2.31 Melissa Lucashenko, Too Flash (2002)

[emma-in-oz.livejournal.com]

2.31 Melissa Lucashenko, Too Flash (2002)

While looking for articles about Mary Grant Bruce* I found a review of an overview of Australian children's literature by Clare Bradford - and the review recommended Melissa Lucashenko's work as an example of contemporary Indigenous young adult fiction.

And to think that when I started this challenge I worried about finding quality Australian Indigenous fiction. I'm totally embarrassed to admit this now (and I didn't admit it at the time I began). I'm also baffled as now, the more I look, the more great novels I find.

This is a coming of age story, set in Queensland. It has teenaged angst, conflict between girls from different income and education levels, the search for identity, and contemporary Aboriginal politics. It's a really good example of a gripping young adult novel.



* An Australian children's author active from 1910 to the 1940s, mostly known for the Billabong books.