A. J. Rushby, The Stand In, Scholastic Australia, October 2022, 288 pp., RRP $18.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781761290558
Lena is a model student at Fremshaw college, with her amazing grades and diligence to visiting her Mum every weekend. However, this is turned upside down when Lena meets her rich and entitled doppelganger Saskia.
Lena and her mother require financial support from their family friend Malik, who has been sent away. To be able to keep her mother in a care home and herself attending Fremshaw, Lena needs money and fast. And Saskia can apparently help her.
Lena attends numerous family events disguised as Saskia and is subject to fancy dresses, a good-looking boyfriend and suspicious family members.
But how far will Lena go to ensure her and her mother’s financial stability?
The Stand in is an excellent novel that combines themes of family, love, and perhaps a bit of crime. The idea of people who are identical switching places is an intriguing concept, and the novel really explores the understanding that two seemingly similar people on the outside can be very different on the inside. This book was one of the CBCA Qld Branch’s 2023 Readers cup books for the year 9 and 10 age group and was appreciated and loved by all who were involved,. It was also a notable book in the 2023 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Older Reader category. Therefore, this novel can be recommended to ages 12 and above.
Reviewed by Emily Woolnough
