AustLit

'At the end of the school year, fifteen-year-old high-achieving 'good girl' Vanessa Partridge re-invents herself and seeks out new life experiences as she asserts her independence. A wonderful and funny coming-of-age story set at the beach over the summer holidays.

'Vanessa (Van) Partridge is curious about the idea of having sex. But she can't tell anyone. And no one would believe her anyway - because everyone knows she's a goody-two-shoes. But over the summer holidays, Van rebels and everything changes.

'At first it feels like delicious freedom as she explores her independence, practising her favourite cello pieces, reconnecting with her long-time summer friend Kelsey and exploring her attraction to environmental activist Bodhi.

'But when her sense of self is shaken, Van wrestles with issues of desire and consent, and the questions that have been plaguing her all along… Can someone with sensible plaits and an interest in philosophy really be a raving sex-o-maniac? And if they are, is there anything wrong with that?

'The Learning Curves of Vanessa Partridge is a funny and warm coming-of-age novel about love, sex, friendship, family, and finding your voice.' (Publication Summary)

'I'm pretty sure that by the time I finish high school, I'll be cracked into a pile of shards, beyond repair.

'At fifteen, Clover is finding the going tougher than she expected. Her life is close to being derailed on the rocky terrain of family, friendship, first love, acts of defiance and a planet on the brink of environmental disaster. So when Keek breaks his promise to her, and school sucks, and her mother is impossible, and her beloved old dog is dying, and her dad is in the wind, and the girls at school are awful and the footy-boys are bullies and she's arrested for vandalism - well, what else can she be but a little bit broken? Can Clover pull herself together - or will she spiral further out of control?

'When life feels like it's fracturing, how do you find a way to feel whole?' (Publication summary)