Never, not ever by Jodie Benveniste

Tilly is turning 16, and has lived 16 years with just her workaholic mum, and until a few months ago, with her loving Grandmother. She has dreamt for all her life that her unknown dad would someday step into her life and reveal himself (because her mother - never, not ever - talks about him). Now that she is turning 16, she thinks it is time! Still grieving from the loss of her beloved Grams she is also angry and struggling with who to love and trust and what to do with those emotions. And Josh … the heartthrob from school … What does she do with those big feelings? Her confidante, Zack, the boy from next door, is nearly the only one she trusts with her fragile ‘self’, he knows her so well, but even that friendship is at risk if she cannot sort herself out. Will an absentee father solve her internal turmoil? Can her counsellor unravel all the mysteries of a 16-year-old in pain? Will her mother ever listen? 

This is an absolutely beautiful and poignant teen romance story that also addresses deep hurts from past decisions that have had generational impacts. There is a rich psychotherapeutic element to Tilly’s maturing based on the author’s own psychology background, but mostly this is a family drama combined with a teen romance. Even as an older reader I recognised the ‘inner teen’ experience of dealing with big emotions and turmoil, and the struggle to get things right. In combination with generational patterns of holding secrets, there is an impressive opportunity for emotional healing in this remarkable story set within a recognisable Adelaide setting. I loved the warmth and delight of gentle teen romance, in the age of texting and social media.  Zack is perhaps the ‘almost impossible and unbelievable’ male friend, but it is nice to think that Adelaide may have nurtured him. Well done, Jodie Benveniste, to write a teen romance that is not instantly about teen sexual behaviour, even with a family history of single parenting. This can be comfortably recommended to readers aged 14+, even for those who themselves are from a single parent family or who have attended psychological counselling.

Themes: Family, grief, romance, first kiss, psychotherapy, secrets, single parents, trust.

Carolyn Hull