Just So Stories

Harper Collins Australia

July 2026

• Imprint: HarperCollins AU
• ISBN: 9781460768372

We have come to expect absolute quality from Kate Foster and, along with that, narratives that are so inclusive and authentic, usually arising from Kate’s own life experience. To be asked to contribute to classroom resources for this one was such a privilege. Being a verse novel almost took me by surprise as it was a new genre for this author but wow! did she not nail it perfectly!

Like a river,

I must keep flowing,

finding a way through

if I want to survive.

I will adapt

no matter the pain this causes me.

I will paint on a mask

and hide my struggles.

But can I be strong

like a river?

This was another book of the several I had around about the same time in which a parent was absent. In Rebecca’s case, her mum is away on an extended work trip overseas doing her very important research. Rebecca would be fine with just her dad normally except for the fact that she is really struggling at her new high school. It doesn’t help that Dad has his own difficulties.

It’s not just that secondary school is such a leap from primary, it’s the fact that this is a very posh private school to which she has gained a place, which is so regimented in expectations that Rebecca feels as though she is suffocating.

At primary school, there were adaptations in place to accommodate her autism. At this school, not only are there none but her ‘pastoral care’ teacher [the term used in the private schools in which I worked as well] is far from caring. She is a bully of the worst kind.

Rebecca feels, indeed knows she’s the odd one out from the start and everything is crowding in on her……… the worst part is she muffles her own voice. She does not tell her father how she is feeling. She can’t even speak to her mum when she rings because she knows she will blurt it all out, and that would worry her mother, in her absence especially.

This narrative unfolds with such force and such poignancy, as Rebecca – thankfully! – begins to make connections with girls who do understand her, who do support her and who do befriend her. Not only that, she and these new friends are able to spearhead differences to this school’s attitudes and practices. But it really is a process – and a real insight into the prejudices some have, but also the difficulty of adjustment for neuro-diverse people constrained in unyielding neuro-typical conditions.

This is not just a novel that will speak to our neuro-diverse readers but will also empower their allies. I would go as far as suggesting that it should also be reading for teachers, because quite frankly, I have met Mrs Rivers at more than one school.

Thankfully, The Kid only had one very early on while still in the regular state school, Year 2, who chose to ignore her IEP and her needs. Her mum and I put paid to that in no uncertain terms and she moved schools. From then on, both with her mum and then with me, we monitored her adjustments closely. I feel sure that there are other Rebeccas struggling in schools, both public and private, and solutions can be varied but they can be found. And it is up to us as sensitive educators, attuned carers and mindful allies to help with that.

The flow of this verse novel is exactly like the river that is Rebecca’s metaphor, at times gentle and at other times powerful, but always moving on. It really is hard to express just how impactful this one is but I urge anyone to read it but particularly those who are working with neuro-diverse kiddos, or who want to understand more about their n/d friends.

I predicted from the start that this will be a headliner in coming awards lists and that’s a given. If you haven’t already got it on your shelves then do so and then share it widely. It’s a 5 🏞️🏞️🏞️🏞️🏞️rating for readers from around Year 5 upwards.