Just So Stories

Bloomsbury Australia

October 2023

ISBN	9781526640437
Imprint	Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Katya Balen rapidly became one of my favourite authors after reading her debut novel, and I have loved every word in her first three novels, each of these so fresh and original (see my reviews: The Space We’re In , October October, The Light in Everything).

Now readers can prepare for another treat with this new title which, again, is completely unlike any MG book I’ve read before. I read this over two weeks ago, but my inadequate brain has struggled to formulate a review for something so uniquely beautiful.

So let’s start with a mere summary of sorts. Twins, Fey and Ren, live in The Light House with a bunch of other abandoned kids, looked after by kindly and loving Lissa. Unlike the other children, the twins have no idea about their mother or why they were abandoned or anything else. Lissa has told them she found them as tiny babies, curled up together being kept warm by foxes, on the edge of the Wild. There was no note in the folds of their little blanket, just a scrap of paper bearing a sketch of a fox.

It was Lissa who named them (and don’t you just love those choices for babies found in a fox den?). The girls are quite different in their personalities. Fen is imaginative and active, and often impetuous. Rey is quieter, more thoughtful and, seemingly, more docile – always prepared to follow Fen’s lead.

The pair have a favourite game they call ‘Imagine’, in which Fen spins a story for them – usually, a sort of alternate history and/or life for them both. When a fox is seen near The Light House, the first seen in many years, both girls believe it to be a sign, a sort of spirit guide. They continue to create the ‘Imagine’ story but now with the added detail that a fox leads them to their mother, out in the wild. I’m leaving a whole heap of other detail out here, but that’s enough to go on with.

The girls determine to follow the fox the next time they see it, and when they do it leads them on a journey through the Wild, discovering the traces of a group of people who were known as the Wilders. This group were eco-warriors who wanted to re-wild the damaged places, and the girls’ mother was one of them. Their quest is hard and dangerous, and it both tests all their reserves, but also empowers each to grow in unexpected ways.

The conclusion is not the one they’d hoped for but it is, without doubt, the most satisfying and perfect ending, as the girls come to the realisation that family is not necessarily determined by birth.

There is an almost mystical quality to this story as the girls traverse the wild places in the depths of winter, relying only on each other and their own initiative to survive. I found it compelling, and incredibly moving, and I cannot emphasise enough how utterly beautiful the writing is.

I’ve been visiting a lot of classes lately where the Year 4s are still reading a classic quest novel which was published 30 years ago. My comments have been, yes this is a great book, but did you know there are other great ‘quest’ novels as well?

If you are looking for something to break the mould, or if you are looking for a sustained read-aloud to fit with that theme of quest, this is my recommendation. It will suit your more sophisticated readers, as there are no whizz-bang adventures or dramatic encounters with dangerous beasts or whatever. The challenges that face these two girls are more of their own making often, though it is true they are also battling the elements, which are truly wild and often brutal.

Personally, I would love the opportunity to present this to a class, as I can already mentally lay out a complete teaching plan that will explore not only the elements of literature and narrative, but delve deep into emotional resilience, creativity, compassion and definitions of concepts such as love, sisterhood and family.

I’m giving this a 5 star rating ✯✯✯✯✯ – and cannot recommend it highly enough. Perfectly engrossing and enchanting in equal measure.