Fourteen is a memoir by Australian journalist Shannon Molloy. It chronicles the most gruelling year of his adolescence growing up as a gay teenager at an all-boys Catholic school in a regional Queensland town.

Fourteen begins in medias res with Shannon attempting to take his own life, and then works backwards to show us the intense bullying that led to it. All the while it establishes the background of his hometown and its attitudes, as well as that of the wider world at the turn of the millennium, where being gay was barely accepted in popular media let alone Australia.

Shannon doesn’t shy away from the treatment he received. The bullying, the brutal bashings and homophobic slurs are all presented as brutally as they were received. Especially upsetting is the treatment Shannon received from school staff and other adults in charge; several scenes have teachers turning a blind eye to Shannon’s bullying, or even actively participating in it.

Thankfully, Shannon has a small group of female friends that keep him going; the scenes with them, and his close family, offer a sharp and darkly funny palette cleanser to the more intense parts.

Most important is that Australia hasn’t changed all that much from what Shannon describes in Fourteen. Marriage equality isn’t the end; there is still such a long way to go, and books like this are an important part of that journey.

Reviewed by Max Lewis