So, on Thursday night, I had the honour of being one of the guest judges for the CBCA Clayton's Night (Ballarat) event. In case you don't know, Clayton's Night is held annually by the CBCA in a number of locations, and is a wonderful evening with presentations from industry experts and Australian children's literature lovers. The five categories -- Early Childhood, Picture Books, Eve Pownall, Younger Readers, and Older Readers -- are assigned a guest judge who must then read the list of nominated titles and create a shortlist of only six. And a few notables, luckily.
Here's the official disclaimer from the CBCA website: Guest judges are asked to look at the entries from each year and pick a personal ‘best of’. They don’t have any correspondence with the official judges, and their selections are their own. In addition, each of the guest judges only presents books in one of the five national categories: the three age-based categories – Older Readers, Younger Readers and Early Childhood – and the two general categories – Picture Book and Eve Pownall.
I was delighted to be the guest judge for the Older Reader Category in the Ballarat region. The lovely Danielle Binks was the guest judge for the Melbourne Clayton's Night, and her shortlist was just fantastic. I had a sensational time presenting my selections, so I thought I'd share them here. Here goes.
One True Thing by Nicole Hayes
One True Thing was one of my first definite selections. Upon reading it this year, I knew that it was going to have to be on one of my favourites of 2015 lists. I chose it specifically for the Clayton's shortlist, however, not simply because I enjoyed it so much, but because it's a wonderful coming together of all kinds of real-world issues in a really authentic way. I was presenting to a room full of teacher-librarians, mostly, so it was also important for me to take into consideration what they might be taking away from the night. I wanted them to take One True Thing back to their students.
One of the reasons I recommended this one so highly to all those teacher-librarians, and to everyone really, is that it's so grounded in political engagements and events, without making it super boring to the casual reader who couldn't give two hoots about who's in government and what they're doing. This makes it kind of perfect for high-schoolers. The story surrounding Frankie and Jake, her family and friends, and her whole life, are interesting and relatable, which takes you away from some of the important 'issues' that Hayes has managed to highlight and stick in the head of the reader. I'm personally hoping, as a huge political junkie, that it might make its readers a tad more politically engaged, and care about what happens to our politicians, especially the female ones.
The woman's experience is also a huge part of why I picked One True Thing for my shortlist. Frankie's mother's experience as a campaigning politician held such beautiful paralells to the way that Julia Gillard was treated as this country's Prime Minister, and indeed how all female politicians are treated at some point during the course of their career. Feminism was a theme that ran strongly throughout all my selections.
Finally, the representation of female friendships was the deciding factor that cemented this novel's place on my shortlist. I stressed to my audience that the friendship between Frankie, Kessie and Van was one of the coolest representations I've seen. Girls' friendships are so often portrayed in pop culture as either syrupy sweet with absolutely no conflict, or bitchy, false and competitive. Hayes managed to hit the realistic balance -- and a lot of YA has managed it, too, more so than TV or film. Frankie's friendship with Kessie is strained. There are arguments. It hurts sometimes. But the way it's resolved is so hopeful for anyone reading who's had any kind of true friendship. Things suck sometimes, but you can fix them, if you want.
Also, it's set in Melbourne. Here lies my bias. Almost all my selections were set in Melbourne.
Every Move by Ellie Marney
Every Move was another novel that was never not going to make my shortlist. The third and final installment in the 'Every' series, Marney has created one of the best adaptations of Doyle's canon that I've ever consumed. (Elementary also tops that list of awesome adaptations). The 'Every' series is a contemporary Sherlock Holmes retelling set largely in Melbourne. Our two protagonists, Rachel and James, complete their arcs in this novel. And they do so spectacularly.
One of the reasons I chose this novel for my shortlist was the sublime treatment of PTSD. Rachel and James have both been through horrors previous to this novel, and it shows. Rachel, in particular, is dealing not particularly well with her PTSD. What I loved so much was that she was allowed to handle it how she wanted to, and how she needed to. She had nightmares, flashbacks, cold sweats. She was not okay -- and she was allowed to be not okay. My other example of a female character allowed to handle her PTSD in such a manner is Katniss, from the Hunger Games. The films portrayed this particularly well, I thought.
