Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Protected
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://clairezorn.com/
CITY: Wollongong
STATE: NW
COUNTRY: Australia
NATIONALITY: Australian
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia; married; husband’s name Nathan.
EDUCATION:Attended St. Columba’s Catholic College; University of Technology, Sydney (Australia), B.F.A., post-graduate diploma.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Previously, worked as a waitress, publishing assistant, editorial assistant, and retail clerk.
AVOCATIONS:Swimming.
AWARDS:Young Adult Fiction award, Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction, Victorian Premier, both 2015, both for The Protected; Children’s Book of the Year Award: Older Readers, Children’s Book Council of Australia, 2015, for The Protected, 2017, for One Would Think the Deep.
RELIGION: Christian.WRITINGS
Contributor to publications, including Wet Ink and the Overland Literary Journal. Maintains a blog.
SIDELIGHTS
Claire Zorn is an Australian writers who has released books in the young adult genre. In an interview with a contributor to the Booked website, Zorn stated: “The following things occur in all my novels: carparks, shopping centres, funerals, awkward conversations. I always write about catastrophes, whether global or personal—something always goes very wrong in my stories.”
The Sky So Heavy
In 2013, Zorn released her first novel, The Sky So Heavy. Its protagonist, Fin, finds himself forced to survive in the Blue Mountains of Australia when a nuclear test goes wrong, bringing about apocalyptic conditions. Fin hears that the city of Sydney is safe, so he begins making his way there with his little brother, Max, in tow. Their parents have mysteriously disappeared. In between struggling to find food and water and to travel safely through the cold forest, Fin pines for his cool classmate, Lucy. Zorn explained how she developed the idea for the book in an interview with a contributor to the Kids’ Book Review website. She stated: “I saw a scene in my mind: a teenager in a dark, cold place, trying to protect a group of people and feeling way out of his depth. I also got a line in my head: ‘I’m sixteen years old and this is the first time anyone’s held a gun to my head.’ With a little tweaking this ended up being the opening line of The Sky So Heavy.”
A critic on the Kids’ Book Review website remarked: “What would a nuclear winter be like? Claire Zorn leaves us in no doubt. Even the tiniest details feel absolutely right.” Writing on her self-titled website, Liz McShane commented: “The strength of the novel lies in the relationship between the characters. The characters are quickly established as multidimensional and flawed.” McShane added: “The ending was satisfying, as, in keeping with the overall tone, it does not attempt to resolve all of the questions it poses. An enjoyable read.” On another self-titled website, Lisa Fleetwood suggested: “The story was way too good for it to impact the read too much, but ultimately Fin’s luck at running into pretty much the only person who could help him right when he needed it was just a little too opportune and perhaps their accidental meeting could have happened in a slightly different way—but … it didn’t have a great impact on the read.” Fleetwood described The Sky So Heavy as “hard to put down. It is the kind of novel that resonates long after the last word is read.” A reviewer on the NSW Writers’ Centre website remarked: “Zorn’s protagonist, Fin, is engaging, likeable and fallible, making him easy to relate to. Her writing is accessible for both adults and children. The text is first person and present tense, typical for YA writing, but the concepts are handled in a sophisticated manner.”
The Protected
In The Protected, teenage Hannah deals with the death of her sister, Katie, with whom she had a complicated relationship. In an interview with a contributor to the Booktopia website, Zorn stated that she hoped readers would come away from the book with “perhaps some small sense of camaraderie for those who were/are miserable in high school. I also wanted to pay homage to the lovely, genuine, noble guys I have known over the years. You don’t come across them all that often in books.”
“Zorn shows the devastating effects of bullying while affectingly tracing Hannah’s spiritual journey,” commented a Publishers Weekly critic. Diane Colson, reviewer in Booklist, remarked: “Zorn’s portrayal of a complicated relationship between sisters who are close in age but very different … is believable.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor asserted: “Though the book tackles important issues, it reaches far beyond these flash points into a fully developed exploration of the aftermath of tragedy.”
One Would Think the Deep
Set in 1997, One Would Think the Deep tells the story of a teenager named Sam, who is forced to live with his Aunt Lorraine and cousins, Minty and Shane, after his mother dies. Lorraine is a harried single mom, who had a complicated relationship with Sam’s mother. Sam and Minty quickly bond, with Minty sharing his knowledge about surfing. Meanwhile, Sam is intimidated by the aggressive Shane. He deals with his grief by listening to music and experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Another character is an Aboriginal girl named Ruby.
Dani Solomon, reviewer on the Reading Time website, suggested: “Zorn has captured 1997, the year in which the story is set, perfectly. The music references, especially, help to shape and give a strong sense of the characters and their world. Zorn’s portrayal of Aunty Lorraine as the nicotine-ravaged, world-weary single mum to two teenage boys was so real.” A writer on the Kids’ Book Review website praised Zorn for effectively presenting “the heartfelt pain as told through the eyes of a male teen protagonist. The author has captured Sam’s voice and gives a great portrayal of his pain, character and behaviour.” McShane also reviewed this volume on her self-titled website. McShane stated: “The family revelation was admittedly predictable, but this did not detract from the readability of One Would Think the Deep. … Claire Zorn has once again created a great mix of believable characters. While Ruby may be the only likeable character, it is the fallibility, vulnerability and earnestness of each of the characters that makes them compelling.” “One Would Think the Deep is a skilfully crafted novel that will resonate with readers from the upper end of the middle years through to senior students,” asserted a critic on the OZ BOOKS 4 TEACHERS (& their students) website. Megan Daley, contributor to the Children’s Book Daily website, stated: “It’s a book that deals with belonging and identity, and trauma and hope, and I found it satisfying and layered. As a novel, it’s brash, it’s real, and it’s alive. As an exploration of grief, it’s harrowing and heart-breaking. As a character study, Sam is a wonder—a mixture of vulnerability and sensitivity, combined with rage, and physical and psychological displacement. There are so many aspects to the story, it really is one to savour and linger over.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booked Out Website, http://bookedout.com/ (May 5, 2018), author interview.
Booklist, August 1, 2017, Diane Colson, review of The Protected, p. 60.
Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2017, review of The Protected.
Publishers Weekly, September 4, 2017, review of The Protected, p. 102; December 4, 2017, review of The Protected, p. S100.
ONLINE
Booktopia, https://blog.booktopia.com.au/ (August 18, 2014), author interview.
Children’s Book Daily, http://childrensbooksdaily.com/ (May 29, 2016), review of One Would Think the Deep.
Claire Zorn Website, https://clairezorn.com (May 5, 2018).
Kids’ Book Review, http://www.kids-bookreview.com/ (August 7, 2013), author interview; (August 8, 2013), review of The Sky So Heavy; (February 15, 2017), review of One Would Think the Deep.
Lisa Fleetwood Website, https://lisafleetwood.com.au/ (August 12, 2014), Lisa Fleetwood, review of The Sky So Heavy.
Liz McShane Website, https://lizkatemcshane.wordpress.com/ (February 9, 2015), Liz McShane, review of The Sky So Heavy; (September 13, 2016), Liz McShane, review of One Would Think the Deep.
London Guardian Online, https://www.theguardian.com/ (September 20, 2017), Stephanie Convery and Steph Harmon, article about author.
Melbourne Writers Festival Website, http://mwf.com.au/ (June 10, 2014), article by author.
NSW Writers’ Centre Website, http://www.nswwc.org.au/ (November 1, 2014), review of The Sky So Heavy.
OZ BOOKS 4 TEACHERS (& their students), https://ozbooks4teachers.wordpress.com/ (June 21, 2016), review of One Would Think the Deep.
Prime Minister’s Literary Award Website, https://www.arts.gov.au/ (May 5, 2018), review of The Protected.
Reading Time, http://readingtime.com.au/ (May 27, 2016), Dani Solomon, review of One Would Think the Deep.
Claire Zorn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Claire Zorn, born in Penrith, New South Wales[1] is an award-winning Australian writer of young adult fiction. She was awarded the CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers in 2015 and 2017.
Personal life
Zorn grew up in the Blue Mountains[1] and attended St Columba’s Catholic College.[2] She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a post graduate diploma in writing[3] from University of Technology Sydney.[4] As a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, her work has been published in literary journals including Wet Ink and the Overland Literary Journal,[5] and she blogs.[6]
Published works and awards
The Sky So Heavy (2013). University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702249761Set in the Blue Mountains, Zorn's first novel tells the story of a group of teenagers struggling to survive a nuclear winter.
Honour Book 2014 Children’s Book Council of Australia Award for Older Readers
Shortlisted 2014 Inky Gold Award
Shortlisted 2014 Aurealis Awards - Best Young Adult Novel
Shortlisted 2015 REAL Children's Choice Award - Fiction for Years 7-9[7]
The Protected (2014). University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702250194[8]
Winner, Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2015 - Young Adult Fiction
Winner of the 2015 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adult
Winner, 2015 CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers
Shortlisted, 2015 Inky Gold Award
Selected in New Zealand Listener’s Top 50 Children’s Books for 2014
One Would Think the Deep (2016). University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702253942[9] A novel about a 17-year-old boy learning to deal with the death of his mother and life in a small coastal town.
Winner, 2017 CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers[10]
Claire Zorn's grief-and-surfing story wins children's book of the year award
One Would Think the Deep triumphs in category for older readers, with Go Home, Cheeky Animals! winning early childhood prize in CBCA prizes
Stephanie Convery and Steph Harmon
Fri 18 Aug 2017 03.00 BST Last modified on Wed 20 Sep 2017 10.27 BST
View more sharing options This article is over 8 months old
Shares
126
Comments
0
More than 600 books were entered for Children’s book council of Australia (CBCA) book of the year awards.
More than 600 books were entered for Children’s Book Council of Australia book of the year awards. Photograph: Dave and Les Jacobs/Getty Images/Blend Images
Stories about grief, animals and hiking through the Grampians have taken out the top gongs in this year’s Children’s Book Council of Australia book of the year awards.
Cover image for One Would Think The Deep by Claire Zorn
Claire Zorn, who won the prime minister’s literary award in 2015 and the CBCA book of the year for older readers in 2015 for The Protected, has won in that category again for One Would Think the Deep, a novel about a 17-year-old boy learning how to deal with the death of his mother through surfing.
Animals feature largely in the works for early childhood and information sections, with Go Home, Cheeky Animals! by Johanna Bell and Dion Beasley, and Amazing Animals of Australia’s National Parks by Gina M Newton taking out awards in those categories.
Rockhopping by Trace Balla, about a hiking trip through the Grampians, was awarded book of the year for younger readers, while picture book of the year went to Home in the Rain by Bob Graham, who was a nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 2012.
Stella prize nominee Maxine Beneba-Clarke’s collaboration for children with artist Van T Rudd, The Patchwork Bike, was recognised as an honour book in the picture book category, with Rudd winning the Crichton award for debut illustration.
Rudd, who is the nephew of the former prime minister, is a political activist as well as an artist and The Patchwork Bike, a story about a sister and two brothers who build a bicycle from everyday household items, hasn’t backed away from politics.
He said the book harbours not only a positive message of empowerment for coloured people, but also hidden messages he hopes people will get.
“Like the BLM number plates, it’s the code for Black Lives Matter,” he said.
The 44-year-old said the bike’s constant need for repair and its BLM number plate was a metaphor for the ongoing social justice struggle.
“I do get involved in a lot of political realities with my art and I’m usually used to defending myself in terms of controversies and things, so it just good to feel legitimate.”
From Wonder Woman to Spirited Away: what really makes a superhero?
JM Green
Read more
More than 600 books were entered into the awards, with female authors and illustrators dominating. The awards have been running since 1945 and mark the beginning of this year’s Children’s Book Week, the theme of which is “escape to everywhere”.
