AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Rosie and Nona are sisters. Yapas. They are also best friends. It doesn’t matter that Rosie is white and Nona is Aboriginal: their family connections tie them together for life.'
'The girls are inseparable until Nona moves away at the age of nine. By the time she returns, they’re in Year 10 and things have changed. Rosie prefers to hang out in the nearby mining town, where she goes to school with the glamorous Selena and her gorgeous older brother, Nick.'
'When a political announcement highlights divisions between the Aboriginal community and the mining town, Rosie is put in a difficult position: will she have to choose between her first love and her oldest friend?' (Source: Publishers website)
Notes
-
Also available to download from publisher's website :
Australian Curriculum questions on Nona & Me by Clare Atkins.
Clare Atkins discusses writing Aboriginal characters and the challenges of setting a book in an Aboriginal community.
Clare Atkins reflects on the origins of Nona & Me. (https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/nona-and-me
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
- Dyslexic edition.
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Flourishing in Country : An Examination of Well-Being in Australian YA Fiction
2020
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Jeunesse : Young People, Texts, Culture , Winter vol. 12 no. 2 2020; (p. 15-39) 'This article is the result of a collaboration between two academics—one Indigenous and one non-Indigenous—to investigate the representation of Indigeneity in two contemporary YA novels. Melissa Lucashenko's killing Darcy is narrated by multiple Indigenous and non-Indigenous characters, whereas Clare Atkins's Nona and Me is told from the perspective of a white character and explores her relationship with an Indigenous community. Cultural identity forms a significant part of well-being, and this article investigates versions of sufficient well-being. It explores how the novels represent flourishing subjects—both Indigenous and non-Indigenous—in the context of Australia as it struggles to come to terms with its colonial past and demonstrates how cognitive mapping replaces damaging colonial assumptions about Indigenous Peoples with a model of overcoming.' (Publication abstract) -
Glory for NT Kids' Authors
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: NT News , 9 September 2015; (p. 10) 'Northern Territory authors scooped up the awards at Children's Book Council of Australia...' -
Review : Nona & Me
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , February 2015;
— Review of Nona & Me 2014 single work children's fiction -
Young Adult Fiction
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3-4 January 2015; (p. 17)
— Review of Paper Planes 2014 single work children's fiction ; The Incredible Adventures Of Cinnamon Girl 2014 single work novel ; Nona & Me 2014 single work children's fiction -
Honest and Subtle: Writing about Sex in Young Adult Literature
2015
single work
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 25 September 2015;'According to the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society’s (ARCSHS) 2013 National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health, over 34% of the Year 10-12 students surveyed reported having had sexual intercourse, while 69% have experienced some form of sexual activity.
'When sex is evidently a part of adolescent lives, it would be remiss not to include it in the literature written for them.
'So how should sex in young adult literature be depicted?'
-
Review : Nona and Me
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , November vol. 29 no. 5 2014; (p. 40)
— Review of Nona & Me 2014 single work children's fiction -
Friendship across the Racial Divide
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 7 December 2014;
— Review of Nona & Me 2014 single work children's fiction -
[Review] Nona & Me
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 8 November 2014; (p. 27)
— Review of Nona & Me 2014 single work children's fiction -
Young Adult Fiction
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3-4 January 2015; (p. 17)
— Review of Paper Planes 2014 single work children's fiction ; The Incredible Adventures Of Cinnamon Girl 2014 single work novel ; Nona & Me 2014 single work children's fiction -
Review : Nona & Me
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , February 2015;
— Review of Nona & Me 2014 single work children's fiction -
Glory for NT Kids' Authors
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: NT News , 9 September 2015; (p. 10) 'Northern Territory authors scooped up the awards at Children's Book Council of Australia...' -
Honest and Subtle: Writing about Sex in Young Adult Literature
2015
single work
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 25 September 2015;'According to the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society’s (ARCSHS) 2013 National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health, over 34% of the Year 10-12 students surveyed reported having had sexual intercourse, while 69% have experienced some form of sexual activity.
'When sex is evidently a part of adolescent lives, it would be remiss not to include it in the literature written for them.
'So how should sex in young adult literature be depicted?'
-
Flourishing in Country : An Examination of Well-Being in Australian YA Fiction
2020
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Jeunesse : Young People, Texts, Culture , Winter vol. 12 no. 2 2020; (p. 15-39) 'This article is the result of a collaboration between two academics—one Indigenous and one non-Indigenous—to investigate the representation of Indigeneity in two contemporary YA novels. Melissa Lucashenko's killing Darcy is narrated by multiple Indigenous and non-Indigenous characters, whereas Clare Atkins's Nona and Me is told from the perspective of a white character and explores her relationship with an Indigenous community. Cultural identity forms a significant part of well-being, and this article investigates versions of sufficient well-being. It explores how the novels represent flourishing subjects—both Indigenous and non-Indigenous—in the context of Australia as it struggles to come to terms with its colonial past and demonstrates how cognitive mapping replaces damaging colonial assumptions about Indigenous Peoples with a model of overcoming.' (Publication abstract)
Awards
- 2018 shortlisted REAL Awards — Fiction for Years 7-9
- 2016 joint winner Territory Read Book of the Year Chief Minister's NT Book Awards — Chief Minister's Book of the Year Award
- 2016 shortlisted REAL Awards — Fiction for Years 7-9
- 2015 longlisted Inky Awards — Gold Inky
- 2015 honour book CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers
- Northern Territory,