PIP

Twelve-year-old Olive Garnaut (“Gar-no”) is the most peculiar-looking girl in Year 7 at Joanne d’Arc School. An introvert, Olive lives in a ramshackle house full of clutter and dusty knick-knacks with a mother who is more interested in her career than in mothering. Olive believes that if only her absentee father, nicknamed WilliamsPetersMustardSeed, were around, she would be less of a social misfit. Olive’s world crumbles after her friend Mathilda dumps her in favor of Year 7’s queen bee, Amelia. Devastated, Olive conjures up an imaginary twin she calls Pip. How Pip empowers Olive to find her father and discover her true self is the heart of this quirky, bittersweet Australian import. First-time author Kane effectively conveys Olive’s emotions of frustration, awkwardness and yearning. Americans may find it difficult to fully appreciate the Australian references, and the author’s overactive writing style often strays off-topic. Despite that, Olive is a likable heroine. This book will appeal to an older audience than the cover suggests. (Fiction. 8-12)