baancs's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I thought about loneliness. How it’s not something you catch and mostly we choose it. How a trouble shared is a trouble halved but things like love and joy are multiplied when you have someone to share them with. I looked out of the window. On the street below there were hundreds of people—thousands, maybe—going about their business without touching, speaking, or acknowledging each other’s existence.
A story of identity and belonging, of learning what makes a family, and discovering what makes us who we are: our memories, stories, and choices. It’s a raw and beautiful book.
lauredhel's review
5.0
Stabbing at the five star button, through tears, and looking for how long it's going to be before Wakefield's next novel. This was astonishing.
patchworkbunny's review
5.0
Seventeen-year-old Friday Brown has spent all her life travelling from town to town, brought up on stories of the family curse. When her mother dies, Friday runs away from home, determined to continue the lifestyle her mother showed her. But in the city she meets a mute boy who shows her families are not always what you’re born with.
I honestly don’t know why more people aren’t talking about Vikki Wakefield; her writing is just a pleasure to read. Friday Brown feels like a quiet sort of tale, intimate in its telling but has big themes. Friday runs away from home after her mother’s death and ends up living in a squat. She’s set apart from the other kids who have fled unhappy homes where Friday left by choice; turned away money that would have set her on the right path.
It’s kind of refreshing for a young adult book to stay away from romantic love. It’s not that Friday doesn’t express any interest in dating, it’s just not a big part of her life. She’s still finding out who she is. Instead, Friday befriends Silence, a boy who doesn’t speak. Their bond is that of siblings within a wider family, one she doesn’t always feel she fits into.
The story goes from the big city out into Australia’s outback. Friday might never be street smart but she had grown up on the road with her mother. There’s little bits of everyday drama, details of things as simple as making dinner when you have little money to spare as well as moments of heartbreaking tragedy. I urge you to read it.
I honestly don’t know why more people aren’t talking about Vikki Wakefield; her writing is just a pleasure to read. Friday Brown feels like a quiet sort of tale, intimate in its telling but has big themes. Friday runs away from home after her mother’s death and ends up living in a squat. She’s set apart from the other kids who have fled unhappy homes where Friday left by choice; turned away money that would have set her on the right path.
It’s kind of refreshing for a young adult book to stay away from romantic love. It’s not that Friday doesn’t express any interest in dating, it’s just not a big part of her life. She’s still finding out who she is. Instead, Friday befriends Silence, a boy who doesn’t speak. Their bond is that of siblings within a wider family, one she doesn’t always feel she fits into.
The story goes from the big city out into Australia’s outback. Friday might never be street smart but she had grown up on the road with her mother. There’s little bits of everyday drama, details of things as simple as making dinner when you have little money to spare as well as moments of heartbreaking tragedy. I urge you to read it.
samuraijenn's review
5.0
This is one of the best books I've read in a long time, especially where teen lit is concerned. Vikki made me want to personally know all of the characters, and the story itself was so heartbreaking and beautiful and wonderful. I cannot wait for this to be published in the US so I can buy it for my library.
bookninja232b4's review
I FINALLY got around to reading this and what a book! Beautiful writing, compelling story. Just so good.
nessochist's review
5.0
4.5 stars
What makes a person who they are? Is it some magical combination of experiences, memories and family? What happens when those things are stripped away, are proven false or leave you behind? Who are you then? And do you actually have any say in the matter?
Friday Brown has spent her entire life traveling from town to town with her mother Vivienne. Never in one spot long enough to know anyone. Never needing anyone else but her mother to know her. But then Vivienne dies. Left alone with a grandfather that's a stranger, Friday is lost. Vivienne not only physically created Friday, she mentally shaped her as well. Vivienne's stories built her up but now the truth is breaking down. Friday doesn't know who she is without Vivienne... but it's time to find out.
Reverting to her nomadic instincts, Friday runs away to the streets and finds herself a part of a new kind of family--broken people fitting their jagged edges together trying to become whole. But is Friday finding herself or merely letting the next charismatic mother figure mold her into someone else? Sometimes it's just easier to allow yourself to be swept away with the current than exhaust yourself struggling to swim against it. And no one knows they are caught in a riptide until it's too late.
