Too Many Friends, by Kathryn Apel

I like my friends.
I like to be with ALL of my friends.
But sometimes my friends
aren’t friendly with
each other.

Tahnee has lots of friends, and she likes to do different things with them. But it isn’t easy having so many friends – some of her friends don’t like each other, or like doing different things, so it gets hard to be a good friend to everyone. Luckily, Tahnee has a big heart, and wise, loving support from her parents and her teacher, Miss Darling.

Too Many Friends is a delightful, warm-hearted verse novel about friendship. Like most classrooms, Tahnee’s year two class is populated by kids with a range of interests, problems and personalities. Miss Darling is energetic, enthusiastic and loves her job. Tahnee loves Miss Darling and she loves school, but she finds it hard to know how to keep her friends happy, and still do the things she loves, and when one of her friends stops talking to her, she needs to figure out what to do. Her solution is lovely.

This is Kat Apel’s third verse novel, and shows the same tender touch as her previous work.

Lovely.

Too Many Friends, by Kat Apel
QUP, 2017
ISBN 9780702259760

Love, Ghosts & Nose Hair and A Place Like This, by Steven Herrick

I’m a normal guy.
An average sixteen-year-old.
I think about sex, sport and nose hair.
Sex mostly.
How to do it,
how to get someone to do it with me,
who I should ask for advice.

Jack is a pretty average sixteen year old boy. He worries about sport and nose hair, and how to get a girl. But not just any girl: Annabel. He also talks to a ghost: the ghost of his mother, who died seven years ago. As he gets closer to Annabel, he wonders whether it’s time to let his mother go.

First published in 1996, Love, Ghosts & Nose Hair is a classic verse novel for young adult readers. Exploring themes of first love, bereavement and family, as well as teens coming of age, in the honest verse form for which Herrick is known. With Jack as the main viewpoint character, there are also poems from the point of view of his father, his sister Desiree and his girlfriend Annabel, just one of the facets which makes the verse novel form special. Readers are taken inside the head of these different characters with an intimacy which the verse novel form especially facilitates.

This intimacy is also seen in A Place Like This, first published in 1998 and picking up on the story of Jack and Annabel two years later. Having finished school and both successfully got places at university, the pair instead decide to take a year off to work and travel. But, closer to home than they had planned, they find themselves picking apples on a farm where another teen, Emma, is struggling with a pregnancy and her uncertain future.

This classic pair of verse novels from Australia’s finest verse novelist for young adults has been republished  by UQP,  meaning they are now easily available for a new audience, and for teens who have grown up with some of Herrick’s work for younger readers.

Love, Ghosts & Nose Hair, ISBN 9780702228780
A Place like This ISBN 9780702229848
Both by Steven Herrick
UQP, 2017

On Track, by Kathryn Apel

Sometimes it feels  
like my body doesn’t belong
to me, like I tell it to do stuff
and it doesn’t. My feet stumble along
and trip over each other, my hands fumble
and drop, and it’s almost like I’m wrapped in
invisible bubble wrap – stumbly, fumbly, bumbly –
like a spaceman bumping and blundering along.

Toby and his brother Shaun were born less than a year apart, but though they are close in age, they are very different in every other way. Shaun is smart, and good at everything he does. Toby struggles at school, and doesn’t find anything easy – except running away from his ‘big, better brother.’ Shaun might be good at everything, but he feels that people don’t notice his successes – especially when Toby is around.

Tensions between the brothers grow when Toby is diagnosed with a muscular condition and starts getting extra help, including a new laptop for school. When he then joins the school’s athletics team, Shaun resents that this means the coach will spend less time with him. With Sports Day getting closer, tensions between the pair grow.

On Track is a wonderful verse novel about sibling rivalry, self identity and self confidence. Told through the dual first person narratives of Shaun and Toby, the story allows readers to see both brothers’ struggles and motivations, allowing empathy for both to develop. This in turn will help readers to see that individual differences are not always better or worse.

This is Apel’s second verse novel, and makes excellent use of the form, allowing an emotional connection with the two characters. Readers will care about the boys and what happens to them, and the resolution is satisfying without being overly contrived. The inclusion of sport in the plot will add interest for many readers.

On Track, by Kathryn Apel
UQP, 2016
ISBN 9780702253737

Available from good bookstores and online.

Gap, by Rebecca Jessen

Looking on the streets

for the hangers-on

never know

who’s lurking round these parts

seen me leave his house

round the back

pale and sweaty

what have I done?

Ana is not a murderer, but she has killed a man. When you are young, trying desperately to survive and to protect your little sister, you will do almost anything. Now, though, the police are onto her, and her conscience is giving her no rest. As she tries desperately to see a way out of this mess for herself and for her sister, Indie, she finds an unlikely ally. Sawyer is a police officer, but Ana knew her before she was a cop, and reconnecting now forces Ana to confront her past, at the same time as she must confront her present. Perhaps she should just run from it all.

