Kathryn Apel, On Track, University of Queensland Press, 1 June 2015, 304pp., $16.95 (pbk), ISBN: 9780702253737
Kathryn Apel is creating a niche for herself by writing verse novels about issues that can affect children. Her previous novel Bully on the Bus was a thoughtful and engaging work about a boy’s experience of bullying. In On Track she is concerned with the issue of rivalry between two brothers, Toby and Shaun. Each boy reveals his private world in alternating sections. Toby, the younger one, is a C grade student who tries hard at everything but has limited success. Shaun is an A student for whom success comes easily. They don’t understand each other and each feels that their parents favour the other brother. It becomes apparent early on that Toby has a condition that means he needs special help. Both boys seek approval and success through achieving in athletics. This drive to prove themselves, to each other and to their parents becomes the focus of the narrative.
While this book is all about family relationships the parents are not fully realised characters – dad is a teller of terrible jokes and that’s pretty much it from him, mum has a little bit more depth but she is a beige supporting presence most of the time. The other adult character, the coach, is always warm, supportive and understanding but again not much personality there. As for the boys themselves it was difficult to engage with them as they are either self-obsessed or whinging about perceived favouritism. Further into the book as the focus changes to the boy’s sporting ambitions reading about Toby working on his running and Shaun practising his discus throwing makes a welcome change. The verse novel format is not always successful and often is prose artfully arranged on a page. Full marks to Apel using sport to engage the reluctant reader in a challenging topic. She tries very hard to make this book about sibling rivalry appealing, but in the end it fails to satisfy.
Teachers’ Notes can be found on the UQ Press website.
Reviewed by Mia Macrossan