My other favourite part of this novel, other than the total nail-biting intensity of it all, was the introduction of the character Harris Derwent. Described as a ‘sun-bleached, Driza-Bone-wearing, dickhead, tearaway', Harris had the potential as a new character within the final book to be under-developed and thrown in as a bit of a nothing element to spice up the plot. He was not. Harris was fantastically developed, especially in such a short space of getting to know him. His redemption arc in which he handles his abusive past was so well done, so quietly, that I'm still sitting around thinking about how well done it was, and how much I liked him.
The Guy, The Girl, The Artist, and His Ex by Gabrielle Williams
The Guy, The Girl, The Artist, and His Ex was a big surprise for me last year. I picked it up on a whim because of its cool cover and intriguing sounding title. I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it, and how clever it was.
The novel is a fictional retelling of real events that took place in Melbourne (shocker) in the 80s. The 'Australian Cultural Terrorists' stole a famous Picasso painting, entitled The Weeping Woman, and held it ransom in the face of the current Arts minister cutting funding. I had absolutely no idea that such a scandalous, fascinating thing has occured in the city I loved so much! Williams has brought a piece of history to life in such an engaging, scintillating way.
I chose this novel for my shortlist because of the way in which it enlightened me to the whole thing, but also because it's a beautiful narrative with four cleverly interweaving stories. Clearly, creative license was taken, and of course it was. This is fiction. But I like to believe that it happened just like this, with these people involved, these loves and loathes and tragedy and joy. That's how much I loved the characters.
I also pointed out to my captive audience of teacher-librarians that this book is an example of a 'New Adult' type book, without really trying to be. It just so happens that the characters are mostly set in their twenties, dealing with newly-adult struggles (y'know, in amongst the seedy art world, theft and illegality). I also offered Kirsty Eagar's Summer Skin as a shining example of a New Adult novel and highly recommended it to everyone comfortable with the adult content.
Risk by Fleur Ferris
Risk was one of my 'important' picks. I felt like a bit of dick using that word, to be honest. But Risk really is important. I so want this novel to be compulsory reading for every teenager, boy and girl; every parent; every teacher. Everyone. Everyone should read this book. It's the horrifying story of what can happen when young girls use social media and aren't aware, or don't care, about the risks. Hence, 'Risk'.
So I basically chose this one because it's an easy, engaging read. I read it one sitting. I couldn't put it down. The narrative also flows easily, and it's easy to keep reading. The fact that the story and the characters are so engaging is what makes it so excellent as a vehicle for the 'important issues'. Young people, especially girls, are now digital natives. When we're talking about young people, we're talking about people who have grown up on screens and social media. And that's okay. But we have to educate them, and ourselves, about the risks of what can happen.
Fleur Ferris worked as a policewoman before the publication of this novel, which I think really lends it an authenticity that's invaluable. She knows what she's about. Having worked in an industry which deals with abduction, child grooming, and murder, Ferris already understands this intimately, and she's created characters which live and die in this world, our world. I also really enjoyed the fact that technology wasn't demonised. Horrible, terrible things happened in this novel. It's dark. But just as social media was a medium for the atrocities committed, it was also a medium for the hopeful end of the novel, and the good things that can be achieved with it.
Finally, I highlighted the truly excellent representation of female friendships, once more, in Risk. The friendship here is almost the stark opposite to the friendship I highlighted in One True Thing. Here, it was toxic. The relationship was unhealthy, bitchy, competitive. It was seriously just horrible. But it wasn't one-dimensionally awful. There was care and love in it, and a real sense of conflict in the loss of it. Overall, it was a lovely counterpart to seeing a healthy friendship, and recognising the difference between the two.
Cloudwish by Fiona Wood
Cloudwish is my actual pick to win this year. I can't even describe how much I adored it. Fiona Wood has always been a stand-out author for me, but this novel is something very special. Cloudwish is the story of Vân Uoc Phan, a Vietnamese-Australian young girl living in Melbourne. It's never explicitly stated, but I assume that she lives in the suburb of Footscray, which is home to a large Vietnamese community. Vân Uoc is from a poor family. She goes to the prestigious Crawthorne Grammar (which is the constant in all Woods' novels) on a scholarship. The intersectionality that Vân Uoc's life consists of makes for truly fantastic reading.
I chose Cloudwish as my winner because of the story, first and foremost. The very sweet love story between Vân Uoc and Billy was enough to sway even me, and I'm not the hugest fan of romance. (Love bores me, on the whole). But the relationship was very much on Vân Uoc's terms. Once she accepts the fact that maybe Billy might like her too, and not because of a wish she's made, she decides then, and only then, that they can be boyfriend and girlfriend. Because she wants to.
