Night Beach by Kirsty Eagar

First published by Penguin, 2012

It was important to me, that this book be brilliant. Kirsty’s Raw Blue is still one of the best YA books I’ve ever read. Night Beach covers similar territory - teen angst, identity, the beach, very Australian. I was so ready for her lovely writing, characters and story to sweep me away.

I admire the ambition of Night Beach. I think its gothic inclinations are rather beautiful – the imaginative ideas, the way they gel with the contemporary story. But I feel as if it wasn’t a successful melding, and I can’t really say why. I don’t know, I think it’s a mix of being a little too overwrought, a little too long, maybe even not feeling Eagar’s confidence with what she was doing. It might be that I think it all got a little indulgent? Whatever it is, I found (in the second half of the book especially) that it all got a little overdone and overworked, and all the single lovely things I’d enjoyed about the first half of the book all got a little eaten up by the complexities of the second half.

There are some Raw Blue moments that I really loved. Some of Abbie’s thoughts, the way the atmosphere builds and heightens, especially in a terrific scene that simply involves Abbie in her house, trying to walk upstairs. Wow. The gothic-flavoured moments of dread are electrifying. Of course, being a lover of the sea, I enjoyed once again the idea of Abbie drawing comfort from the ocean. Sometimes even I can’t explain my emotional connection to the sea, but hey, Eagar does it for me. She really gets that unknowable, sometimes terrifying power the ocean can have, and it heightens the atmosphere in the book.

I think Night Beach could have done with an extra edit. I would have liked to see all the little sub-plots (the baby-sitting, the Hollywood thing, her Dad and the new baby) tied together, or worked into the gothic narrative a bit more. The painting sub-plot is really the only thing that is worked fully and successfully into the supernatural elements. Also, the whole mystery surrounding Kane and the boys and what happened on the island – perfectly plausible, but I think I wanted something more.

I understood where Abbie was coming from; that deep, consuming ache for someone. But I wanted to shake her a little. I did find her a bit tedious at times; Carly in Raw Blue was full of emotional baggage but she was never, er, pathetic. But I understood her attraction to Kane, and I think her longing was captured realistically.

Hmm. An ambitious, unique, and frequently lovely book. Not 100% sold though.

The Forbidden Sea, by Sheila A Nielson

First published in 2010 by Scholastic

Lovely little story, with an old-fashioned feel to it that I rather enjoyed. I think for this reason many others may not enjoy it, but I found the time period it was set in really immersive, and the mer-mythology it was based around to have an appealing folklor-ish vibe.

The Forbidden Sea takes care to build up a complex history for lead character, Adrianne, and to give her cares and concerns outside being so utterly beguiled by her handsome love interest Denn, and falling in love with him. There is love, of course. But it feels less like the contemporary paranormal YA romance and more in the league of, say, Franny Billingsley. Because I love mythology and folklore, this appeals to me. If you like your teen para-love stories more contemporary, than perhaps you won't be as beguiled.

The Forbidden Sea has a little of the mystery I find so important for a story about mermaid/mermen. I just find these creatures so fascinating, most likely because the world they inhabit is so different and closed off to ours. This story goes a little of the way into giving merpeople a life away from, as I said, just being love interests. I also like how Nielson crafted Adrianne's interactions with the mermaid she thought was after her sister. It was a slow reveal. I love this. There was a palpable sense of being called to the sea -  yes, yes, that's what a mermaid story should be all about!

I do think Adrianne being 'so hard done by' was a little over the top, and yet the details of her family life were welcome and also done in a way that made me actually want to see her come out on top. It was a rags to riches story that I kind of knew would turn out alright in the end. But Nielson made it worthwhile getting there.

The writing was on the better side of some of the YA mermaid books I've read. I'm slowly making my way through all those mer books out there and The Forbidden Sea, so far, is one of my favs. I've heard it described as a fairytale Little Mermaid meets Cinderella. Pretty accurate. Like to see what Nielson writes next.

