Megan Williams, Let’s never speak of this again, Text Publishing, August 2013, 213 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922790392
Let’s never speak of this again is beautifully real. From the moment we meet Abby, trapped listening to her Aunty Joanna at a family wedding, with the band playing Eagle Rock, and the blokes dropping their pants at the chorus, it is obvious that this voice is authentic and true. Although this is Megan Williams’ first novel, the tone and tenor of the text is spot on, capturing the betwixt and between of being 16; the moments of childlike happiness and contentment and snatches adult insight blending with the trepidation, anxiety and questioning that seem to dominate every waking moment.
Abby is pretty happy with her life in general. She has friends to hang out with who share her obsession with The Bachelor, she has a loving if sometimes over the top family and is doing pretty well at school. Although she has all of the usual worries, especially about her hair, there is one thing that really bothers her. Abby thinks she might have a ‘sick and twisted mind’, because she sometimes wishes bad things to happen to people she loves. She worries that this is her true self, and that one day her friends will find out. When new girl Chloe seems to be threatening her close friendship with Ella, Abby wishes something bad would happen, so Ella’s life wasn’t always so easy… and then it does.
It is easy to relate to Abby with her struggles, scrapes, and triumphs, and to build an empathy with her as she faces difficult questions about life and death and how people grieve and respond to life changing events. The wonderful way in which Williams weaves the many different aspects of life as a teen – dealing with friends and family, school and sport while wrestling with relationships, sexuality, consent and tumultuous emotions makes this novel surprisingly light considering the sometimes heavy subject matter. Written in a conversational style frequently broken by subheadings rather than chapters, the text will also appeal to less confident readers as it is easy to pick up and put down after brief episodes – although many readers will not want to put the book down once they get started!
This is a must have book in high school libraries, and readers who like ‘real life’ stories based on friendship will eat this up. Suitable for mature 14 year olds and older.
Reviewed by Kay Oddone