The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It

August 13, 2007
Australian picture-book author and middle-grade novelist Shanahan's first book for teens is an uproariously funny, surprisingly intense read; a savvy blend of sharp wit and weight grounds its otherwise over-the-top humor. As 14-year-old Gemma Stone explains, “In our family, when anyone starts riding the big wave of their emotions, we say they're chucking a birkett,” Birkett being the name of her older sister Debbie's last “disastrous” boyfriend. Most of the birketts are thrown by Dad and Debbie, Gemma's soon-to-be-married older sister. But now that Gemma's getting older and trying to figure out who she is and what she wants, her propensity for blowing an emotional circuit have increased exponentially—especially in matters of love. When she's cast as Miranda in her school's production of The Tempest,
along with handsome, popular Nick Lloyd as Prospero, Gemma can hardly contain her excitement, even when troublemaker Raven De Head is cast as Caliban. Shanahan goes to town with no-holds-barred caricatures. Debbie's fiancé proposes on his knee in the spice department of the supermarket (“Will you spice up my life and be my wife?”), the opening salvo in the author's sendup of brides (and grooms) who ought to be blushing. The heavier side of the story, in which Gemma realizes just how wrong her impressions of Nick and Raven are, comes close to predictability, but thoughtful characterizations of the De Heads (and gleeful views of the Lloyds) save it. An unexpectedly painful showdown ends the novel with Gemma achieving emotional clarity. Ages 12-up.

August 1, 2007
In the family of 14-year-old Gemma Stone, chucking a birkett is code for losing control of your emotions. Although members of Gemmas family are birkett champions, she avoids such crazed outburstsuntil now. Her sister, Debbie, is getting married and has turned into Bridezilla, and the family of Debbies fianc' is full of military-obsessed loons who believe the marriage will dilute their warrior genes. Then Gemma joins the school play to get close to her crush, Nick, and ends up paired with bad-boy Raven, who is smart and sweet despite his familys unsavory reputation. Though set in Australia, Shanahans novel addresses issues of small-town life that will resonate with many American teens, especially the way a community can shift from cozy to stifling depending on ones point of view. In this funny, touching coming-of-age novel, many readers will respond particularly strongly to the high emotion surrounding the school production of The Tempest as well as Gemmas complicated feelings of love, pity, shame, and responsibility as she awakens to class issues in her home town.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)

Starred review from August 1, 2007
Gr 7-10-Life has spun out of control for Gemma Stone, a 14-year-old Aussie. Her older sister is engaged to be married and has turned into a bridezilla; the new in-laws, particularly Brian's Lieutenant Colonel's father, are scarily obsessed with the Queen and military discipline; and Gemma attempts to overcome her urge to vomit while speaking in public by auditioning for the school production of "The Tempest" and getting the role of Miranda. If that's not enough to drive her berko, she's torn between two boysNick, who's perfect and popular, and Raven, a social outcast with more depth and soul than anyone gives him credit for. Amid the chaos, Gemma is learning who she really is, what matters most, and that "Love is doves "and" dog poo." Shanahan's quirky characters are a riot, but the depth of Gemma's growth and heartbreak is genuinely profound."Terri Clark, Smokey Hill Library, Centennial, CO"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2008
Fourteen-year-old Aussie Gemma struggles to make sense of the roller coaster her life has become, between her older sister's whirlwind wedding, auditioning for the school play, and navigating newfound relationships. This novel, by turns funny, touching, and tragic, features a quirky cast of characters (though some verge on caricature) whose exploits readers will enjoy following.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)