about and comfortable with her sexuality . She comes from a broken home, with her mother and grandmother both with issues about men and about reality. She hasn’t seen her father for five years, and resents his perceived abandonment of her. Her friendship circle – or Posse – is made up of intelligent, witty individuals who are each very different. The issues she must confront in Posse include friendship, family and honesty, in a package which will challenge readers.
Recommended for older teens.
Posse, by Kate Welshman
Random House, 2009
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