Reviewed:
BarBar is one of my all time favourite authors on this site, but hadn't posted recently.
I am a huge fan of their 'Bec' sequence of stories (featuring a neuro divergent lead), so jumped on this new story immediately, and was hooked from the very start.
The writer dumps the reader straight into the surface narrative at a very pivotal point, and introduces the sub story at the same time. This focuses on Jacinta, an Australian teen, over a short timescale, just as major changes play out over her circumstances, as we learn in snippets throughout the story using memory flashbacks, conversations, and directly influcef behaviours throughout this short window of time.
Her home situation underpins everything, and she has developed unusual coping mechanisms for her past trauma, which confused me in the early chapters. These colour her interactions with younger and older kids, teachers, and authorities, and the author uses the characters humour cleverly to soften the edges of the story.
While it initially feels about some of Jacinta's poor life choices, we quickly realise there is a lot more to Jacinta than revealed as her subsequent interactions with peers, strangers, teaching staff and other adults in the care system makes clear. There are also hints that some of what happens is for different reasons than originally seemed clear. Some of her interactions lead to 'interludes' that venture into the story of some of the other characters from their perspectives.
I made a number of false assumptions about the sub story, and will leave you to follow the same clues into blind alleys: it would be too easy to give away the twist in the tail of this tale by saying much more, so I won't.
As I expected the writing style is clean and succinct, the immersion into the characters and situations very well handled, and nothing about how the writer delivers is jarring - but the story hits hard, several times!
This is my first review - that is indicative!