Of Poseidon, by Anna Banks

First published in Australia in 2012, by Hardie Grant

Of Poseidon is flirty and fun. There are some great lines and lots of cheeky humour to enjoy, which is always refreshing for YA paranormal romances. Sometimes the old teenage love story can take itself a little too seriously, so when one is written slightly tongue-in-cheek it’s very refreshing. Because we’re dealing with merpeople (or Syrena, as they’re referred to), the setting naturally revolves around Summer and the beach, which also helps to give the book a light-hearted, fresh feel (no gloomy boarding houses or icy, rainy forests here).

The stylistic choice of telling the story from two different perspectives (Galen & Emma) is enjoyable. It also helps to flesh out the male love interest – sometimes in paranormal romance they are reduced to looking gorgeous/brooding, and making heartfelt declarations of love. Not that this doesn’t happen in Of Poseidon, but reading about Galen’s home life, his people, and his world, certainly helps to give him some depth.

That being said, I don’t think it quite worked to have Galen in third person and Emma in first. This also does something weird to the tenses. The story feels interrupted, disconcerting, and a bit sloppy. Also I found that sometimes, especially in Galen’s parts, the narrative was a bit prone to info dumps. Yes, I certainly wanted to learn more about Galen’s world and the Syrena mythology, but it would be more seamless and ultimately involving if it was integrated into the story. Too much back story at once and I think readers are prone to just skimming over the info, and missing a lot of the interesting stuff.

I’ve learnt to take YA para-romances for what they are. Of Poseidon was a fun read. There were some problems. Once again, Galen is so beautiful it hurts. All the girls love him, but he is infatuated with Emma. Didn’t see that coming ;). There are some problems with their relationship – he controlling, she full of snarky attitude, but of course they can’t live without each other. The Emma-mother relationship was a bit off, but in the last chapter (nice twist, btw), it becomes clear why this might be so. Some plot points are slightly unrealistic and I got over hearing about how ‘special’ Emma is.

But there are positives too. The underwater scenes are really enjoyable. There is a strong lore that grounds the story – also clearly meant to build up events for future books. Secondary characters (especially Toraf and Rayna) actually have some personality – I found their relationship very sweet. Almost more interesting than Galen and Emma’s! Despite some problems, Of Poseidon has an entertaining flirty feel and worth a read if you love all things mer-ish.

Saltwater Vampires by Kirsty Murray

First published in 2010 by Penguin

Picked up Saltwater  Vampires after falling in love with Eagar’s Raw Blue. For me, this one was not in the same league. But there were lots of things I enjoyed and appreciated about it.

Saltwater Vampires is like a weird mesh of old-world type vampires invading the very contemporary Rocky Head music-festival scene – an old-school sensibility meets a young, hip awareness complete with all the typical modern teen emotions. For me, it wasn’t quite a perfect match, and that was my main problem with the book. I appreciated it, but I didn’t really get it. I felt there was perhaps a little too much going on. The way the three distinct story overtones overlapped was all a little too complicated, with the different stories becoming distractions from the other stories to the point where I couldn’t really commit to any of them.

I liked the ‘contemporary YA’ overtone the best, and this is what I think Eagar excels at. Jamie and his gang of friends and vamp-busters are all funny and likeable and totally cool and all the rest, and their interactions are true to life and affectionately written. I liked where Eagar was taking their emotional stories, but the nature of the book – with all it’s time-jumping and shifting perspectives and what-not – means I never really got involved, like I did with Carly in Raw Blue.

This is a book all unto its own genre – it’s not a conventional vamp story, especially as we’ve come to know them from YA, and it’s not quite contemporary Aussie YA-lit. I do feel that with everything that was going on, it was more suited to an adult readership. Of course I’m all for YA pushing conventions, but I felt the plot, pacing, stories, scope, etc, would just be a better fit for ‘adult fiction’. But I did enjoy its novelty, and also the fact that these vamps were ugly and nasty – something to be scared of, disgusted by, instead of romanticised and smitten by. The whole book had a good grittiness to it.

Aussie setting is used well – the beach, the coastal town, the music festival – in a way that’s familiar but then, as Eagar works her word magic, into something strange and atmospheric and full of the unknown. Particularly the night-surfing scene and when Jamie’s bike breaks down in the national park – fantastic stuff.

