The Monster of Her Age by Danielle Binks

She meets a cute horror film nerd and they slowly tumble into a relationship.

Her grandmother, beloved film actress Lottie Lovinger, is dying, and Ellie has many demons to face. It’s actually a thing that many young Tasmanians feel that they have to do at some point in their life. The main character, Ellie, has been dragged back to the arse end of the world (I say with all the love in my heart), having left for her own sanity, which I totally understand. I wanted to read The Monster of Her Age because it’s set in Hobart, Tasmania (that little heart shaped island at the bottom of Australia that basically every map ever forgets to add, and which the author will remind you approximately every five pages), and it’s about an alternate history where Australian cinema was just as well-funded, successful, and beloved as Hollywood it’s about the grief of losing someone you love it’s about overcoming trauma and learning to heal without necessarily forgiving.

To say that I understand why representation is important is an understatement. Sometimes you find a book that speaks to your soul so personally, it’s as if the author ripped open your chest, dissected your heart under a microscope, found a whole bunch of things you love and identify with, and then wrote a book about it. And about embracing the things that scare us, in order to be braver. When a chance encounter with a young film buff leads her to a feminist horror film collective, Ellie meets Riya, a girl who she might be able to show her real self to, and at last come to understand her family's legacy - and her own part in it.Ī story of love, loss, family and film - a stirring, insightful novel about letting go of anger and learning to forgive without forgetting. But forgiveness feels like playing make-believe, and memories are like ghosts. Lottie is dying and Ellie wants to make peace with her before it's too late. Now seventeen, Ellie has returned home to Hobart for the first time in years. The experience left Ellie deeply traumatised and estranged from people she loved. Granddaughter of the infamous Lottie Lovinger, as a child Ellie shared the silver screen with Lottie in her one-and-only role playing the child monster in a cult horror movie. But sooner or later, the mask must come off.Įllie Marsden was born into the legendary Lovinger acting dynasty. How do you ruin someone's childhood? You let them make-believe that they are a monster. A coming-of-age story about embracing the things that scare us from the author of The Year the Maps Changed. In a neo-Gothic mansion in a city at the end of the world, Ellie finds there's room enough for art, family, forgiveness and love. Genres: Contemporary, Performing Arts, Young Adult

The Monster of Her Age by Danielle Binks