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Susanna van Essen Susanna van Essen i(A72526 works by)
Gender: Female
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1 4 y separately published work icon A Trick of the Light Susanna van Essen , Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 2004 Z1137835 2004 single work novel young adult fantasy

'Josie's plans for revenge on her rat of a teacher were going perfectly well until Josephine, her future self, turned up to throw a spanner in the works. Josie's two dads called Dave are no help, her wacky grandmother is only interested in her own eco-sabotage plans, and Josie's best friend Ras thinks Josie might be going slightly mad. The only person who wants to help is the bully who made her life hell in year four ... the infamous Quentin Dreadnought may be a whiz in the kitchen but Josie's not convinced he'll be much use against her annoying doppelganger. As Josie's plots for revenge get more inventive, so do Josephine's plans for stopping her.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 5 y separately published work icon The Tiger Project Susanna van Essen , Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 2003 Z1037348 2003 single work novel young adult

'A warm comedy about genetics, love and the meaning of life.

'Bella woke with a strangled feeling of panic. She had been trapped in the glass specimen jar again. She fumbled for the switch on her reading light and told her racing heart to slow down. It was only a stupid dream. Bella breathed deeply and tried to relax her frowning face muscles and tense shoulders. That thylacine pup seemed to be haunting her.

'What begins with a visit to an exhibition on Australia's most famous extinct animal turns into something much more personal for Bella Brown - a search for identity. Does Bella's absent biological father have more influence on her life than her very present stepfather? Why would her best have a crush on one identical twin and not the other? And is there a right time to die? Who would have guessed a baby thylacine in a preserving jar could prompt so many big questions. . . The tiger project could end up giving Bella a whole new perspective on love, genes and mad dogs with rabies.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 Denying Extinction? : The Thylacine in Children's Literature Susanna van Essen , 1996 single work criticism
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 40 no. 4 1996; (p. 12-15)

The Tasmanian tiger in Australian children's literature.

1 The Rise of Ecocriticism Susanna van Essen , 1994 single work column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 9 no. 2 1994; (p. 9-10)
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