Ever since Denim Davies’ mother died, he and his father have been living an itinerant life, moving around a lot. Their lives have changed so many times: school, work, home. Denim is determined to find a permanent home, so he trawls op shops and garage sales for old items to resell online. But he knows he won’t get close to anyone in Driftwood Heights, until he meets Mina. But a big mistake with a vintage sale could jeopardise everything.
Flip focuses on family, friendship and a desire to fit in and be part of a community coupled with the reality of being in a precarious housing position. It’s about a family and their grief as they grapple with a new reality, secrets and working out what to do when caught in a hard situation. Each character is allowed to be who they are, showing that making mistakes as a teenager is part of what makes us human.
Everything is seen through Denim’s eyes as he navigates life in Driftwood Heights. He finds out that everyone around him is going through a hard time. Flip acknowledges that everyone has different reactions to struggles in life, and each reaction is valid. It’s also about friendship and finding out that home is where you least expect it to be. It’s a reminder that it is okay to open up, all we have to do is ask and offer some grace.
Flip shows that explanation and taking an interest in people can help create connections and open up chances to start a new life somewhere you may never expect.
Reviewed by Ashleigh Meikle
Age Guide 10+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’m an award-winning Melbourne-based author, with a solid career of writing with influence across a variety of mediums. I’ve been ‘writing and moonlighting’ for as long as I can remember. Whether it’s writing the first draft of a shiny new story, or helping other writers polish their own works, there’s nothing I like better than fiddling around with words.
My genre-mashing fiction for children and adults has won, been shortlisted for, and honourably mentioned for numerous awards and prizes including The Readings Children’s Prize, Adaptable: Turning Page to Screen, the Aurealis, Australian Shadows, Ditmars, and Mornington Peninsula Shire Mayor’s Writing Award. To date, my traditionally-published works include three middle grade novels, a junior fiction and young adult novel, a speculative short story collection, and over sixty short stories, poems, and articles in numerous Australian and international anthologies, journals, and magazines.
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