Featuring a powerful relationship between a troubled teenager and his grandfather, this strong novel is set to cement Barry Jonsberg's reputation as the freshest, most exciting voice in Australian YA fiction.
'I'm miserable and sixteen. In that order.'
Sixteen can be a tough time. And it's almost unmanageable for a wisecracking boy whose temper is white-hot. Sentenced to a time-out with his grandfather in a remote shack in the Tasmanian forest, there is little to do except chop wood and watch the red-eyed wallabies gather at dusk.
They are an unlikely couple: a taciturn old man who prefers the simple life, and a volatile boy addicted to the technology of the 21st century - and yet a bond blossoms between them. But denied access to much he desires, and feeling provoked by a local cop cynical of city folk, the boy's frustration grows. And when he encounters situations he can't control anything could happen...