Alphareader - Danielle Binks

The Monster of Her Age by Danielle Binks Rating: 5/5     #LoveOzYA

“I’m still hurt by you, and mad at you — but I can forgive you. Because you are more than just your worst moments, Bubbe. And we had so many good ones too.”

My greatest love, after books, is movies, so a book about movies was already a win. Add in a lovely wlw romance and a beautiful family story and you’ve got yourself a marvellous little book. The Monster of Her Age is about the wonders and horrors of love of all kinds and how films shape our world and our lives; how they connect people from all walks of life - all abilities, all cultures, all sexualities. If you loved Mara Wilson’s memoir Where Am I Now? or Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour, definitely track down a copy of this gorgeous Australian YA.

Warnings: death, grief, references to emotional and psychological abuse.

You'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behaviour. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them — if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry.

'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger

‘The Monster of Her Age’ drops on July 28 with Hachette Books Australia. Here are some reviews that mention similar-reads;

“This book is all kinds of wonderful. From its smart and nuanced look at how we respond to art, to questions of whether it's possible to separate art from its problematic artist, Binks has written a book I so wish existed when I was a film-obsessed teen. It brought to mind ‘Actress’ by Anne Enright and ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid but also ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ in the way it untangled secrets and pain passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter. The chats about the horror genre are so well done and made me immediately want to join a film group. The queer love story is beautifully told. And the look at how a family manages death is beautiful and real and profound. The chapter closes are all so nicely done too which is a minor point but shows that care was paid to both the big and the small. All up this is my favourite kind of contemporary YA and this book is perfection.” — Jaclyn Crupi

“A warm hug of a book that's packed to the brim with tenderness, truth, and timeless charm. ‘The Monster of Her Age’ is as much an homage to film as it is to family and heart-fluttering crushes. A must-read for fans of Nina LaCour.” — SARAH ROBINSON-HATCH, The YA Room

But I figure if the world were really right, humans would live life backward and do the first part last. They’d be all knowing in the beginning and innocent in the end. Then everybody could end their life on their momma or daddy’s stomach in a warm room, waiting for the soft morning light.

'The First Part Last' by Angela Johnson 

‘The Year the Maps Changed’ by me, Danielle Binks! Coming out in 2020 with Lothian Children’s Books! https://www.hachette.com.au/danielle-binks/the-year-the-maps-changed

DERRY GIRLS APPRECIATION WEEK

↳Day 5/7: Favourite Scenes/Moments

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