I enjoyed the final big ‘showdown’ scene at the end – it provides a nice pay-off, gives the whole book a sense of urgency, and is fun to read. I found the final ‘dealing with the vamps’ (at the festival) a bit weird but that’s a minor quibble – I guess I’m just used to vamps crumbling to dust or something.

Also, a teeny bit long. Weird and wonderful and well-written but not quite perfect –kept me entertained, but just a little too much going on. 

Siren's Storm, by Lisa Papademetriou

First published by Random House in 2011

A new summer is starting and both Will and his best friend Gretchen are troubled, recovering from a tragedy that took Will’s brother’s life the summer before. Gretchen’s sleepwalking is taking her closer and closer to the water, and Will is intrigued and a little bit beguiled by mysterious newcomer Asia, who has an unnatural effect on people. What is her story, and what do Will and Gretchen have to do with the sinister goings on in their sparkling summer town?

I’m seeing a trend. Vampire paranormal YA seemed to take well to the high school setting. Fallen angel books were all about boarding schools. Mermaids have got summer vacations covered all across the genre – nice for me, I guess – mermaids, the beach and young love – some of my very favourite things.

Siren’s Storm was another book that grew on me. When I first started reading I just thought: bleh. I couldn’t really find anything to like, and it all felt a bit juvenile. But it’s an easy enough read, and after a while I warmed to it.

I didn’t think the introduction of The Odyssey mythology blended into the story, or really suited it. For it to work, I think it needed to infuse all the pages, needed to be engrained more. Getting it in a chunk at the end kind of felt just like a way to give weight to a pretty lightweight story. A shame, because oh my goodness, I would love to read a book where bringing that kind of history and mythology into a modern story was done really well.

Also, the revealing of Gretchen’s true nature – I didn’t really get it, or what she was supposed to be. Once again, I would have liked to see that build up through the story, rather than just getting it in a scene at the end.

I liked Asia and Gretchen as characters. Will was okay. I actually really enjoyed reading from the male perspective, and I also liked all the details about his family business and his stall and the farm and the fact that Papademetriou actually gave him a life and hobbies away from the romance/mermaid plot. Some good supporting characters too, although the dialogue was perhaps just a little cringey.

Look, it’s an easy read, the writing is okay, and it will be interesting if you’re into the whole mermaid/siren thing. Plot wise and structurally I could pick a few holes. If I had really high expectations I would be disappointed. But I kind of just took Siren’s Storm for what it was, and in that way it’s pretty harmless.

Literary Musings

"It's a bit magic, the sea, I think; put its call in you, and forever after it can tweak you by the nose, by that smell, any time."

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

First published in 2009 by Point, an imprint of Scholastic Inc

Many are drawn to Selkie Island. Few know why. When Miranda Merchant goes there with her mother for the summer, she is sixteen, level-headed and interested in science and everything that can be logically explained. Stepping off the ferry, she is greeted with secrets, legend and lore. What is it about her history that makes her feel such a connection to the island, and, more importantly, to mysterious local boy Leo?

I wanted to read this book because of the mermaid factor. Was not really into reading another YA paranormal romance, but this did have a nice freshness to it, and I’ve certainly read worse. Sea Change was exactly what I expected: a cute, easy read with a love story imbued with an evocative summery charm.

Certain things bugged me: for instance, Miranda isn’t even on Selkie Island for two weeks (as far as I can tell), and yet she is so completely sure Leo is ‘the one’ after, um, four days, and prepared to give up her internship and education to stay with him. I don’t care how consuming the love is, that isn’t a good message to be sending to bright, capable teenage girls. Also, the conflict between Miranda and her Mum felt forced and put upon, with much over-reacting by both of them. I could see where it had its place in the story but I remained unconvinced. I also disliked Miranda’s make-over scene – after reading so many in other books I just can’t stomach them and I also don’t like the idea that teenage girls need to be physically made over by someone else to remind them that they are beautiful. All this makes me sound like a total hater, but for the most part I did enjoy this book and found it inoffensive.

