P is for Pearl (2018)
Indie Book Awards – Longlisted
ABIA Awards – Longlisted
Children’s Book Council of Australia – Notable Book
Seventeen-year-old Gwendolyn P. Pearson has become very good at not thinking about the awful things that have happened to her family.
She has also become used to people talking about her dead mum. Or not talking about her and just looking at Gwen sympathetically.
And it’s easy not to think about awful things when there are wild beaches to run along, best friends Loretta and Gordon to hang out with – and a stepbrother to take revenge on.
But following a strange disturbance at the cafe where she works, Gwen is forced to confront what happened to her family all those years ago. And she slowly comes to realise that people aren’t as they first appear and that like her, everyone has a story to tell
What People Are Saying
“P is for Pearl is a complex, authentic exploration of grief, friendship, mental illness, family and love, sensitively written by a writer whose voice will resonate with teen readers.”
— The Booktopian
“P is for Pearl is a moving and stunning contemporary #LoveOzYA release. A definite must read!”
— The Booktopian
“A most beautifully written new read that will impress both teens and adults alike.”
— Great Escape Books
“P is for Pearl is a sensitively written text that takes the reader inside the confusion and turmoil of a grieving teenager; it is a journey of self-discovery and uncovering the truth about people Gwen thought she knew. Excerpts from Gwen’s diary give insight into her fragile state yet, for all its angst, this is also a novel that abounds with life and energy and finishes with hope.”
— Reading Time