Martha Mullins is 14. Any reader who remembers 14 – the awkwardness, the hormonal changes, the alienation from family and the drift towards peers, the exploration of sexuality, and the feelings of not understanding the world – will recognise themselves in the narrative. It’s 1973, and Martha is a student at the boarding school, Dalheath. She’s an only child and a swot – happiest when she’s in the library reading about Greco-Roman mythology. That way, she doesn’t have to talk to people.

Her mother, Judith, is distant. Her father, Andrew, works away. Her grandmother, Babs, speaks French if she has something profound to say. Martha feels as if she doesn’t belong. School becomes her sanctuary and, to her surprise, where she makes friends. The other girls swoon over handsome pop stars; Martha’s attraction is to Valerie. Books (written by men) inform her that homosexuality is an illness. Her self-esteem lowers, and lowers further when she shares a kiss with Valerie and is discovered. She’s shunned by her friends – Valerie included. She escapes to university to become an academic. She’s a gifted scholar, but she’s resigned to remaining alone. As her grades soar, her self-worth plummets.

This wonderful novel begins as a bildungsroman, evolving into a campus novel with included snippets of university-level classics. (Who said Latin is a dead language?) Laguna explores growing up while feeling different and unseen. She navigates Martha’s character development – and the pitfalls and dangers of trying not to be different – with compassion and care. The superior skill of her writing means the reader cannot help but be invested in Martha’s life, desperately wanting her to be happy and to be loved.

Reviewed by Bob Moore

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sofie Laguna originally studied to be a lawyer, but after deciding law was not for her, she moved to Melbourne to train as an actor. Sofie worked for many years as an actor before she began to write books.

Sofie’s second novel for adults, The Eye of the Sheep won the 2015 Miles Franklin Award. It was also longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin International Book Award and shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Sofie’s first novel for adults, One Foot Wrong, published throughout Europe, the US and the UK, was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award and short-listed for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award. Sofie’s third adult novel, The Choke, won the 2018 Indie Award in the Best Novel category, and was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier Literary Awards, the Australian Book Industry Awards, the Voss Award, the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal, and longlisted for the Stella Award, the Kibble Award, the Colin Roderick Literary Award and the IMPAC Dublin International Book Award. Sofie’s most recent novel for adults, Infinite Splendours, won the 2021 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award and the HT Priestley Medal, and was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, the Indie Award and the Australian Book Industry Awards.

Sofie is now an award-winning author for children and adults. Her many books for young people have been published in the US, the UK and in translation throughout Europe and Asia. She has been short-listed for the Queensland Premier’s Award, and her books have been named Honour Books and Notable Books by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Titles include ‘Too Loud Lily’, ‘Our Australian Girl: Meet Grace’ and ‘Bird and Sugar Boy.’

Sofie has recently released a number of books for children, including the novels, The Song of Lewis Carmichael, and The Glow, both illustrated by her husband, Marc McBride.

Visit Sofie Laguna’s website