The setting of Selkie Island is rather gorgeous and wonderful, and suits the tone of the love story between Miranda and Leo. I actually enjoyed all the periphery characters as well (Cee Cee, T.J, Mr Illingworth etc). I think Friedman uses them well – they do just enough to remain interesting and not become caricatures or flat. Leo was cute, but I wasn’t really into his relationship with Miranda, but I guess it hit all the marks for YA paranormal romance.

And lastly: there isn’t actually that much mermaid action in this book. It is more hints and mystery and speculation. But I think Sea Change is about a lot of things and Friedman mostly employs them well, so it was an enjoyable read nevertheless.

Past the Shallows, by Favel Parrett

First published by Hachette in 2011

Parrett’s debut novel is as beautiful and as raw as the wild coast of Tasmania’s south. It is very simple but in this simplicity there is great power, where what is not said wreaks its quiet devastation on both the reader and the two little boys who we follow through the pages. These two boys, Miles and Harry, are what carry the book, and Parrett explores their bond with writing that is affectionate and touching and ultimately heartbreaking by the novel’s conclusion.

Three brothers, Joe, Miles and Harry, are growing up in one of the isolated coastal towns Tasmania does so well. Joe, almost out of his teens and old enough to move out of home, is restless and want to move away, to get on with his life, to find something more. Miles feels the stirrings of similar feelings but is stuck looking after the youngest brother Harry, a slightly odd but endearing little boy who everyone seems to love – everyone except his own father. Their father, an abalone diver, is a bitter man, warped by devastating secrets and the death of his wife years earlier. The boys must learn to watch out for his cruel tempers but above all, watch out for each other.

This is basically what Past the Shallows is about – the day to day lives of these boys, the frustration of small-town life, the joy of small treasures – good surf; warm Milo; the cold, loving nose of a kelpie pup pressed into your palm. Finding twenty dollars at the Show and spending it all on lollies. Snuggling under the doona right next to a warm fire. Having a big brother who you love and adore and who you feel safe with. The childhood of these two boys is told with great understanding and warmth and so when we cast our adult eye upon their world and see all the harsh, stark realities of it, and of this fractured family unit, we cannot help but feel and fear for them.

I appreciated Parrett's gentle descriptions of the Tasmanian landscape and weather and her distinctive writing style - it is unassuming and lacks trickery but is still an absolute pleasure to read. This is a book that will sink into your skin and sweep you away. It has great emotional pull and a distinctive voice. It broke my heart a little bit. You will not forget Miles, Joe and Harry.

*This review also originally published at CAE Book Groups in a shortened format

Raw Blue, by Kirsty Eagar

Published by Penguin, 2009

Loved this book – it has become one of my favourite reads of the year. Once I started reading I didn’t want to put it down. Very deserving of all the praise I’ve seen heaped on it (and what encouraged me to finally pick it up and see what all the fuss was about).

Carly has dropped out of uni. She feels like a disappointment to her parents and moves away, working a monotonous kitchen job so she can devote the rest of her time to what she really loves – surfing. In the ocean, Carly feels like she belongs, and doesn’t have to think about what happened to her two years ago at Schoolies. Except then she meets local boy Ryan, and his presence in her life means she will have to face up to her problems, or let the past prevent her from truly being happy.

This is a great young adult novel that is authentic and involving. It has trauma and anguish but the story and emotion is always wonderfully controlled. There is a quality of self-assurance to the writing – it is clear Eagar knows what she wants to say and has tapped into the best and truest way of saying it. This is not a sentimental book, and that’s because the focus is on Carly’s anger. It  is the anger that provides the fuel for the story – it sets up the pacing, the themes, the prose. Despite all the emotional brevity, Raw Blue feels lean and whipped into shape. There is an urgency to it that is quite addictive – I was drawn in by how far Carly could push herself and let others push her until she just completely cracked.

I grew up with the beach, and I love it, and Eagar too seems to have an obvious affection for the ocean, the surfing culture, and the people who are a part of it. This really shines through in her writing. Personalities are quickly drawn and dominate the pages in much the same way they dominate the ocean. Their nuances, the way they speak, their attitudes – I feel like I know these people. I do know these people. It is fascinating to see these familiar types observed and brought to life so realistically (and fondly, even if they are a total ass).