Gap is a gritty novel in verse for young adult and adult readers, set on the streets of Brisbane. Ana is a survivor, tough, independent and caring, but some things are to hard even for the toughest of teens. The use of the verse form gives us snapshots of moments of dark and light, reminiscent of film and,while the viewpoint character is the supposed criminal, there is still a sense that this a kind of detective novel, as readers are invited to piece together what has brought Ana to this point, and what the solution might be.

Winner of the Emerging Author category of the 2013 Queensland Literary Awards, Gap is a brilliant verse novel, honest and compelling.

 

Gap, by Rebecca Jessen
UQP, 2014
ISBN 9780702253201

Available from good bookstores and online.

Cinnamon Rain, by Emma Cameron

A cave on Pebble Beach,
a bike ride from home,
where the sting of salt air
tears away the built-up wondering
of what to do –
on the last day of holidays,
about Casey,
with my life.

Luke is drifting through the final years of high school, unsure of where he’s heading< he works at the local supermarket to save up money, but doesn’t really know what he wants to do after school. The only thing he is sure of is his feelings for Casey. His mate Bongo is drifting too, but in a different way. He’s often drifting in a dope-filled haze as he struggles to see a way forward. He has a violent stepdad and an addicted mother, as well as a little brother who’s been taken away by welfare, meaning Bongo hardly gets to see him. He likes Casey too, but isn’t sure he has anything to offer her. Casey meanwhile, is stuck, unsure what she wants but pretty sure of what she doesn’t want: to be in this town, being told everything she can and can’t do by her controlling father. She wants to move on and be free, and neither boy can have a place in those plans.

Cinnamon Rain is a verse novel which packs a punch. The story is told from the first person viewpoint of each of the three characters in turn – so that we first hear from Luke, then Casey and finally Bongo. While in places the story overlaps so that we get two versions of the same event, the result is cumulative rather than repetitive, and the time lines of each narrative stretch differently so that we come in and leave at different times, meaning that in each section we get more of the total story, with the three stories, and characters, coming together in the final pages. This differs from the more common use of alternating viewpoints in multi-viewpoint novels, and works well.

Dealing with a range of issues which confront both the viewpoint characters and their other schoolmates, including drug and alcohol use, family breakdown, reckless driving, death and bereavement, teen pregnancy and more, the story could have become issue-heavy, but Cameron handles it skilfully, using the verse from to deftly weave together the different elements.

Beautiful.

 

Cinnamon Rain

Cinnamon Rain, by Emma Cameron
Walker Books, 2012
ISBN 9781921720451

Available from good bookstores and online .

Bully on the Bus, by Kathryn Apel

She’s big.
She’s smart.
She’s mean.
She’s the bully on the bus.
She picks on me and I don’t like it.

But
I don’t know
how to make her
stop.

Leroy has a problem, and it’s a big one. There’s a bully on his school bus – and she’s bigger than him, bigger than his sister Ruby, even as big as his mum. DJ goes to the high school, but she doesn’t want to be there. Leroy likes school, but he doesn’t like the bus, especially when DJ is on it. Leroy needs a secret weapon, but when he finds it he wonders if it will be enough to silence the bully.

Bully on the Bus is a gorgeous new verse novel for younger readers. Leroy and his family are realistic and well-drawn, as is the situation he finds himself in. The resolution, too, is clever, and shows Leroy drawing on the help of those around him but, ultimately, being key to fixing the problem.

This is Apel‘s first foray into the verse novel form, but hopefully it won’t be her last. She handles it deftly and with sensitivity.

Bully on the Bus, by Kathryn Apel
UQP, 2014
ISBN 9780702253287

Available from good bookstores and online.

Nobody's Boy, by Dianne Bates

there were phone calls that night
welfare people whispering
I was in the next room
scoffing down the pie and drink they gave me
the walls were thin
can you take him?
can you help us out?

I knew what was happening
does anyone want this kid?
that’s what they were saying
does anyone care?

Not many seven year olds know how to ring for an ambulance, but Ron Green does, because he’s been looking out for his mum for quite some time. Now she’s in hospital, and Ron is in foster care, being passed around from place to place. H’es nobody’s boy. His aunt Maree takes him in, but she doesn’t want him – she’s got her hands full with three kids of her own. Dad’s new wife Anna won’t have Ron in the house. And the people who sometimes care for Ron, Pearl and Brian, are off travelling Australia in a caravan. Eventually, Ron is taken in by new foster carers, happy to have a boy of their own. It’s the sort of home he’s always wanted – with a mum and a dad, a room of his own, even trips on aeroplanes. But all Ron really wants is to be with his dad.