The novel also presents a wonderful account of the migrant experience against the backdrop of Australia's current aslyum seeker debate. On the night, I read this short quote from the novel which I thought was wonderfully indicative of the voice of Vân Uoc:
“… I wish I hadn’t read the article about the fucking government’s new legislation on boat people how dare they how dare they stand in the fortress the high places the towers of privilege stamp down rain down reign down on the people who can’t find the first foothold in the green water floating drowning the soft sand the sand too far too far far far below never making it to shore they are no different from us us and then us is them we are them … “
Cloudwish reads very much as a contemporary realistic novel, but has the most charming elements of magical realism thrown in too. It was an absolute delight to read, and I hope desperately that it at the very least achieves a spot on the real shortlist.
Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean edited by Kirsty Murray, Payal Dhar and Anita Roy
My final selection for my shortlist is Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean. It's a very different title to all the other titles I've chosen, because it's a collection of short stories. Ordinarily, I'm not the biggest fan of short stories, but this collection is fantastic. Written by a combination of Australian and Indian women, the collection was created in the wake of a spate of violent, largely sexual, attacks on women in both India and Australia.
Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean is fiercely feminist. It's also interesting in that it contains an equal number of short stories, and short graphic novels. There's a huge variety of tropes and storylines involved, ranging from post-apocalyptic Sydney in the wake of disastrous climate change, to an all-female pirate gang who rescue other women who refuse to fit into society (usually, by being born with magic!).
My very favourite story in the collection, though, was Cat Calls by Margo Lanagan. Set on the streets of India, the story is centred around the truly disgusting phenomenon of men cat-calling young girls, and women. The story is sensationally subversive, however, turning this completely on its head. The main character, a young girl, gathers a gang of boys and girls to accompany her on her journey past these men every day, and chant their obscenities right back at them. I read aloud two small quotes on the night (although I would have loved to have read the whole thing). Here they are:
“‘Just run past them. Ignore them,’ my mother had said. The world is full of those men. They are not worth your time.
‘Of course they call out to you,’ said my father. ‘They think you’re beautiful. Which you are. And a beautiful young girl should be complimented’.
My mother had smacked his shoulder. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about’.
********************************
“And one by one, they called out all the things the men had ever said, that I’d told them yesterday and Dipti had written down. Against a background of hoots and hisses, they called them out. They chanted some of the sayings over and over, and they brought in new ones I was sure I hadn’t told them, because I’d have been too embarrassed. They called out sayings I’d never heard myself, things these men had never said, words so foul I didn’t know what they meant.
Freedom Ride by Sue Lawson
Freedom Ride was the first of my two notables. I have long been a fan of Sue Lawson's novels, since I was around 10. Her newest novel, though, is another fictional retelling of historical events. Through the eyes of the young protagonist, Robbie, we see the very real Freedom Rides which occured in the late sixties throughout regional NSW. The novel is a shocking and raw look at the despicable treatment of Indigenous people in the sixties, especially in a small country town.
My favourite element to this novel, though there were many, was the theme of 'families of choice'. Robbie's blood family are terrible people. Robbie is not. He intrinsically disagrees with their behaviour, and I loved the fact that Lawson chose to show, realistically, that it's possible to reject that. It's possible to reject blood. Robbie made his own family, of people who were kind to him, and others, and who he loved. Creating one's family has always been one of my most loved themes in all stories.
Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti
Finally, Zeroes was my second notable. I won't say too much about this one, other than the fact that I loved it, and it really took me by surprise. This is a story about superheroes. When I first heard that, I yawned a little. Superheroes are great and I love them, but they've been done a million times. Well, Zeroes is different. It's a super cool twist on the usual superhero story, and has none of the stock-standard powers.
All the powers in Zeroes rely on some aspect of human nature, and it's a really interesting way of actually looking at human nature and its predictabilities. My favourite power, and the one I would definitely choose to keep as my own, is the power to be a natural leader. The character, 'Glorious Leader', holds the ability in his voice to persuade and draw people to him. He's much like a cult leader in this respect. However, without other people, he's relegated to a normal human being. Without others, he's nothing.
So that's it! They were my selections for the 2016 CBCA Clayton's Night (Ballarat), and I had such a good time presenting them. If you agree or disagree with any of my picks, or just wanna have a chat about them, drop me a comment.