At sixteen, Lily is the most responsible member of her family, a burden she is tired of bearing. Lily’s mother is consumed by her work with older adults—work she sometimes brings home in the form of weekend guests like the elderly Mrs. Nightingale. Her brother, Lonnie, has drifted from one plan for life to another, annoying their stern grandfather to the point of disowning him. Her grandmother, Nan, seems to be getting a bit flighty, which doesn’t bode well for the big party she’s planning. What Lily doesn’t know is that Lonnie has a new girlfriend, Clara, and his life suddenly has new focus. Clara is estranged from her overbearing father and meek, mild mother and may finally be finding the courage to pursue the course of study she loves rather than the one she was pressured to take. Clara’s Chinese mother and Lily’s racist grandfather are strangers, but their chance encounter has left an impression on them both. Judith Clarke once again moves in and out of the lives of a host of captivating characters, mapping extraordinary connections and moments of transformation. Everything is significant in Clarke’s tightly plotted, heartening story, and that’s part of the point. So, too, is understanding that the journey beyond pain or uncertainty, bitterness or anger, toward happiness begins by taking a risk and opening one’s heart, and by being true to what’s inside. (Age 13 and older)

Lily is responsible. Not just for herself. The entire world seems to depend on her to keep spinning. Nan, her grandmother, talks to an imaginary friend; her pops is an axe-wielding racist; her mother brings home “lame ducks” (8) from the adult day care center where she works; and her brother is hope less. The worst part is that Nan is planning a birthday party for pops, and it seems as if everything is crumbling. Judith Clarke has created one whole and perfect plot for teens who dream of love and perfect families. 2008 USBBY Outstanding International Books List, Winner of the Queensland Premier’s Liter ary Awards Young Adult Book Award 2007, shortlisted for the Children’s Peace Literature Award 2007, longlisted in the Australian Family Therapists’ Award for Children’s Literature 2007 and the 2008 Michael L. Printz Honor Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. lmp

Originally published by Allen & Unwin Australia, in 2006.

Freakish, thought Lily; that was the word for her family. Not freaks exactly, but all peculiar in their own way. And Lily had always been the sensible one. Sometimes she wished she could be like the other girls in her year  Maybe she should fall in love. What could be less sensible than that?

Fall in love? Ridiculous! But when she saw Daniel Steadman and their eyes caught, only for a second, the tiny encounter gave Lily a strange light woozy feeling inside her head. It made her brain feel funny, like a tablet fizzing, dissolving away inside a water glass

'It's a rare enough thing to find even one truly distinct and fascinating character in a novel, but Judith Clarke has with secret ease created a dozen such in this book, from teenagers to grandparents, magically linked by a dozen different dilemmas, all leading beautifully from one to another and fitting together so endearingly.' - Ursula Dubosarsky