PINK
By
Lili Wilkinson
A fresh and lively ride
on the chaotic rollercoaster of love, friendship, musical theatre and the back
stage crew, from one of the brightest new voices in YA fiction.
Ava
Simpson's girlfriend Chloe is the coolest and most alternative person ever, and
they hang out at the grown-up, lesbian Batcave with artists and intellectuals.
But Ava has a secret. In the depths of her wardrobe, a shiny bag with rope handles
hides a pretty soft pink cashmere knit. Deep down, Ava thinks she might actually
be the kind of girl who likes boys. So she transfers to a posh private school,
without telling Chloe her real reasons why. Ava quickly makes friends with some
well-groomed and shinily mainstream Pastels, who match her up with an eligible,
handsome boy and persuade her to audition for the musical. Ava fails to get a
part after a cringe-worthy audition, but joins the stage crew to remain involved
with the production.
The Screws are a bunch of messy black-wearing
misfits, headed by a cheeky redhead named Sam, who involve Ava in their hilarious
debates and missions. Ava's having a lot of fun, but she must resist making them
her real friends - because of course she's nothing like them.
Ava's
life grows increasingly complicated as she struggles to keep her divided loyalties
a secret and her three groups of friends apart. She finds herself dashing between
Pastel parties and café gatherings with the Screws, covering her tracks
and lying to Chloe. And it all comes unstuck on the disastrous opening night of
the musical. In the fallout, Ava must at last be totally honest with all the people
around her. Might it actually be possible that she could be liked just for herself?
FROM
THE AUTHOR:
At the 2007 Reading Matters conference, David
Levithan (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist) received a standing ovation for
his plea for more Australian books that feature authentic teen characters with
a range of sexual orientations and for gatekeepers to enable the passage of these
books into the hands of teenagers. Pink was written in response to David's call
to arms, as his speech made me start thinking - what about the teenagers who aren't
sure? Who haven't made up their minds? Where are the books for them? I wanted
to write a book that said - it's okay if you're not sure. You don't ever really
have to decide for sure, and you certainly don't have to do it when you're sixteen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lili Wilkinson,
29, was born in Melbourne, Australia. First published at the age of 12, Pink is
Lili's fourth published novel. After studying Creative Arts at Melbourne University,
Lili was employed by the Centre for Youth Literature at the State Library of Victoria,
where she manages www.insideadog.com.au
, a highly acclaimed all-about-books website for teenagers. She is an avid reader
and writer of books for teenagers, but when she's not doing that, she's usually
hanging out with friends, watching DVDs and making monsters out of wool. Web site:
www.liliwilkinson.com
/ Blog: www.liliwilkinson.com/a/blog.html
'Pink' is available now (RRP: $17.99).
