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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
"Lily feels both love for and embarrassment about her eccentric family: a grandmother with an imaginary friend, an ax-brandishing grandfather, a mother who brings home patients from the elder-care facility where she works, and an estranged older brother, Lonnie, who still can't seem to get his life together. In a series of implausibly coincidental events (Lonnie's girlfriend's mother also happens to be the random stranger who teaches his grandfather a lesson about racism, for example), all of the family members, and many with whom they come into contact, reach new understanding about themselves and their lives, and all make both small and large changes for the better. In the end, Lily realizes her dream: one "whole and perfect day," in which her entire family comes together and finds happiness. The third-person narration alternates among the many characters' experiences, offering the reader an omniscient view of interconnecting lives in a down-to-earth, Australian setting." (Source: Amazon)
Affiliation Notes
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This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has a Chinese-Australian character.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The Family and Adolescent Wellbeing : Alternative Models of Adolescent Growth in the Novels of Judith Clarke
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: International Research in Children's Literature , December vol. 7 no. 2 2014; (p. 165-179) 'YA fiction is largely about adolescent maturation – or flourishing – and in Western narratives this is imagined through narratives of growth. Within the institution of the family, growth is typically imagined in YA fiction in terms of adolescent rebellion, and in this frame the institutions that surround adolescents – schools, families, communities – tend to be depicted as repressive. This article explores an alternative view of the institution of the family offered in Judith Clarke's novels. In One Whole and Perfect Day, for example, adolescents flourish when in families that value mutual care above conformity to normative views of what a family should be; in Night Train, adolescents fail to flourish when sufficient (or 'good enough') family caring is not available to them. This article draws on research in cognitive narratology and the interdisciplinary field of wellbeing studies to suggest that Clarke's novels model a kind of caring – 'good enough' caring – which entails a nuanced view of successful maturation that carefully holds in balance both the fragility of the individual and an optimistic view of caring for others. Such balance is essential for the flourishing of adolescents and, indeed, of people of all ages.Keywords. blending, cognitive narratology, emotion, flourishing, Judith Clarke' -
Untitled
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Books Buzz , April no. 3 2008; (p. 34-35)
— Review of One Whole and Perfect Day 2006 single work novel -
Untitled
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 21 no. 2 2007; (p. 58)
— Review of One Whole and Perfect Day 2006 single work novel -
[Review] One Whole and Perfect Day
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newsletter of the Australian Centre for Youth Literature , July no. 2 2007; (p. 20)
— Review of One Whole and Perfect Day 2006 single work novel -
The Children's Book Council of Australia Judges' Report 2007
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , August vol. 51 no. 3 2007; (p. 5-12)
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Teenage Tales Keeping It All in the Family
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 9 September 2006; (p. 18)
— Review of Lonesome Howl 2006 single work novel ; One Whole and Perfect Day 2006 single work novel ; The Birthmark 2006 single work novel ; Magic Lessons 2006 single work novel -
Passionate Worlds
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 285 2006; (p. 58-60)
— Review of Monica Bloom 2006 single work novel ; Ten Things I Hate about Me 2006 single work novel ; The Birthmark 2006 single work novel ; Will 2006 single work novel ; The Secret Life of Maeve Lee Kwong 2006 single work children's fiction ; The Betrayal of Bindy Mackenzie 2006 single work novel ; On the Jellicoe Road 2006 single work novel ; Red Spikes 2006 selected work short story ; One Whole and Perfect Day 2006 single work novel ; Notes from the Teenage Underground 2006 single work novel -
The Gift of Alibrandi Shines On
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 14-15 October 2006; (p. 34)
— Review of On the Jellicoe Road 2006 single work novel ; Lonesome Howl 2006 single work novel ; One Whole and Perfect Day 2006 single work novel -
Books Kids
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 9 - 10 September 2006; (p. 26)
— Review of One Whole and Perfect Day 2006 single work novel -
Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newsletter of the Australian Centre for Youth Literature , July no. 1 2006; (p. 16)
— Review of One Whole and Perfect Day 2006 single work novel -
The Children's Book Council of Australia Judges' Report 2007
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , August vol. 51 no. 3 2007; (p. 5-12) -
The Family and Adolescent Wellbeing : Alternative Models of Adolescent Growth in the Novels of Judith Clarke
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: International Research in Children's Literature , December vol. 7 no. 2 2014; (p. 165-179) 'YA fiction is largely about adolescent maturation – or flourishing – and in Western narratives this is imagined through narratives of growth. Within the institution of the family, growth is typically imagined in YA fiction in terms of adolescent rebellion, and in this frame the institutions that surround adolescents – schools, families, communities – tend to be depicted as repressive. This article explores an alternative view of the institution of the family offered in Judith Clarke's novels. In One Whole and Perfect Day, for example, adolescents flourish when in families that value mutual care above conformity to normative views of what a family should be; in Night Train, adolescents fail to flourish when sufficient (or 'good enough') family caring is not available to them. This article draws on research in cognitive narratology and the interdisciplinary field of wellbeing studies to suggest that Clarke's novels model a kind of caring – 'good enough' caring – which entails a nuanced view of successful maturation that carefully holds in balance both the fragility of the individual and an optimistic view of caring for others. Such balance is essential for the flourishing of adolescents and, indeed, of people of all ages.Keywords. blending, cognitive narratology, emotion, flourishing, Judith Clarke'
Awards
- 2008 honour book Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature
- 2007 shortlisted Children's Peace Literature Award
- 2007 winner Queensland Premier's Literary Awards — Best Young Adult Book
- 2007 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature
- 2007 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers
Last amended 20 Jan 2012 11:35:49
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