Thumbs up for a book that made me giggle while sending shivers of recognition up my spine. Nearby students appeared quite concerned when I evidenced that particular combination of symptoms. Ruth Starke’s “first novel for older readers” is a tongue in cheek harrowing tale of the trials faced by Hailee Moxie when she decides to look for work after leaving school. Hailee imagines this will be easy and casual work a breeze, but it turns out she has much to learn. She journeys into the arcane worlds of fashion sales, checkout chick and untrained “social column” editor for a local newspaper.
Hailee is an engaging character… I was willing her to success and was pleased that after the final page the author added a “what happens next” summary for each of the characters. Hailee tells her own story in diary form. This made me reflect on that most poignant of tales The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Age 13 ¾ . Part of the fun of reading a story like this is the dramatic irony. We know Haillee is going to make herself sick on the first day selling chocolates (staff can eat all they want) and we enjoy the sense of “I told you so” when it happens. For me, however, the life of Adrian Mole was very remote (suburban England in the 70s) while the world Hailee lives in is both very Australian and very up-to-date. She is no nerd, but has to keep helping her Dad with his battles with technology (“what’s an ISP thingy?”). The journalism intern who steals her job at the paper but is later fired promptly “defriends” everyone in the office on her Facebook page.
This is a book for teens and above. Bad language is relatively mild (a few bad words are included but “beeped” out with asterisks). There are a few references to other people’s sexual dalliances and drink or drug consumption, but she is a surprisingly innocent young lady and so the tone stays light and humorous. Ideal for Year Ten and up.
Andrew Lack
