- I've been long convinced that all adults should occasionally read high quality YA fiction. The authors are so insightful about the stresses and strains of young adulthood, and the pressures young teens acutely feel in these difficult times.
- Leanne Hall's new novel is amazingly good. And it is a riveting read. In prose that is beautiful and frequently poetic, but never overly dramatic, she creates a world of pain and anxiety as young women at at a prestigious private girls school in one of Melbourne's upmarket suburbs confront the mysterious disappearance of a classmate. As the weeks roll on the tension builds. Where is Yin and is she still alive?
- Hall tells the story from two perspectives - Chloe, a quiet and artistic scholarship winner from a working class background, and Natalia, a beautiful and supremely confident young woman from a wealthy family. They are immensely likeable but worlds apart in virtually every way. The fate of their friend Yin however brings them together.
-The girls' relationships to their friends and family members, and to the school authorities, are intricate to the story. There is tension and drama, particularly regarding the academic pressures and expectations on them and the dynamics of classmate rivalries, but Hall treads lightly here and always sensitively.
- I highly recommend this hugely enjoyable novel.
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