Exit through the gift shop by Maryam Master. Illus. by Astred Hicks

Handle with care! Exit through the Gift Shop is about 12.5 year old Anahita who is dying of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The story is told in the first person voice of Anahita. Bam - there is no holding back. The book begins thus - "So here's the thing...I'm dying." This statement is accompanied by a drawing of a tombstone engraved with R.I.P. ME (Soonish) 

If you decide your readers (and their parents) are comfortable with the theme then prepare for a rollicking rollercoaster of a narrative. This is Maryam Master's first novel. She is a screen writer and playwright and amongst other achievements has adapted three of David Walliam's books for the stage and toured with them across Australia. All of the plays premiered at the Sydney Opera House.

Exit through the Gift Shop is typeset and thickly populated with sketches by Astred Hicks a Sydney based freelance book designer and self confessed "type nerd." Hicks has creatively typeset the internal text design with a combination of hand drawn, typed and scribbled words and illustrations that perfectly complement the wonderful pitch perfect text.Words and word art scatter throughout the whole book accentuating emotions. Masters loves vocabulary - sassy, smart, on-pitch, street-savvy vocabulary. Where Anahita wants to stress a word it is highlighted in large, bold font with the definition supplied right there and then.

In Exit through the Gift Shop we accompany Anahita through the last year of her life. There are many pearls of wisdom shared and many, many lessons learnt as she navigates the usual issues of Middle school and a complicated but loving family life. She is particularly badly bullied by her arch nemesis Alyssa. The plot races along. Although it is about death and it is really in the reader's face - no holds barred, Exit through the Gift Shop is a life affirming book that deals with the real-life issue of death in a very pragmatic and funny/sad way! 

This book will easily captivate Middle school readers but comes with a warning for readers who may be sensitive to the theme of illness, cancer and death. Teacher's notes are available.

Themes: Death, Life, Cancer, Friendship, Middle school, Bullying.

Wendy Jeffrey