Full list of winners
Book of the year – older readers: One Would Think the Deep by Claire Zorn
Honour books: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley, The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
Book of the year – younger readers: Rockhopping by Trace Balla
Honour books: Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr, Captain Jimmy Cook Discovers Third Grade by Kate and Jol Temple (illustration by John Foye)
The Patchwork Bike
Book of the year – early childhood: Go Home, Cheeky Animals! by Johanna Bell (illustration by Dion Beasley)
Honour books: Nannie Loves by Kylie Dunstan, Gary by Leila Rudge
Picture book of the year: Home in the Rain by Bob Graham
Honour books: Mechanica by Lance Balchin, The Patchwork Bike by Van T Rudd (text by Maxine Beneba Clarke)
Eve Pownall award for information books: Amazing Animals of Australia’s National Parks by Gina M Newton
Honour books: A – Z of Endangered Animals by Jennifer Cossins, The Gigantic Book of Genes by Lorna Hendry
Crichton award for debut illustration: The Patchwork Bike by Van T Rudd
QUOTED: "Perhaps some small sense of camaraderie for those who were/are miserable in high school. I also wanted to pay homage to the lovely, genuine, noble guys I have known over the years. You don’t come across them all that often in books."
Claire Zorn, author of The Protected, answers Ten Terrifying Questions
by Booktopia |August 18, 2014 Share:Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestmail
The Booktopia Book Guru asks
Claire Zorn
author of The Protected and The Sky So Heavy
Ten Terrifying Questions
____________
1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?
I was born, raised and schooled in the lower Blue Mountains. I lived there until I was about 24 when I moved to Sydney’s Inner West. Now I live in Wollongong.
2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?
Twelve: Artist/writer/Olympian show-jumper/horse-breeder. Why? Why on earth not.
Eighteen: Artist/jewellery designer for Dinosaur Designs. My obsession with Dinosaur Designs started at seventeen when I went into their Sydney Strand Arcade Store. I was so inspired that I changed my university plans from equestrian science to visual arts. I continue to squander all my money on DD stuff and am in the habit of writing them occasional fan mail.
Thirty: Writer. I’ve always imagined stories and characters. While film-making would probably be more fun, all you need to write a story is some paper and a pencil. It’s simpler and more direct. If anyone wants to spot me a few thousand dollars to make a film, I’m up for it.
3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?
I was convinced there was no God. Now I’m 99.9 percent sure there is one.
Author: Claire Zorn
4. What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?
Only three? Cruel. Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief and King of Limbs (Can’t choose.) Zadie Smith’s White Teeth and Pipilotti Rist’s video installation Sip My Ocean
5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?
Because I love stories most of all. It’s that simple. I find story-making to be the most satisfying pursuit aside from swimming in the ocean, and no one’s offered me money to do that. Writing seems to be the most direct way of getting stuff out of my head. I mentioned film before, but to cram all the details and tangents novels allow for into a film, you need tens of hours. You also need to collaborate with multiple people and schedule stuff and there’s probably diagrams involved. I’m not organised enough for all of that.
6. Please tell us about your latest novel…
Hannah is just shy of sixteen and her family has recently been ripped apart by tragedy: her sister – whom she loved but didn’t like – has been killed. An unexpected ramification of this is that the bullying she has endured throughout high school has ceased, something that puts her in a strange place emotionally. While she is trying to come to grips with this she begins to form her first friendship in years – with the crossword-obsessed delinquent, Josh.
Grab a copy of Claire’s book The Protected here
7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?
Golly, I hate that question! Perhaps some small sense of camaraderie for those who were/are miserable in high school. I also wanted to pay homage to the lovely, genuine, noble guys I have known over the years. You don’t come across them all that often in books.
8. Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?
This is one that tends to change a lot. I’m going to break the rules and choose two! Vince Gilligan: the character arcs he created in Breaking Bad were nothing short of Shakespearian. And Sonya Hartnett. I don’t have words to describe how great her writing is. I also like how she doesn’t seem to give a brass razoo about genres or markets or any of that annoying stuff. She seems to just write what she wants.
9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?
Oh dear. This is going to be embarrassing. May as well aim high: the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award would be quite nice. That would mean I could stop renting! Or perhaps if we are going to be absurd I could write the first YA to win the Booker. I’m pretty sure that’s impossible, although I dare say Harper Lee could have won it. On a more achievable level: I really, really want to write and illustrate a picture book.
10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?
Choose carefully whose opinion of your work you listen to. And write. It sounds obvious but until you get the words out on the page, nothing will ever come of them.
Claire, thank you for playing.
Grab a copy of The Protected here
The Protected
by Claire Zorn
I have three months left to call Katie my older sister. Then the gap will close and I will pass her. I will get older. But Katie will always be fifteen, eleven months and twenty-one days old.
Hannah’s world is in pieces and she doesn’t need the school counsellor to tell her she has deep-seated psychological issues. With a seriously depressed mum, an injured dad and a dead sister, who wouldn’t have problems?
Hannah should feel terrible but for the first time in ages, she feels a glimmer of hope and isn’t afraid anymore. Is it because the elusive Josh is taking an interest in her? Or does it run deeper than that?
In a family torn apart by grief and guilt, one girl’s struggle to come to terms with years of torment shows just how long old wounds can take to heal.
The Protected by Claire Zorn
Share:
On this page
About the author About the book Judges' comments
About the author
Claire Zorn's first young adult novel The Sky So Heavy received a 2014 Children's Book Council Awards Honour Book award for Older Readers.
It is set in the Blue Mountains and tells the story of a group of teenagers struggling to survive a nuclear winter.
Claire studied creative writing at the University of Technology Sydney and has been published by Wet Ink, Overland and Peppermint.
Her second novel, The Protected (UQP, 2014) has received much acclaim. She lives on the south coast of New South Wales with her husband and two young children.
Image of Claire Zorn
About the book
Hannah's world has imploded, all thanks to her older sister Katie. Her mum is depressed, her dad's injured and she has to go to compulsory therapy sessions.
Hannah should feel terrible but for the first time in ages, she feels a glimmer of hope and isn't afraid anymore. In a family torn apart by guilt, one girl's struggle to come to terms with years of harassment shows just how long old wounds can take to heal.
The Protected is an honest and searing portrayal of loss and grief that conveys the repercussions of bullying to the modern-day teenager.