Nobody’s Boy is a moving verse novel about the difficulties faced by children who have no stable family life. Ron is a confused,sometimes angry child, who just wants to feel loved. Whilst there are people in his life who do care for him, his sense of abandonment by his parents is strong. Neglected by his mother whilst in her care, he particularly wants to connect with his more stable father, but this is difficult because of his stepmother. The challenges faced by foster families are also highlighted. Ron’s foster parents are caring people who try hard to provide him with the stability he needs, but find it hard to take the place of his absent parents and to undo the damage done in his past.

The subject matter is confronting and sad, but well handled. Readers are given an insight into Ron’s life made clsoer by the use of the verse novel format, allowing key moments and personal feelings to be shared with heartbreaking intimacy.

Whilst the cover image suggests an older boy, Ron turns 10 during the story, making this suitable for primary aged readers, though older readers will also connect.

Nobodys Boy

Nobody’s Boy, by Dianne Bates
Celapene Press, 2012
ISBN 9780987255600

Available from good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend, by Steven Herrick

My new teacher
…casually sits on her desk
before asking us
to tell her something, one thing,
that we like about ourselves.
Selina, Mick, Cameron, Pete and Rachel
immediately
raise their hands
while I sink as low as possible
behind my desk.

Verse novels have the ability to take the reader right into the heart of characters’ lives and thoughts in a very special way. And few verse novelists do it better than Steven Herrick. In Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend he presents the life of a class of year 6 students in a small country town. Mick is the school captain, and a leader, but seems to always be in trouble. Pete is struggling to cope with his grandpa’s death, and Laura fights shyness as she tries to find a way to fit it. Selina is popular buts he’s obsessed with Cameron who in turn is obsessed with the mysterious Pookie Aleera. New teacher Ms Arthur is new to this world, but the school groundskeeper Mr Korsky has been around for ever, and has seen it all before – almost.

The use of the verse novel form allows the reader to see the story form multiple perspectives, and each character has a perspective both unique and endearing. There are moments of poignancy, of sorrow and of humour, in a tale of friendship and belonging and of grief and moving on. Each character must find his or her place in the shifting world of the school and beyond.

This is a welcome return to the verse novel form for Herrick, and fans will be delighted.

Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend

Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend, by Steven Herrick
UQP, 2012
ISBN 9780702249280

This book is available from good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Ratwhiskers and Me, by Lorraine Marwood

Ratwhiskers is sleeping.
I must have dozed.
I am filthy. I am worn out.
I am hungry.
I’m late to bury a body.
I don’t know where I am.
But just above me the sky is dark.
The stars cold glitter.
Night is safe sometimes.
I unroll.
I ache.

The boy doesn’t remember much – just smoke and running to escape. Now he is on the goldfields, working as cook for three miners. But there are many hardships on the goldfields – death, disease, shortages, and the miners expect him to work hard. There is no kindness. When the boy befriends a Chinese boy tending a market garden, it makes life a little easier – until the miners turn on the Chinese, and the boy finds himself caught between the two groups. Then his Chinese friend discovers his secret, a secret which could make life harder for both of them.

Ratwhiskers and Me is a beautifully rendered verse novel, telling the story of conditions on the Bendigo goldfields in the 1850s. Marwood uses a minimum of words for a maximum impact, bringing to life the hardships of the life of the miners, the harsh prejudices faced by the Chinese and the extremes of human behaviour during the goldrush. The use of the verse novel format allows both a vivid first-person narrative and a paring back of all but the most important details, taking the reader on an emotional journey through gripping events.

A masterpiece.

Ratwhiskers and Me, by Lorraine Marwood
Walker, 2008

Cold Skin, by Steven Herrick

They named me Eddie
after Mum’s father
who died before I was born.
‘A quiet, stubborn bastard,’
says my dad.
I’m not sure if he’s talking about
Grandad or me.

Eddie Holding has grown up in Burruga, a coal mining town where nothing exciting ever happens. He wants to leave school and work in the mine, but his dad won’t work in the mine and he doesn’t want his sons working there either.

Eddie’s teacher, Mr Butcher, doesn’t want to be at the school, either. He has ambitions to teach at a big private school. In the meantime, though, he spends weekdays trying to make Eddie’s life hell, and the weekends in the city paying women for sex.

When one of Eddie’s classmates is found murdered, Eddie is sure his teacher is guilty. After all, he saw his teacher running late for the train on the night Colleen died. But in a town full of secrets, nothing is as it seems.

Cold Skin is a chilling novel in verse for young adult readers. Herrick is a master of the form, and this latest offering continues his tradition of offering a rich plot with twists and turns in the limited words which the form offers. The viewpoint shifts between the cast, allowing an insight into each character’s workings, and the twists and turns of the novel keep the reader guessing till the end.

Suitable for readers aged thirteen and over, including adult readers.

Cold Skin

Cold Skin, by Steven Herrick
Allen & Unwin, 2007

This book is available online at Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.