*Note: I was provided a copy of this book by Ylva Publishing So, here I sit remembering when I didn’t enjoy narratives with repeated flashbacks and talking to the audience. I do now after reading “Here’s the Thing” by Emily O’Beirne. I have to admit to being somewhat truculent in the beginning, as in, “don’t make me do this,” but I have a trust in Ms O’Beirne’s talent and stopped my whining and pursued on. As it turned out all these two perspectives required were a bit of fleshing out and I was all in. The story is about, and narrated by, a very well put together young woman who has just left a life in New York and is beginning anew in Sydney. This young woman is intelligent and perceptive and can communicate with herself very well. The perfect parents who are yet really too busy for Zelda to interact with are there though, when needed, and she really is this autonomous being at 16 which makes me very jealous. I had unstyled long hair and a peanut butter stain on my shirt when I was 16. I was clueless. This autonomous being still needs to learn what a young person needs to learn and cannot make major life-change choices on her own. I wish I possessed Zelda’s clarity of mind. I do on some occasions but it’s fleeting, usually only for an hour or so some mornings. So Zelda has heartache in her past, this New York memory, this mystery that is her best friend Primulka (I love the name) who she seems to have become lost with Zelda’s move to Sydney. That’s not quite right but no spoilers here. Zelda has no time to really dawdle about the past as she is quickly embroiled in the present as she is enrolled in a sort of dream school for creatives which challenges its students to really think. Zelda’s effort with this challenge was very well described. The language used at the very beginning introduces us to Zelda and she feels known to me. Her thought patterns and speech continue to refine the impression. This feels like a book that is almost too perfect with subject matter, vocabulary and flow. The only way I would even think a book ‘too perfect’ is when I think to myself as I read the thing, “oh my god this is too perfect.” It is really one of those “every word and every sentence” is so well chosen kind of thing. I didn’t find any flaws in the main character though which would be quite unusual for a 16 year old I should think. If Zelda does seem to slip for a minute she is very quick to right the wrong. There was no interpersonal drama with others besides the main mystery on which we can then focus. Also, this YA book could appeal to a wide range of ages, as long as the reader understands the import of the words within they should be fine. Any romance in the book was young and sweet. Zelda’s sexuality is downplayed and subtle not requiring any defensive posturing or secret keeping which is the way it should be. I became very interest in the character of Primulka and must try to imagine a story involving her. I loved the book’s title by the way as it is quite a thing in my family to say, “The thing is,” which must be a brother/sister of sorts to “Here’s the thing”. I don’t think one can go wrong with any of O’Beirne’s work. They are all delightful reads and she possesses great talent.
