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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Michael’s older brother dies at the beginning of the summer he turns 15, but as its title suggests The Incredible Here and Now is a tale of wonder, not of tragedy. Presented as a series of vignettes, in the tradition of Sandra Cisneros’ Young Adult classic The House on Mango Street, it tells of Michael’s coming of age in a year which brings him grief and romance; and of the place he lives in Western Sydney where ‘those who don’t know any better drive through the neighbourhood and lock their car doors’, and those who do, flourish in its mix of cultures. Through his perceptions, the reader becomes familiar with Michael’s community and its surroundings, the unsettled life of his family, the girl he meets at the local pool, the friends that gather in the McDonalds parking lot at night, the white Pontiac Trans Am that lights up his life like a magical talisman. Suitable for young readers from 14 years of age.' (Publisher's blurb)
Adaptations
-
y
The Incredible Here and Now
2017
Strawberry Hills
:
Currency Press
,
2017
10865594
2017
single work
drama
'That’s what West is: shiny cars and loud things, people coming, people going-movement. Those who don’t know any better, they come in to the neighbourhood and lock their windows and drive on through, never stopping before they get somewhere else.”
'Charcoal chicken, a white Pontiac Trans Am, the Council pool. Michael is living in the shadow of his older brother Dom. The biggest guy in the school. Best car in the West.
'The guy who just can’t help but grab everyone’s attention. The guy with the girlfriend with the huge-arse hair. When he is gone Michael roams the streets, navigating life, friendship, love and family.' (Production summary)
Notes
-
Dedication: To Zain
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
Hopefully the Future Is Dark
2019
single work
essay
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , April 2019; Second City : Essays from Western Sydney 2021;'Some people say ‘West’ like it is something wrong, like ice-cream that fell in a gutter. I think West is like my brother’s music, too much bass so you end up dancing like your body parts don’t fit together and laughing all at the same time. That’s what West is: shiny cars and loud things, people coming, people going – movement. Those who don’t know any better, they come into the neighbourhood and lock their windows and drive on through, never stopping before they get somewhere else.
'These are the first few lines of my second book The Incredible Here and Now. I can’t say that I like them very much. I don’t think they work. The rhythm is great, some of the images too, but really what blows the whole thing is that it’s too restrictive, too reductive an image of what western Sydney is to be that useful.' (Introduction)
-
The New Australian Literary Frontier : Writing Western Sydney
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 17 February 2015; -
Review : The Incredible Here and Now
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Long Paddock , vol. 74 no. 3 2014;
— Review of The Incredible Here and Now 2013 single work novel -
The Incredible Here and Now by Felicity Castagna
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Autumn vol. 22 no. 1 2014; (p. 12)
— Review of The Incredible Here and Now 2013 single work novel -
The Year’s Work in Fiction
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , June vol. 59 no. 1 2014; (p. 124-143)
— Review of Elephants in the Bush and Other Yamatji Yarns 2013 single work prose life story ; An Elegant Young Man 2013 selected work short story ; The Incredible Here and Now 2013 single work novel ; Elemental 2013 single work novel ; Now Showing 2013 selected work short story ; The Heaven I Swallowed 2013 single work novel ; Stella's Sea 2013 single work novel ; The Young Desire It : A Novel 1937 single work novel ; Inland 1988 single work novel ; White Light 2013 selected work short story ; Knitting and Other Stories : Margaret River Short Story Competition 2013 2013 selected work short story ; The Best Australian Stories 2013 2013 selected work short story ; The Rosie Project 2013 single work novel ; Lives of the Dead 2013 selected work short story ; The Double (And Other Stories) 2013 selected work short story ; Harmless 2013 single work novel ; Letters to the End of Love 2013 single work novel ; Eyrie 2013 single work novel ; The Swan Book 2013 single work novel
-
The Incredible Here and Now
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 28-29 September 2013; (p. 21)
— Review of The Incredible Here and Now 2013 single work novel -
[Untitled]
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , November vol. 28 no. 5 2013; (p. 40-41)
— Review of The Incredible Here and Now 2013 single work novel -
Grief and Adolescent Angst : Victoria Nugent Reviews ‘The Incredible Here and Now’ by Felicity Castagna
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , December - February no. 10 2013-2014;
— Review of The Incredible Here and Now 2013 single work novel -
In Short : Fiction
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 11 January 2014; (p. 32) The Canberra Times , 11 January 2014; (p. 20) The Age , 11 January 2014; (p. 22)
— Review of The Incredible Here and Now 2013 single work novel ; The Spy 2013 single work novel ; The Winter Sea 2013 single work novel -
The Year’s Work in Fiction
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , June vol. 59 no. 1 2014; (p. 124-143)
— Review of Elephants in the Bush and Other Yamatji Yarns 2013 single work prose life story ; An Elegant Young Man 2013 selected work short story ; The Incredible Here and Now 2013 single work novel ; Elemental 2013 single work novel ; Now Showing 2013 selected work short story ; The Heaven I Swallowed 2013 single work novel ; Stella's Sea 2013 single work novel ; The Young Desire It : A Novel 1937 single work novel ; Inland 1988 single work novel ; White Light 2013 selected work short story ; Knitting and Other Stories : Margaret River Short Story Competition 2013 2013 selected work short story ; The Best Australian Stories 2013 2013 selected work short story ; The Rosie Project 2013 single work novel ; Lives of the Dead 2013 selected work short story ; The Double (And Other Stories) 2013 selected work short story ; Harmless 2013 single work novel ; Letters to the End of Love 2013 single work novel ; Eyrie 2013 single work novel ; The Swan Book 2013 single work novel -
Writing Their Way to Fame
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 12 April 2014; (p. 58) -
The New Australian Literary Frontier : Writing Western Sydney
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 17 February 2015; -
Hopefully the Future Is Dark
2019
single work
essay
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , April 2019; Second City : Essays from Western Sydney 2021;'Some people say ‘West’ like it is something wrong, like ice-cream that fell in a gutter. I think West is like my brother’s music, too much bass so you end up dancing like your body parts don’t fit together and laughing all at the same time. That’s what West is: shiny cars and loud things, people coming, people going – movement. Those who don’t know any better, they come into the neighbourhood and lock their windows and drive on through, never stopping before they get somewhere else.
'These are the first few lines of my second book The Incredible Here and Now. I can’t say that I like them very much. I don’t think they work. The rhythm is great, some of the images too, but really what blows the whole thing is that it’s too restrictive, too reductive an image of what western Sydney is to be that useful.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2016 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards — Young Adult Fiction
- 2016 IBBY Honour Diploma — Writing
- 2014 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards — Griffith University Young Adult Book Award
- 2014 winner Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Young Adults' Fiction
- 2014 shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards — Young Adults
- Sydney Inner West, Sydney, New South Wales,