Snake Bite (Christie Thompson, A&U)

When we meet Jez she has just finished Year 11 and is hanging with her best friend Lukey and considering her 12th piercing. Jez and Lukey live in the outer suburbs of Canberra and smoke weed, take pills and get ‘maggot’. Then Laura enters the picture. Laura, who is from Melbourne and has two mums, moves right into the middle of Jez and Lukey’s friendship. This reviewer can attest to the fact that this is an incredibly accurate portrayal of regional youth (right down to the scene where ‘goon of fortune’ is played), so much so that it will definitely frighten some parents. It’s written in the first person from Jez’s point of view, and while the vernacular is spot on, at times an excess of lingo interrupts the flow of the voice. The only other issue throughout is that the characters are all similar in the way they say out loud what would often be thought, so a little dramatic tension is lost. But what Jez has to grapple with in terms of sex, romance, friendship (who is really the toxic friend?) and family is genuine and touching, and it’s a real strength of the book that there is minimal moralising regarding the sex and partying. This is the first novel from Canberra writer Christie Thompson.

Angela Meyer is a writer, reviewer and former acting editor of Books+Publishing

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews