Bonesland by Brendan Lawley
Text Publishing, 2018. ISBN 9781925603583
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Explicit content. Shortlisted, The Text Prize, 2017. A multi-layered
coming of age story about family, mates, bullies and maybe hooking
up with the hot American exchange student. Set in country Victoria,
Banarang is a fictional town.
But it's not pretty when you live in it every day. If you don't
escape Banarang straight after Year Twelve, you've got two options -
you make a bunch of kids with your high-school girlfriend or you
smoke ice all day and start pub fights at night. There are plenty of
guys who manage to juggle both.
In the first chapter Bones demonstrates that Banarang is a short
commute to Melbourne. Bones is suffering from OCD, likely because
his mother left. Given his oversexed mates with whom he shares the
exact same urges, this inner monologue is hilarious. The boys don't
pull any punches and the misogynistic dialogue and euphemisms are
very explicit. But that's not the reason readers can't put it down.
Every character is capable of redemption - even Dad, the loser and
Shitty, the bully.
By contrast, Naya, the UNICEF "do-gooder" exchange student, seems to
have more going on in her top paddock, as does the Muslim girl,
Aaleyah. Despite his problems, Bones is soon fantasising about the
cosmopolitan yet altruistic Naya. Jimmy is a leader by virtue of his
confidence and cash but is intent on breaking into pop culture by
imitating African American rappers - doubtless, girls will be
offended by his lyrics. All the boys have problems, Leon is Gay and
Bones' brother Trav is tangled up with the town bully, yet the
friends tolerate Bones despite his nerdy obsessions. Tension builds
as Bones is targeted in and out of school. The coward's punch climax
is cathartic for Bones and his family.
"Bonesland" is the most consistently explicit YA title I've sampled;
but somehow the language isn't gratuitous because we all know these
Aussie males at the end of schooling, for whom the only meaningful
education they have garnered is both the best and worst of each
other. An eBook is available and Text Publishing link
to Lawley's playlist while you read a sample chapter.
Deborah Robins