Book: On a Good day
Author: Deborah Burnside
Pages: 247
Publisher: Penguin
Reviewed by: Kat (Age 18)

On a Good Day is the uplifting story of Lee, a teenage girl manoeuvring her way through a challenging adolescence created by an alcoholic parent: no money, no food, no attention and no affection. Lee has more on her plate than any 15-year-old should have to deal with. Her mother is a hopeless drunk who can only communicate with her daughter through brain-teasing acronyms. Meanwhile Lee communicates with her absent father through postcards which are never sent. If it wasn’t for her neighbour Evie, her surrogate nanna, Lee is not sure she could cope. And then there is Gunna, gorgeous Gunna, her secret crush.

Lee struggles to keep up the appearances of some sort of normal life. But there is something in Lee’s character that dares her to believe that one day, something will be different.

On a good day is an absolutely fantastic novel! I'm especially impressed by the fact that it's the authors very first, her ability leads you to believe she's an old pro. It did take a few chapters for the book to totally draw me in as I'm not used to the Present Tense narrative as it's not so common. But once you get to know Lee, you can hardly put the book down.

An array of real and loveable characters form a great backbone. The story telling is intelligent and doens't talk down to readers. By the time you finish you'll have a smile on your face!

MUST READ!