Borderlands: Riding the slipstream by Paul Collins ed.

In the Borderland between fact and fantasy, between ghost realms, scientific oddities and reality, somewhere between past and present, and in the ether where romance might exist or horror may dwell … there is story! Woven and wonderful, a collated collection of short stories, all from Australian authors, including some who are very well known to children and YA readers. Some of these stories tease you into wanting more, but most are just wonderful examples of the power of a short story to briefly seduce you or entertain, and occasionally to shock or leave you gasping with the intrigue. For most readers who will pick up this anthology of stories that loosely connect because they are paddling in ‘marginal’ borderland territory, there will be some stories that are more appealing than others. But this is the delight of a short story collection, it has something for everyone! Searching for your favourite may be part of the delight of reading all the way through, but this is a book where leap-frogging between genres of short story or into some intriguing poetry may also be appealing.

I imagine teachers and libraries will love this book because it will give opportunity to share some short story gems (perhaps even with reluctant readers, because they do not need to read the whole book?), but it is also a book to recommend to readers who love the slightly eccentric and quirky or to those who are exploring the short story craft. I loved this book, and I also enjoyed the final section of well-crafted poetry and Leigh Hobbes' Old Tom visual story-humour delivered an immediate smile. Paul Collins has mastered the art of curating a good collection of writing that is worthy of attention. Recommended for readers aged 11-15. The quirkily written biographies of each author, included at the conclusion of the stories, is worth reading. It is very entertaining. The cover illustration by Shaun Tan adds an intriguing visual statement with his usual eccentric charm and artist Anne Ryan adds scattered visual black and white illustrations throughout the book. Teacher notes are available.

Themes: Short stories, Fantasy, Ghosts, Science Fiction, Romance fiction, Horror, Historical fiction, Poetry, Australian authors.

Carolyn Hull