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'Biz knows how to float. She has her people, her posse, her mom and the twins. She has Grace. And she has her dad, who tells her about the little kid she was, who loves her so hard, and who shouldn’t be here but is. So Biz doesn’t tell anyone anything. Not about her dark, runaway thoughts, not about kissing Grace or noticing Jasper, the new boy. And she doesn’t tell anyone about her dad. Because her dad died when she was seven. And Biz knows how to float, right there on the surface–normal okay regular fine.
'But after what happens on the beach–first in the ocean, and then in the sand–the tethers that hold Biz steady come undone. Dad disappears and, with him, all comfort. It might be easier, better, sweeter to float all the way away? Or maybe stay a little longer, find her father, bring him back to her. Or maybe–maybe maybe maybe–there’s a third way Biz just can’t see yet.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Teaching Resources
This work has teaching resources.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Dyslexic edition.
Works about this Work
-
Reading and Viewing
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 55 no. 2 2020; (p. 58-63)
— Review of The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling 2019 single work novel ; How It Feels to Float 2019 single work novel ; The Coconut Children 2017 single work novel ; The Yield 2019 single work novel ; Fire Front : First Nations Poetry and Power Today 2020 anthology poetry essay ; A Ghost In My Suitcase 2009 single work children's fiction -
Crawling with Stories : Four New Young Adult Novels
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June - July no. 412 2019; (p. 38-39)
— Review of Highway Bodies 2019 single work novel ; The Honeyman and the Hunter 2019 single work novel ; Four Dead Queens 2019 single work novel ; How It Feels to Float 2019 single work novel'On 20 August 2018 the ABC aired a ‘special literary edition’ of Q&A during the Melbourne Writers Festival. It had a stellar line-up: John Marsden, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Sofie Laguna, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, and Trent Dalton. Viewers must have been optimistic. Were Q&A’s producers indulging in a long hour of lively literary debate? Unfortunately, they were not. But even though politics overshadowed much of the discussion that evening, the panellists made a considerable effort to draw on their expertise as writers rather than as political commentators when answering questions from the audience.' (Introduction)
-
Helena Fox : How It Feels to Float
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 27 April - 3 May 2019;
— Review of How It Feels to Float 2019 single work novel'In P. J. Harvey’s lyrical masterpiece, “We Float”, the act of floating is languorous, a way of drifting in the moment, taking “life as it comes”. In Helena Fox’s debut novel, floating becomes more of a necessity: it might feel “incandescent”, but it’s a cloak that protects the 17-year-old narrator, Biz, from dark forces that shadow her family life and sabotage her pact with reality.' (Introduction)
-
How It Feels to Write : Helena Fox on ‘How It Feels to Float’
Bec Kavanagh
(interviewer),
2019
single work
interview
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , March vol. 98 no. 1 2019; (p. 14-15)'Helena Fox’s YA debut How it Feels to Float (Pan, May) is a ‘perfect, surreal exploration of mental illness and grief’, writes reviewer Bec Kavanagh. She spoke to the author.'
-
Helena Fox : How It Feels to Float
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 27 April - 3 May 2019;
— Review of How It Feels to Float 2019 single work novel'In P. J. Harvey’s lyrical masterpiece, “We Float”, the act of floating is languorous, a way of drifting in the moment, taking “life as it comes”. In Helena Fox’s debut novel, floating becomes more of a necessity: it might feel “incandescent”, but it’s a cloak that protects the 17-year-old narrator, Biz, from dark forces that shadow her family life and sabotage her pact with reality.' (Introduction)
-
Crawling with Stories : Four New Young Adult Novels
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June - July no. 412 2019; (p. 38-39)
— Review of Highway Bodies 2019 single work novel ; The Honeyman and the Hunter 2019 single work novel ; Four Dead Queens 2019 single work novel ; How It Feels to Float 2019 single work novel'On 20 August 2018 the ABC aired a ‘special literary edition’ of Q&A during the Melbourne Writers Festival. It had a stellar line-up: John Marsden, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Sofie Laguna, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, and Trent Dalton. Viewers must have been optimistic. Were Q&A’s producers indulging in a long hour of lively literary debate? Unfortunately, they were not. But even though politics overshadowed much of the discussion that evening, the panellists made a considerable effort to draw on their expertise as writers rather than as political commentators when answering questions from the audience.' (Introduction)
-
Reading and Viewing
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 55 no. 2 2020; (p. 58-63)
— Review of The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling 2019 single work novel ; How It Feels to Float 2019 single work novel ; The Coconut Children 2017 single work novel ; The Yield 2019 single work novel ; Fire Front : First Nations Poetry and Power Today 2020 anthology poetry essay ; A Ghost In My Suitcase 2009 single work children's fiction -
How It Feels to Write : Helena Fox on ‘How It Feels to Float’
Bec Kavanagh
(interviewer),
2019
single work
interview
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , March vol. 98 no. 1 2019; (p. 14-15)'Helena Fox’s YA debut How it Feels to Float (Pan, May) is a ‘perfect, surreal exploration of mental illness and grief’, writes reviewer Bec Kavanagh. She spoke to the author.'
Awards
- 2020 winner Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Young Adults' Fiction
- 2020 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers
- 2020 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature
- 2020 longlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Book of the Year for Older Children
- 2020 CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Notable Book — Older Readers