Image of Claire Zorn
University of Queensland Press
Judges' comments
'I have three months left to call Katie my older sister. Then the gap will close and I will pass her. I will get older. But Katie will always be fifteen, eleven months and twenty-one days old.'
Hannah's father was the driver in the crash that killed Katie. But Hannah has survived and as the narrator of this realistic, raw-edged novel, she cannot recall precisely what happened on that morning that led to the crash. While Katie was the popular, party-going big sister, Hannah is the introspective outsider, hounded and punished for a friendship that turned physical.
Following Katie's death Hannah becomes 'the protected', her antagonists too afraid to push her further, but the scars and the isolation remain.
The Protected is illuminated by Hannah's flinty and fragile voice while her wicked humour resists sentimentality.
Zorn also shows the technical skills to balance past and present time and create a tight, emotionally intense novel. The pacing, the narrative shifts and the slow unfolding of Hannah's identity are flawless.
One other striking thing about The Protected is how little it is interested in any idea of the afterlife: its ethics and morality are firmly focused on the living and the novel is very much more than the sum of its issues.
The result is a poignant, emotionally affecting novel marked out by Zorn's skillful handling of language and an artist's eye for telling details.
QUOTED: "The following things occur in all my novels: carparks, shopping centres, funerals, awkward conversations. I always write about catastrophes, whether global or personal—something always goes very wrong in my stories."
Claire Zorn
Author
Claire Zorn is the critically acclaimed author of young adult novels The Sky So Heavy and The Protected. Both books have been shortlisted for multiple awards. The Protected was awarded Young Adult Book of the Year 2015 by the Children’s Book Council of Australia, and won both the 2015 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and the 2015 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for young adult fiction.
Where were you born?
I was born in Penrith and grew up in the Blue Mountains NSW. (The lower Blue Mountains, not the glamorous upper mountains.)
What other jobs have you had?
I was a very incompetent waitress for far longer than should have been allowed, then I worked in retail where I spent my time trying to trick people into buying things they didn’t need. Finally I got a temp job as a publishing assistant and then an editorial assistant position for an educational publisher.
What themes are recurring in your work?
The following things occur in all my novels: carparks, shopping centres, funerals, awkward conversations. I always write about catastrophes, whether global or personal – something always goes very wrong in my stories.
What have been the highlights of your career?
Winning the Children’s Book Council Book of the Year 2015 and the Victorian Premier’s Award. I also once sat next to Richard Flannegan on a mini bus; that was pretty great.
Where have your works been published?
Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Germany. Not an extensive list yet, please be patient.
What are you passionate about?
Teaching high school students that their voice and their opinions about the world are valid and valuable. I also really like swimming, horses and pancakes.
Haven’t I seen you before?
That would be the time I sold you those shoes that were really ugly and you didn’t actually need at all.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
I am Christian and a horrible speller. These aren’t linked, as far as I know.
QUOTED: "Zorn has captured 1997, the year in which the story is set, perfectly. The music references, especially, help to shape and give a strong sense of the characters and their world. Zorn’s portrayal of Aunty Lorraine as the nicotine-ravaged, world-weary single mum to two teenage boys was so real."
One Would Think the Deep by Claire Zorn
Reviewed by Dani Solomon
27 MAY 2016
Seventeen-year-old Sam’s mum has died. With no father in the picture and nowhere else to go, the Department of Child Services have directed him to call his estranged Aunty Lorraine, the only relative he has a contact number for. Aunty Lorraine’s immediate reaction is to ask him if he has anyone else he can go to. When she finally does agree to come and pick him up, Sam’s life takes another sharp turn.
Sam wants to move on as much as he wants to go back to how things were; he struggles with his anger, not wanting to look weak by showing his grief. Luckily Sam has Minty, his cousin. Minty is an indomitably cheerful kid who also had a bit of a rough start in life. Minty finds solace, control and, ultimately, freedom on his board in the surf. On Sam’s first day at his Aunty’s house, Minty does his best to help Sam heal, the only way he knows how – by lending Sam a board and teaching him to surf.
In ways that surprise him, Sam finds he connects and relates to the surf. He too experiences huge swells of grief, violent crashing waves of anger and, occasionally, when Jeff Buckley is playing and Sam’s new girlfriend, Gretchen, is walking by his side, he too finds a perfect calm.
Zorn has captured 1997, the year in which the story is set, perfectly. The music references, especially, help to shape and give a strong sense of the characters and their world. Zorn’s portrayal of Aunty Lorraine as the nicotine-ravaged, world-weary single mum to two teenage boys was so real that I’m sure she must exist, and that I’ve met her in my past. It is very clear why, with such talent, Claire Zorn won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for her previous novel, The Protected.
ACCEPTANCE SPEECH : Claire Zorn – Winner of Book of the Year, Older Readers 2017 0
BY ADMIN ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 · AWARDS, INTERVIEWS, NEWS
Claire Zorn won the 2017 Book of the Year, Older Reader Award for One Would Think the Deep. The Award was presented to her at Government House, Hobart, on Friday 18 August. This is the very moving acceptance speech she gave on the day….
I’m supposed to be good at putting things into words, but I’m afraid this time words fail me. It is impossible to describe how much this award means to me. The last twelve months of my life have been some of the hardest I’ve ever experienced due to personal reasons. (If you read my blog you will know what I’m talking about.) To be at this point now, with this award, is almost too much to take in. Thank you to the Children’s Book Council, to all the judges and people who put in so many hours to ensure this award remains one of the most prestigious awards for children’s and young adult writing in the country.
I would not be standing here today if it were not for the love and support of my husband, Nathan, who has also been my carer during this difficult time. I must also thank the amazing team at UQP for their unwavering support, especially my publisher, Kristina Schulz and my editor, Kristy Bushnell. I’m not sure if people understand the impact a brilliant editorial team can have on a novel. They have championed me and my work from the very first moment I started working with them five years ago.
The outpouring of love and support I have received from the community of Australian Young Adult authors has been extraordinary. We are blessed with the best young adult authors in the world, all of the shortlisted writers included. Finally, thank you to my readers, I definitely would not be here today without you.