Friday Brown has a more subdued style than All I Ever Wanted but the story is just as intense. Wakefield's prose is as beautiful as ever with an exquisite tension thrumming throughout. When the setting switches to an abandoned, isolated town in the Outback, the stress fractures formed by the effort of keeping the family together begin to strain, crumbling apart to chilling results. Friday's journey and portrayal are painfully honest and once again, Wakefield's characters are so vividly drawn their strength reverberates off the page. From devotion to desperation to horror, every emotion rings true.
If I had to describe Vikki Wakefield's novels using one word it would be "fearless". If I could choose two words they'd be "required reading".
I recieved a copy from the publishers for review.
This review originally appeared on Young Adult Anonymous. **GIVEAWAY on the blog!**
What makes a person who they are? Is it some magical combination of experiences, memories and family? What happens when those things are stripped away, are proven false or leave you behind? Who are you then? And do you actually have any say in the matter?
Friday Brown has spent her entire life traveling from town to town with her mother Vivienne. Never in one spot long enough to know anyone. Never needing anyone else but her mother to know her. But then Vivienne dies. Left alone with a grandfather that's a stranger, Friday is lost. Vivienne not only physically created Friday, she mentally shaped her as well. Vivienne's stories built her up but now the truth is breaking down. Friday doesn't know who she is without Vivienne... but it's time to find out.
Reverting to her nomadic instincts, Friday runs away to the streets and finds herself a part of a new kind of family--broken people fitting their jagged edges together trying to become whole. But is Friday finding herself or merely letting the next charismatic mother figure mold her into someone else? Sometimes it's just easier to allow yourself to be swept away with the current than exhaust yourself struggling to swim against it. And no one knows they are caught in a riptide until it's too late.
Friday Brown has a more subdued style than All I Ever Wanted but the story is just as intense. Wakefield's prose is as beautiful as ever with an exquisite tension thrumming throughout. When the setting switches to an abandoned, isolated town in the Outback, the stress fractures formed by the effort of keeping the family together begin to strain, crumbling apart to chilling results. Friday's journey and portrayal are painfully honest and once again, Wakefield's characters are so vividly drawn their strength reverberates off the page. From devotion to desperation to horror, every emotion rings true.
If I had to describe Vikki Wakefield's novels using one word it would be "fearless". If I could choose two words they'd be "required reading".
I recieved a copy from the publishers for review.
This review originally appeared on Young Adult Anonymous. **GIVEAWAY on the blog!**
photogeek's review
3.0
May I first just say that pictures of dead girls underwater make for awesome book covers?
All right, now onto the actual book. I liked Friday Never Leaving, but didn't quite love it. The premise was really interesting, I'll give Wakefield that. But the book just seemed a bit like a drag. I really wanted Wakefield to go in depth about the Brown women curse as well as the pasts of each individual in Arden's 'family.'
All right, now onto the actual book. I liked Friday Never Leaving, but didn't quite love it. The premise was really interesting, I'll give Wakefield that. But the book just seemed a bit like a drag. I really wanted Wakefield to go in depth about the Brown women curse as well as the pasts of each individual in Arden's 'family.'
phia's review
3.0
I had high expectations for this book, mainly due to the awesome first chapter, but I guess it all went a bit downhill after that. I mean, it wasn't that it was horrible because obviously I gave it a 3; the narrative and writing was good but it failed to connect to me emotionally. Except of course when that thing happened with (probably) my fave character in this book, more than the main character herself. I cried in the middle of the night as I lay in bed.
ireadbooksnotminds's review
5.0
After a slump through Australian YA books that I borrowed from the school library and left abandoned,* I was pretty wary of Friday Brown. But after reading it, I was proved wrong. It's definitely one of the better Australian YA books I've read and has restored my faith in the genre.
*I'm talking specifically about Pieces of Sky and One True Thing. Pieces of Sky was way, way too similar to The Protected that it just bored me. One True Thing was too slow and felt more like the cliche '"unique" girl meets hot guy and she pretends not to be attracted to him even though she so obviously is' type of story that I've read way too many times.
If you liked this book, you might also like:
The Year of the Rat by Clare Furniss
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Paperweight by Meg Haston
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
*I'm talking specifically about Pieces of Sky and One True Thing. Pieces of Sky was way, way too similar to The Protected that it just bored me. One True Thing was too slow and felt more like the cliche '"unique" girl meets hot guy and she pretends not to be attracted to him even though she so obviously is' type of story that I've read way too many times.
If you liked this book, you might also like:
The Year of the Rat by Clare Furniss
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Paperweight by Meg Haston
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
More...