I just love this book because it really does feel so honest and real – the people and the situations are ones I have come across a million times before. And yet they are never boring or lazy; they are written in a way that makes me come to them with fresh eyes. I also think Eagar has excellently captured how it is to work in a kitchen, or ‘behind-the-scenes’ at a cafe or restaurant. I remember working in a few as a teenager, and I swear I could have transported myself into the pages of Raw Blue and I would hardly notice the difference.

Not a great deal happens in this book, and there is no big climatic moment. Carly just sinks deeper and deeper, and the good things that happen to her are really only distractions in her seeming intent to self-destruct. The last few chapters show the slow re-emergence of hope and recovery. And yet something about the story made me keep turning and turning the pages. I don’t often really come to ‘care’ about characters, but I did with Carly. I think it’s because despite all the crap and moping about, she doesn’t feel sorry for herself – she just gets on with it, using all her anger to drive herself forward.

A last two things I love about Raw Blue – the distinct Australian tone of it, and the fact that it deals with a university-aged teen. It was a refreshing change from YA that revolves around high school, and actually an age group that I feel in fiction often gets overlooked.

After January, by Nick Earls

First published 1996, University of Queensland Press

A glimpse into a couple of weeks of one boy’s summer – wonderfully evocative, funny and intelligent, and a fine example of how stories don’t have to be about the big things to make an impact.

School is over for Alex Delaney, he’s waiting for his university offer, and the waiting is killing him. This is all After January is. Bring in a girl – graceful, golden-skinned, gorgeous – and let the reader see how it doesn’t always have to be about sex, big declarations of love, and complicated romantic sentiment, for two teenagers to establish a connection and provide that little bit of clarity, of assurance, the other needs.

Alex and Fortuna’s relationship won me over because it felt more like a bond, an attraction that they let grow and develop and didn’t try to make something grandiose out of – they just let it be what it was. All the other relationships running through this book are equally as enjoyable and rewarding.

I love the dynamic between Len and Alex, and I love the relationship between Alex and his Mum and how the way he views her subtly shifts towards the end of the novel. When they talk to each other it feels real, like something I might hear between my brother and my own Mum – constantly taking the piss, but always with affection. I love Alex’s induction into Fortuna’s family, and the fondness she has for her own father. All the characters feel real and familiar, but are never caricatures. They are all a pleasure to read about, and their dialogue sparkles and snaps of the page.

There is a stream of consciousness feel to this book, but Earls keeps it taut and honest. Alex’s observance of and insights into the world around him are a gem – hilarious without being smug, and comfortingly familiar. I think the real winner in After January  is the way Earls makes Alex step back and take a look of himself, but never indulgently, always with a kind of charming self-deprecating knowingness.

There is a leisurely, drawling feel to After January, but still it never drags. It just lures you in to the heat and the haze and the glittering water and the lazy market days and the toast and tea on the back porch. I loved it because these kind of days are familiar to me and Earls captures them in a way that is both affectionate and wistful.

After January is subtle, affecting and gently witty. I highly recommend.

"Potter's itch is just a joke for visiting yuppies. Don't say it to Alex, Dad. Not a day for jokes, hey Big? Not for yours, Cliffie."

Raw Blue wins Victorian Premier's Literary Award

Earlier this week the winners of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards for 2010 were announced. The prize for Young Adult Fiction was won by Kirsty Eagar, for her novel Raw Blue.



I've noticed this book popping up everywhere so I think now it definately has to go on my reading list. That it is based around beaches and surfing also makes it pretty irresistible. At least to me.

I also noticed that the prize for an unpublished manuscript by an Emerging Victorian Writer was won by Peggy Frew. I remembered the name vaguely from the Age Short Story Award, and upon checking I found she won it in 2008. I think it's so fabulous to see emerging writers keep going with their work and building on the momentum and just getting their stuff out there.

Who's read Raw Blue? What did you think?