He is back, Fridge. He turned up this morning like a bad smell, though I attempted to waft him away. We need to arrange new identities, false passports and visas for the Galapagos Islands. Give me the word and I’ll withdraw the forty-eight dollars from my savings account.
Calma Harrison doesn’t like to over-react, but when her long-absent father turns up in Darwin, she wants to leave town. After all, it’s been five years since he left town with a barmaid, and Calma isn’t ready to forgive him. To make matters worse, her mother (aka: the Fridge) seems to be keeping a secret from her and her best friend Vanessa has a huge problem.
Still, life’s not all bad. The new checkout boy at Crazi-Cheep , Jason, is gorgeous, and when Calma gets a job there she hopes to make him her boyfriend. Calma’s new English teacher, Miss Moss, is the best teacher she’s ever had and is helping her improve her writing.
But in spite of these good things, Calma’s life seems to be falling apart. Her relationship with her mum is increasingly strained, and her dad just won’t go away and leave her alone. Calma knows it’s up to her to fix everything once and for all.
It’s Not All About YOU, Calma! is a funny novel about some serious issues. Calma is, as she points out, an unreliable narrator, because she likes to stretch the truth. Her voice is fresh, sarcastic downright funny. Readers will laugh along with her, even in the midst of some pretty heavy events.
This is the sequel to The Whole Business of Kiffo and the Pitbull, but stands alone, so that readers don’t need to have read the first novel to love the second. Kiffo was short listed for this year’s CBCA Awards, and this novel is sure to find similar success.
Outstanding.
It’s Not All About YOU, Calma!, by Barry Jonsberg
Allen & Unwin, 2005