Borderlands: Riding the Slipstream (ed by Paul Collins, Ford St)

Borderlands: Riding the Slipstream is a new Australian anthology for young readers, collating over 40 short stories and poems by well-known children’s authors. Compiled by Paul Collins, who has previously edited similar collections, such as Fantastic Worlds and Rich & Rare, the stories here are grouped by genre and span a number of different subjects and themes. There is everything from poetry by Ursula Dubosarsky and Steven Herrick to foreboding horror from Sophie Masson, lyrical fantasy by Shaun Tan, and humour from Barry Jonsberg. If anything ties these stories together, it’s the strong sense of curiosity they encourage, allowing a reader to be vividly carried into the lives of a diverse cast of characters and settings, some familiar and others less so. The anthology also features a foreword by Isobelle Carmody, who reflects on the idea of escapism, and admits that her favourite storytelling balances the line between genre and realism. She defines these tales as slipstream, ‘something slippery that moves between and around these terms… the borderland between realism and the fantastic’, offering some reasoning behind the title of the collection. With mono illustrations by Anne Ryan throughout, Borderlands is suitable for those aged 11+. It is a great collection to dip in and out of, and open-minded readers will enjoy discovering the entire kaleidoscope of stories it has to offer.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Karys McEwen is a librarian, author and the current vice president of CBCA VIC Branch. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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

Category: Reviews