Weekend at Sylvie’s…

The Weekend by Charlotte Wood

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A searing and honest look at women’s friendships and the unseen baggage carried. A mirror that can’t be looked away from, this novel richly deserves its Stella Prize nomination. When I started it I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it as much as The Natural Way of Things and while it is different, there is a familiarity about the care Wood shows in crafting her brittle and flawed characters. Happily, amongst the devastation eventually wreaked, there is a uplift of hope in the final paragraphs, and a show of resilience that all women will recognise. Charlotte Wood is a potent force in Australian contemporary literature. More please.

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Glowing prose

White Night by Ellie Marney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was excited when this book landed at my local bookshop. Anything new from Ellie Marney is always going to be good, but this is great. Still set in rural Australia, in the fictional town of Lamistead, this is a terrific YA realist novel with a message that doesn’t beat you around the head.
Bo is approaching the end of his schooling and trying to decide whether to follow his gut and study subjects that will lead to him becoming a chef, or stay with what is expected and focus on sports and things his Dad will approve of. New girl Rory comes into his life, after being home-schooled forever, and everything gets turned on its head. Not only has Bo fallen hard for Rory, she lives in a community called Eden, which is about saving the planet – and Bo find himself drawn to their message (and Rory). Toss in a family secret that has Bo doubting everything he thought he knew about his parents, a friend going through a rough time at home at the hands of an abusive parent and sibling, and the imminent closure of the local skatepark, and you have the ingredients for an engaging and involving novel that hits all the right notes. The developing relationship between Bo and Rory is believable and sweet, and all the bit players like Sprog, Lozzie and Cam are terrific too. I wrote about this novel as a classic example of YA realism for a Uni essay this year and got 95%. Need I say more! Read it – you won’t be sorry.