Claire Zorn
CLAIRE ZORN: WRITER VS WEIRDOTuesday 10 June 2014
I used to write a lot of stories, but I stopped in my early teens because I had these notions of the sort of person a writer should be and they didn’t match the person I was.
I spent a lot of time in my head as a kid. I would imagine up these intricate worlds and put myself as a character in them. One scenario involved me tying a rope to our wheelie bin and leading it around as if it was a traumatised horse, talking softly to help it with its fear of humans. This might seem pretty normal for a kid, but I kept it up way beyond when would have been socially acceptable. I wrote a story about that horse, complete with illustrations – but my spelling was awful, I wrote a lot of letters backwards and I often forgot the spaces between words. The only way my teacher could make sense of it was to have me read it aloud to the class in weekly installments.
I always thought that to be a writer you had to be a capable speller with a firm grasp of punctuation; a wise, someone ‘soaked in literature’, probably classic literature written by dead people. I wasn’t that. I was a girl who pretended her rubbish bin was a horse. My favourite book wasn’t Wuthering Heights, it was Looking for Alibrandi.
I didn’t know it at the time, but all those hours I spent with the wheelie bin I was actually teaching my brain to create narratives and characters, something invaluable to a writer.
I’ve also found dictionaries to be pretty useful.
Claire Zorn will lead ‘Dystopia Now’ and ‘A Matter of Survival’, two exciting sessions on Thursday 28 August as part of Melbourne Writers Festival Schools’ Program
Follow Claire @ClaireZorn
QUOTED: "I saw a scene in my mind: a teenager in a dark, cold place, trying to protect a group of people and feeling way out of his depth. I also got a line in my head: 'I’m sixteen years old and this is the first time anyone’s held a gun to my head.' With a little tweaking this ended up being the opening line of The Sky So Heavy."
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Author interview: Claire Zorn
KBR welcomes Claire Zorn, author of The Sky So Heavy, a gripping new novel for Young Adults that is released this month.
Can you describe The Sky So Heavy in ten words or less?
A group of teenagers struggles to survive a nuclear winter. Or … A bit like The Road but with more jokes.
How did the idea for the book come to you?
I started thinking about the story roughly two years before I even wrote a word. I remember I was sitting on the train — I find train travel strangely inspiring — and I saw a scene in my mind: a teenager in a dark, cold place, trying to protect a group of people and feeling way out of his depth. I also got a line in my head: 'I’m sixteen years old and this is the first time anyone’s held a gun to my head.' With a little tweaking this ended up being the opening line of The Sky So Heavy.
I kept turning those ingredients over in my mind for a couple of years. Then the debate over Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers flared again and I was struck by the way a person’s life — their access to food, shelter, medical care and education — is decided by a line on a map. I’ve always really struggled to understand the fear of asylum seekers; I feel that if people could imagine themselves and their families in those circumstances, there would be so much more compassion. So I imagined what it would take to put the average, middle-class Australian in that situation.
Is there a message in the book that you would like readers to grasp?
I hope that the story can contribute in a small way to the debate over asylum seekers and perhaps reflect the complexities of the issue. I also wanted to engage with the idea of a generation inheriting the stuff-ups of their predecessors, especially global warming. I didn’t set out to allude to that with the climate change in the book — but I like the way it is a sort of inverse global warming.
Why did you choose to write in this genre?
I like the immediacy of Young Adult fiction. I’m a very impatient reader — I want to get to the meat of a story as soon as possible — and I think that translates to my own writing. I tend to have no trouble ruthlessly pruning my stories to get to their core, which suits YA. Young readers have such a strong, shall we say, 'crap detector'. You have to work to hold their attention. There’s nowhere to hide and I like that challenge.
I also find teenagers to be the most fascinating characters. They’re so savvy, yet there’s such vulnerability to them as well. Those years on the edge of adulthood are so complex and I really like stories that push their characters over the edge from childhood into adulthood. All my favourite books are about characters taking that journey.
Your manuscript was picked from the slush pile! Did you have the manuscript professionally edited before you sent it out to publishers?
It was picked from the slush pile in a round-about way. I reached a point with The Sky So Heavy — which I think every writer gets to — where I couldn’t keep working on it without some quality feedback. Which was when I paid to have a structural report done on it. I chose someone with lots of experience in YA, who was very well regarded in publishing circles and it was the best thing I could have done. The feedback she gave me really helped me get the manuscript to a standard it couldn’t have reached without fresh eyes. I re-drafted the whole thing after I got that report back and then submitted it to agents.
While that was happening UQP put out a call for YA manuscripts. They stipulated that they weren’t looking for speculative fiction, so I didn’t submit The Sky So Heavy, but another manuscript. They were interested in this other story, but it wasn’t quite ready enough for them to offer me a contract. By this time I had signed The Sky So Heavy to an agent and she suggested that they have a read of it. I think I submitted it to about four agents before it was picked up.
Stuff about me
Maybe you’ve come here because you want to read more of my stuff, maybe you’ve come here because you googled the Zorn Arena at the University of Wisconsin Eu Claire. Lest to say, I’m not an athletics arena. I am an author. My latest novel, One Would Think the Deep (UQP) was awarded the 2017 CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers, is shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Young Adult Readers and was shortlisted for the 2016 Queensland Literary Award – Young Adult Literature.
The Protected (UQP) won the 2015 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for young adult fiction, the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year (older readers), the 2015 Victorian Premier’s Award for young adult literature and has been shortlisted for the Gold Inky Award.
My first novel The Sky So Heavy (UQP) was published in 2013. It was awarded Honour Book by the Children’s Book Council of Australia and shortlisted for both the Gold Inky and the Aurealis Award (Young Adult).
.
I am foremost a writer of young adult fiction, but you don’t have to be a young adult to read my stuff; you could be a middle-aged uncle, or a nanna, or thirtyish professional water-skier with a passion for hot housed orchids.
Please direct any speaking or school visit enquires to The Children’s Bookshop Speakers Agency or Booked Out Speakers Agency. (Please ensure you direct enquires to these agents rather than the above email.) For all media enquiries, please contact University Queensland Press.
