FOLLOW THE BLUE

Struggling under an eccentric mother and a father suffering from a mental breakdown, Bec assumes that her 15th summer will be more of the same. That is until she learns that she and her younger brother and sister will be spending the next five weeks under the care of a sitter, while her parents go on a book tour of the US. Bec decides that instead of moping around the house, she should take her horoscope to heart and look for good luck and “a certain amount of turbulence.” Bec is soon shedding her responsible image, dyeing her hair red, hanging out with new friends, and then of course there are the boys. Despite some sections that seemed forced for the sake of the plot, the interactions between Bec and her friends and family ring true. Her brother and sister are funny, fresh characters and the twists that Australian culture and vocabulary supply keep the narrative interesting and lively. A fun read from down under. (Fiction. 12+)