Just So Stories

Penguin Australia

September 2023

• ISBN: 9781761342417
• Imprint: Penguin
• Format: Paperback
• RRP: $19.99

This is a fantastic new voice in Oz YA, and one that will have your fans of Fleur Ferris, Karen McManus and Holly Jackson very excited. I was feeling a little poorly yesterday, which made for a very good reason to spend a lot of time snoozing and reading – peaky or not, I ate this up at speed. It is fresh, pacey, and there is plenty of humour alongside the mystery/murder.

Eleanor Jones has just started at her 9th school in five years, pretty much just because her mum, Min, just loves starting over at new places (does my head in thinking about it really, after our recent move). Usually Eleanor keeps a low profile, and does not make friends easily – not because she’s anti-social, but more because she’s selective (know how she feels there).

It’s a week into the new school, when she and Angus Marshall get a little acquainted over Biology notes on the bus ride to school, and are subsequently paired up in Biology class. When Angus is discovered stabbed, and near death, that evening, and the only text message on his phone being from Eleanor, the new girl is no longer invisible. In fact, she is front and centre of the gossip mill, much to her annoyance.

In rapid succession, she is approached by good-looking Troy (son of the the local hobnobs, with Mayor Mum), Alfie (garrulous Asian-Irish friend of Troy) and Namita (coolly elegant and aloof brainiac), and followed up by Ethan Griggs (bad-boy image tough guy). Together, this very unlikely and odd assortment manage to find common ground, and start sleuthing to find Angus’ attacker. The interplay between this eclectic bunch of teens is magic, and completely authentic, and secondary characters such as Min and Constable Holly, are also beautifully realised.

Eleanor is smart, sassy, courageous and resourceful, and while her new friends each have their own strengths to bring to their shared investigation, it is she who carries the quest to solve the crime. I, for one, am already eagerly anticipating the next instalment with more of Eleanor’s vibrant personality and unique approach.

Highly recommended for your readers from Year 7 upwards – there is some low-level swearing, and drug/alcohol references involved, so if for your library collection, keep that in mind – but otherwise, I would have no problem making it available freely to my secondary kids from 13 upwards.

**Also, I completely agree with Eleanor – Holden Caulfield is a whiny twat.**

How Amy Doak’s varied writing career enabled her to fulfil her dream of writing fiction