Protected
Publishers Weekly. 264.49-50 (Dec. 4, 2017): pS100.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Protected
Claire Zorn. Sourcebooks Fire, $17.99 ISBN 978-1-4926-5213-7
High school has been a nightmare for 15-year-old Hannah McCann: awkward and vulnerable, she's become the target of cruel taunts and pranks. Hannah has also lost her best friend to a group of popular girls, and she receives little support from her social-climbing older sister, Katie, who thinks Hannah needs to stop taking "everything so seriously." Instead of following her sister's advice, Hannah withdraws. When Katie is killed in a car accident, and the teasing at school abruptly stops, Hannah retreats even further, overwhelmed by a combination of relief and sorrow. In so doing, she almost misses the opportunity to find a true friend in new student Josh, who is determined to draw her out into the world. In this frank tale of a teenager's complicated feelings and emotional defenses, Australian author Zorn shows the devastating effects of bullying while affectingly tracing Hannah's spiritual journey, coming to terms with truths she doesn't want to face and learning how to trust. Although much of the novel is tinged with sadness, there are meaningful flickers of hope as Hannah gains courage and strength. Ages 14--up.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Protected." Publishers Weekly, 4 Dec. 2017, p. S100. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A518029883/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0864b5a2. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A518029883
QUOTED: "Zorn shows the devastating effects of bullying while affectingly tracing Hannah's spiritual journey."
Protected
Publishers Weekly. 264.36 (Sept. 4, 2017): p102.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* Protected
Claire Zorn. Sourcebooks Fire, $17.99 (288p)
ISBN 978-1-4926-5213-7
High school has been a nightmare for 15-year-old Hannah McCann: awkward and vulnerable, she's become the target of cruel taunts and pranks. Hannah has also lost her best friend to a group of popular girls, and she receives little support from her social-climbing older sister, Katie, who thinks Hannah needs to stop taking "everything so seriously." Instead of following her sister's advice, Hannah withdraws. When Katie is killed in a car accident, and the teasing at school abruptly stops, Hannah retreats even further, overwhelmed by a combination of relief and sorrow. In so doing, she almost misses the opportunity to find a true friend in new student Josh, who is determined to draw her out into the world. In this frank tale of a teenager's complicated feelings and emotional defenses, Australian author Zorn shows the devastating effects of bullying while affectingly tracing Hannah's spiritual journey, coming to terms with truths she doesn't want to face and learning how to trust. Although much of the novel is tinged with sadness, there are meaningful flickers of hope as Hannah gains courage and strength. Ages 14-up. (Oct.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Protected." Publishers Weekly, 4 Sept. 2017, p. 102. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A505468209/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=928ebc3c. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A505468209
QUOTED: "Zorn's portrayal of a complicated relationship between sisters who are close in age but very different ... is believable."
Protected
Diane Colson
Booklist. 113.22 (Aug. 1, 2017): p60.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Protected. By Claire Zorn. Oct. 2017. 288p. Sourcebooks/Fire, S17.99 (9781492652137). Gr. 8-11.
It's been almost a year since the car accident that killed Hannah's older sister, Katie. But Katie's voice still makes snarky remarks in Hannahs head, and her bedroom is an untouched shrine in their home. Before Katie's death, bookish Hannah was the target of bullies at their high school. Now that Hannah is the sister of a dead girl, however, her classmates keep their distance, offering Hannah a kind of protection that a living Katie never afforded. Zorn's portrayal of a complicated relationship between sisters who are close in age but very different in personality is believable, as is the morass of guilt and anger that has enveloped Hannah's family. Hannah was in the car, driven by their father, at the time of the accident, but she can't remember those final moments that could place her father at fault. With the help of an excellent counselor and a new friend, Hannah gradually gains the courage to face the truth of the accident. Originally published in Australia, this character-driven novel should satisfy fans of Fiona Wood.--Diane Colson
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Colson, Diane. "Protected." Booklist, 1 Aug. 2017, p. 60. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A501718891/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=802fe52c. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A501718891
QUOTED: "Though the book tackles important issues, it reaches far beyond these flash points into a fully developed exploration of the aftermath of tragedy."
Zorn, Claire: PROTECTED
Kirkus Reviews. (July 15, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Zorn, Claire PROTECTED Sourcebooks Fire (Children's Fiction) $17.99 10, 1 ISBN: 978-1-4926-5213-7
When your sister dies, your life is supposed to get worse. But how should you feel if it actually gets a little better?When Katie dies, Hannah is left to navigate high school on her own, without her older sister's advice and interference. And the torment that has followed the young white woman since freshman year disappears. No one wants to bully the girl whose sister was killed in an accident. But Hannah finds that life at school still isn't good, and life at home is almost intolerable. Her dad is broken in both body and spirit as he struggles to heal from his own injuries, struggling even more to grapple with the fact that he might be at fault for his daughter's death. And Hannah's mother can't seem to leave the house. Will the family be able to fully recover and stay a family? Zorn treats the issue of bullying with brutal realism, which provides a gritty contrast to the new landscape Hannah finds herself in. Though the book tackles important issues, it reaches far beyond these flash points into a fully developed exploration of the aftermath of tragedy through strong characterization and genuine emotional appeal. Amid loss, depression, and futility, a sense of hope manages to permeate the narrative. A story that defies the "dead sister" genre and questions the very structure of familial relationships. (Fiction. 14-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Zorn, Claire: PROTECTED." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A498345112/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ac7d4cc2. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A498345112
QUOTED: "the heartfelt pain as told through the eyes of a male teen protagonist. The author has captured Sam's voice and gives a great portrayal of his pain, character and behaviour."
Wednesday, 15 February 2017
Review: One Would Think the Deep
Event, circumstance and character can ruin you or define you.
Set in Sydney in the 90s, the sudden death of Sam's Mum means he has to live with the Aunty they no longer associate with and his cousins Minty and Shane. Minty's on the cusp of getting into the Surfing Pro tour and Shane just seems to hate Sam. A lot.
Sam is reeling from his mum's death and his life as he knew it is falling into free fall.
A promising student, he hasn't commenced Year Twelve, takes dangerous risks, drinks and doesn't care about his life. Beneath it all simmers an aggression he can't control and he's on a road to destruction he may not recover from.
