#LoveOzYAbookclub: March 2016 Discussion Post – Notes from the Teenage Underground

In a staggering display of organisational skill, I have put up the Discussion Post on time.  Yes, I know you’re shocked!

But enough about my organisation (or lack thereof) – what did you think of this month’s book?  NOTES FROM THE TEENAGE UNDERGROUND was a book that had  me lying on the bed in the late afternoon, happily reading away, when I probably should have been doing something more industrious (like making dinner, or washing dishes…  Nah!).  I was delighted to lose myself in the Happenings of Gem and her friends.  I was moved by Gem’s moments with her dad, and I especially loved the bits with Dodgy.  And if you’d like to explore the background of the book a little, feel free to pop over here, and read the interview with Simmone Howell on the theme of ‘looking back’.

In this review by Judith Ridge, over at Misrule, she says:

“There’s a most appealing linguistic freshness, honesty and wit to Gem’s narration in Notes from the Teenage Underground that drew me in. By honesty, I refer to Gem’s clear-sighted appraisal of herself and the people in her life, as well as the novel’s unaffected and non-censorious depiction of teenage and adult characters who drink, smoke, swear, have sex, feel deeply, love unwisely and otherwise more or less behave like real people.”

And I have to agree with the appraisal – NOTES is a deeply honest book, and we’d hardly expect anything less from Simmone Howell.  You can read the full review here.

If you’d like to know more about this year’s Inky Awards, after reading the very first Inky winner, you can toddle over here.  And if you’d like to get your Andy Warhol (and Ai WeiWei) on, the exhibition is still on at the National Gallery of Victoria, if you’re over Melbourne way.

Now, please feel free to add your comments in the discussion thread on the #LoveOzYAbookclub Facebook page, or you’re welcome to leave your comments in the field below.  Hope you enjoyed our March book – April title selection is on its way!

xxEllie