The Year My Life Broke (John Marsden, Macmillan)

Twelve-year-old Josh is highly unimpressed when his family packs up and moves to Tarrawagga, the most boring town in Australia. Determined not to enjoy himself at his new school, he deliberately fails his try-out for the cricket team, despite having captained the cricket team at his last school. Stuck in an unhappy situation he doesn’t quite know how to fix, Josh is asked to entertain Lenny, the lonely younger boy living next door with two gruff police officers. As their friendship grows and Josh learns there’s a lot more to Lenny’s situation than he first thought, he realises that there is more to happiness than getting what you want, and that sometimes the best way to stop feeling sorry for yourself is to help those in need. At times, I found Josh’s voice to be too mature for a 12-year-old, but John Marsden successfully captures Josh’s growing awareness of the world as he tries to adjust to the sudden upheavals in his life. The cricket matches described throughout the novel are brilliantly rendered, and while the detailed terminology may be a deterrent to some readers, the final match is full of that down-to-the-wire tension that all sporting fans will be familiar with. This is recommended for readers aged 10 and up.

Amelia Lush is the children’s book buyer at Better Read than Dead

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

Category: Reviews