This book is peppered with rich, fleshed out characters and lots of surfing references and culture. Minty's character is a direct juxtaposition to Sam's. Where Minty is determined, driven to succeed and sees kindness in everyone, Sam is flailing, and doesn't care about anything. Yet, there's such a profound helplessness to Sam, that the reader can't help but will him to do better and embrace good things that come his way.
For Sam to find the inner strength to improve his situation is immensely difficult because he hasn't had a chance to grieve and reflect on his mum's sudden and tragic death. This is compounded by the lack of emotional support from his detached, dysfunctional extended family.
Extra characters such as his new friend Jono offer Sam opportunities to seek less destructive social opportunities. Jono is a decent and loyal character who accepts Sam. Together with Ruby and love-interest Gretchen, these diverse and mature characters leave the reader hoping Sam finds clarity and peace. Sam learns and grows after making some bad choices and his intelligence and inner decency are the conduit for positive change.
What I enjoyed most about this book is the heartfelt pain as told through the eyes of a male teen protagonist. The author has captured Sam's voice and gives a great portrayal of his pain, character and behaviour. Zorn also inserts various references to 90s music and artists which help Sam navigate his feelings.
A Prime Minister's Literary Award and CBCA Book of the Year Winner and a multi award winning author of The Protected and The Sky So Heavy.
Title: One Would Think The Deep
Author: Claire Zorn
Publisher: University of Queensland Press, $14.95
Publication Date: 30 May 2016
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780702253942
For ages: 14+
Type: Young Adult Fiction
QUOTED: "What would a nuclear winter be like? Claire Zorn leaves us in no doubt. Even the tiniest details feel absolutely right."
Thursday, 8 August 2013
Review: The Sky So Heavy
This is the best YA I have read all year. If you liked John Marsden’s Tomorrow Series, you’ll love this.
My house could have crumbled around me once I picked up The Sky So Heavy. Nothing was going to get in the way of finding out what happened, and knowing what happened was important because the scenario was so believable.
It’s a simple enough tale.
Teenage boy heads to school, meets girl who is a friend (but is she more?) and they start a regular school day, but by 4 pm, the world as they know it is changing.
Nuclear testing in the ocean north of Australia goes terribly wrong. Entire cities are wiped out and the world is plunged into a nuclear winter.
What would a nuclear winter be like? Claire Zorn leaves us in no doubt. Even the tiniest details feel absolutely right. And freaky.
So begins a story of survival, courage, fear and trust - where it might never have been possible before. Everything that we take for granted is gone and I mean everything. Even security forces aren’t what they used to be.
But don’t take my word for it. Pick up The Sky So Heavy and find out for yourself. You won’t regret it. My only frustration is not knowing whether there will be a sequel, because I want it NOW!
Read our interview with author Claire Zorn.
Title: The Sky So Heavy
Author: Claire Zorn
Publisher: University of Queensland Press, $19.95 RRP
Publication Date: 24 July 2013
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780702249761
For ages: 13 +
Type: YA
QUOTED: "The family revelation was admittedly predictable, but this did not detract from the readability of One Would Think the Deep. ... Claire Zorn has once again created a great mix of believable characters. While Ruby may be the only likeable character, it is the fallibility, vulnerability and earnestness of each of the characters that makes them compelling."
Review: ‘One Would Think the Deep’ by Claire Zorn
Posted on September 13, 2016 by Liz McShane
OneWouldThink.jpg
Sam fell into a pattern without making a conscious decision. Out of the water he was messed up, he had turned every good thing he had to shit. In the water he was Minty Booner’s cousin and he would take on any wave that rose up against him. Recklessness or measured risk – the hazy space in-between was solace.
In the summer of 1997, 17-year old Sam Hudson catches his mother as she collapses, felled by an aneurysm. Sam hasn’t seen his Auntie Lorraine Booner in 7 years, but she is the only family he has left. Lorraine’s knee-jerk reaction is to ask Sam if his grandmother can take him in, but she agrees to take him in at a push. With nothing but his skateboard and a few random belongings stuffed into garbage bags, Sam trades Sydney for a camp bed in the small windowless spare room at his Aunt’s house on the surf coast. His aunt won’t look him in the eye, and his cousin Shane makes it clear from the outset that Sam isn’t welcome, but Shane’s younger brother Michael ‘Minty’ greets Sam with Labrador-like enthusiasm. Sam is surprised at how easy it was between him and Minty after all this time, but despite his efforts to emulate Minty’s chilled lifestyle, Sam struggles to escape the grief of his mother’s death and his need to uncover the family secret that led to the 7-year estrangement.
Just as she did with The Protected, Claire Zorn perfectly captures the emotional chaos of grief. Sam spends much of One Would Think the Deep trying not to think of his mother, or of the pointlessness of her death. Sam realises he can switch off the anger and sadness he feels while he is out surfing with Minty. But, surfing is not a peaceful and meditative experience for Sam, as time and time again he is dumped and slammed into the ocean floor, salt water burning through his nose and his chest. Sam turns to violence as a desperate means to stop himself from falling into the black hole of grief, and to somehow reassert himself as a strong masculine figure, but each violent encounter brings him one step closer to losing what little family he has left.
Sam struggles with perceived notions of masculinity, which is shown through his struggle to establish a relationship with Gretchen. He is both envious and fearful of emotional vulnerability. The struggle between masculinity and femininity is cleverly explored through 90’s music. Jeff Buckley is referenced throughout the novel. As Claire discussed at The Melbourne Writers Festival, Jeff Buckley’s vulnerable, effeminate persona was at odds with the hyper-masculine grunge era of the 1990’s. The music of Kurt Cobain fills Sam with a powerful yet restless anger, while Jeff Buckley leaves Sam feeling envious, as Buckley presents himself in a raw emotional state without having his masculinity called into question.
