Written by contributor Amy Jane Lehan
When Ellie Kimber dances, it’s hard to look away. Whether it’s in admiration or envy, she is magnetic. The night sky is clear, the music is loud and friend’s group together in the crowd. Parents with their children. Teenagers and teachers and a bonfire. An annual event for the town of Amberside, in the grounds of the historic Hearne House. What could possibly go wrong in a town where nothing of note happens?
Ellie and Joe are the same side of a coin. To all that know them, they are beautiful and popular. They glide through life, untouched and achieve great things. Both have secrets, Ellie weighed down with the expectations of who she should be, Joe who only matters outside the four walls of his house.
Violet is a good girl. She is close to her mother, dotes on her brother and achieves in school. Quiet and unassuming, Violet does the right thing all the time.
March, like Violet, blends into the background. He doesn’t draw attention to himself, he doesn’t make waves or try and stand out.
Peaches is the outlier, chubby and a drama kid. She knows she won’t be amongst the elites and that’s okay with her, she is happy with her group of friends, even if she isn’t happy with her size or the focus of her mother’s life.
Five teenagers with secrets and insecurities and varied outward personalities all live through a night of terror. Multiple gunmen begin to shoot indiscriminately through the crowd, forcing regular people to make impossible choices. Told through five sets of eyes in the form of witness testimonial, the reader follows Joe, Ellie, Peaches, Violet, and finally, March, as they pull apart then back together to survive. Their stories intersect, overlapping to give the reader a layered view of the events unfolding.
Although this is a book about terrorism, the terrorists themselves are not a focus, they are never front and centre in this story any more than they have to be. We don’t know their nationalities, their motives, or their names because this story is not about them. It is about the people who are caught up in these terrible events. Those that feature on the news for a couple of moments in an array of similar headshot type photos before the public becomes consumed with the who and the why. The people we vow to not forget but do for 364 days of the year, dredging them up on the anniversaries to show those same photos again. This is a story about terrorism, but it is not about terrorists. It is about survival, impossible decisions and the bonds formed in moments of distress. There is no shying away from the true brutality and it is a story soaked in human emotion, leaving its beautiful vulnerability open on every page.
Sera Milano sets the scene perfectly, drawing you in to the magical night, before hauling you heart first through tragedy, forcing the air from your chest over and over again. The writing is at times lyrical, always compelling and paced perfectly. Each character voice unique and open and authentic, their diversity emerging organically. Sera is a champion of inclusivity in her writing and this book is no exception. Race, sexuality, and weight feature, as well as grief, disability and less than perfect home lives. All written with her undeniable skill and effortless prose. She has managed to step with grace from the quirky middle grade sector and land sure footed in a very grown-up YA world.
This Can Never Not Be Real is wickedly clever, well-written and compelling. In a YA world of romance and fairy tale retellings, this stands out and once you are in its orbit, you have no choice but to be sucked in. If you like to be on the edge of your seat with your heart in your throat and tears burning your eyes, this is for you.
A solid 9/10 read and one that will stay with me for a long time.
This Can Never Not Be Real is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
FIVE TEENAGERS
WITH NOTHING IN COMMON,
THROWN TOGETHER
BY AN ACT OF TERRORISM,
CAN’T SURVIVE THE NIGHT
WITHOUT EACH OTHER.
A compelling, thrilling yet heartbreaking book for fans of Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Jennifer Niven and Holly Jackson.
In the unremarkable town of Amberside, the unthinkable has happened: Terrorists have attacked a local festival. No one knows why, and no one knows who the attackers are, but that doesn’t matter. What matters first is survival. And what matters after that is survival, too.
In this brilliantly written account of hope, humour and humanity, five ordinary teenagers are caught up in a truly extraordinary situation. It’s a heart-pounding and gripping account of the fight for survival, told from multiple perspectives, as the attackers prowl the festival grounds.
A book for anyone who needs to see that behind the hate that makes the headlines, there is always love.