Minty’s perpetually cheerful extroverted persona compliments Sam’s reserved introspective nature, but Minty is just as lost as Sam, as he struggles with navigating through family trauma and the pressure of making it as a pro surfer. Minty tries to show strength through grotesque misogynistic behaviour, through objectification of Gretchen and the manner in which he treats his best friend, Ruby. On the one hand, Ruby’s friendship with Minty allows her privilege out in the surf, but Minty keeps her at a distance by sleeping around. Ruby can more than hold her own, both in the water and around Minty and his friends. Ruby has her own struggles to contend with, as she grapples with her indigenous heritage. Claire wrote the character of Ruby in consultation with the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre at the University of Wollongong.
The family revelation was admittedly predictable, but this did not detract from the readability of One Would Think the Deep. The focus of the novel was not so much the events leading up to Sam’s arrival at his aunt’s home, but whether he can reconcile with his past in order to navigate towards a hopeful future. Claire Zorn has once again created a great mix of believable characters. While Ruby may be the only likeable character, it is the fallibility, vulnerability and earnestness of each of the characters that makes them compelling. As with The Protected, Claire does not present a final conclusion for each of the characters, but there is enough presented about the ensemble throughout the novel to indicate how their lives continue on after the final page.
QUOTED: "The strength of the novel lies in the relationship between the characters. The characters are quickly established as multidimensional and flawed."
"The ending was satisfying, as, in keeping with the overall tone, it does not attempt to resolve all of the questions it poses. An enjoyable read."
Review: ‘The Sky so Heavy’ by Claire Zorn
Posted on February 9, 2015 by Liz McShane
SkySoHeavy
Set in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, The Sky So Heavy is a dystopian YA that follows Fin Heath, his 12-year-old, quick-witted brother Max, friend and schoolyard crush Lucy Tenningworth, and classmate Arnold Wong as they are thrown together in a survival quest following a nuclear missile disaster.
There have been numerous comparisons with John Marsden’s Tomorrow series, which actually kept this book on my ‘to read’ shelf longer. The Tomorrow series had such a huge impact, I didn’t want to be comparing the two. Thankfully, I found the comparison to be too far-reaching. The Tomorrow series is an action-packed guerrilla warfare, whereas The Sky So Heavy is a slow-burn, psychological journey. The perpetrators of the missile launch are never revealed, as the focus of the novel is centred on how much of their own humanity the characters are willing to risk in order to survive, rather than any direct involvement in the conflict. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are referenced throughout, reinforcing the themes of survival and the treatment of refugees. The title, The Sky So Heavy, encapsulates the mood and pace of the novel, as the characters at first attempt to wait out the nuclear fall-out, before realising that time and resources may run out.
The strength of the novel lies in the relationship between the characters. The characters are quickly established as multidimensional and flawed. Fin’s mother is, for the most part, out of the picture, having left her family to pursue work in a disaster management position with the government, with the added bonus of a boyfriend. Fin’s dad is preoccupied with proving to the world that he is not too old for his new wife. Max is on the threshold of adolescence and grappling between wanting to be treated like an adult and maintaining a semblance of security by acting like a child. Lucy is emotionally and physically resilient, but reluctant to take the lead when it comes to her relationship with Fin. Fin is a refreshingly flawed narrator, as he downplays his role of having bullied Arnold Wong since they were at primary school together.
If anything, it felt like I didn’t know enough about the characters in order to feel any major emotional impact. Having said that, the fact that many of the characters withheld information from each other and the reader added to the realism of their situation and character. Fin reveals that he read the letter his mum had intended for only his father to read when she left, but Fin stops short of revealing the exact content of the damning letter. Arnold spent most of his life being bullied by Fin (whether directly, or indirectly), but still goes with him. The ending was satisfying, as, in keeping with the overall tone, it does not attempt to resolve all of the questions it poses. An enjoyable read.
QUOTED: "The story was way too good for it to impact the read too much, but ultimately Fin’s luck at running into pretty much the only person who could help him right when he needed it was just a little too opportune and perhaps their accidental meeting could have happened in a slightly different way—but ... it didn’t have a great impact on the read."
"hard to put down. It is the kind of novel that resonates long after the last word is read."
August 12, 2014
I would love to hear your thoughts about The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn. Please leave your comment on this page, visit my Book Club Group on Goodreads, tweet me @LisaFleetwood or drop me a line on Facebook.
Claire ZornTitle: The Sky So Heavy
Author: Claire Zorn
Category: Young Adult / Dystopian
Publisher: University Of Queensland Press 2013
Pages: 304
Awards: Shortlisted Aurealis Awards Best Young Adult Novel 2013, Shorlisted CBCA Book of the Year Older Readers 2014, Longlisted Inky Awards 2104
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Summary: For Fin, it’s just like any other day – racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe. Only it’s not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated. When Fin wakes up the next morning, it’s dark, bitterly cold and snow is falling. There’s no internet, no phone, no TV, no power and no parents. Nothing Fin’s learnt in school could have prepared him for this. With his parents missing and dwindling food and water supplies, Fin and his younger brother, Max, must find a way to survive in a nuclear winter … all on their own. When things are at their most desperate, where can you go for help?
My Review: (it is a long review but please read on – its a great book!) The Sky So Heavy begins when Fin has a gun held to his head and his thoughts are of 1. Not wanting to die, 2. That he alone is responsible for his younger brother Max and 3. That he is not normally the kind of guy who would have a gun held to his head. But crazy things are happening in Fin’s world now, the ‘raw, blind kind of crazy‘ when the burning need for food and survival changes peoples behaviour.
Claire Zorn drew me in instantly with the tense first scene in her book. It hinted at what was to come for Fin, but didn’t give too much away, and within a page the story of Fin and his younger brother Max rewinds back three months to before it all began. ‘It’ being the nuclear
winter that descended upon the world after nuclear missiles were launched. In a matter of days the atmosphere is choked with dust and ash, and firestorms from the blast have incinerated cities near the launch site. The TV announces predictions of infrastructure collapse, crop shortages and global famine.
The day had started in a pretty ordinary way for Fin – the school bus where he sees Lucy – the girl of his dreams, the nervy Year 7’s, Arnold Wong, the bullied boy who no one ever talks to, and school classes where speculation of nuclear warfare is an impossible thought to most. Most don’t think it will actually happen. But some do, like the ‘hippies’ down the coast who have set up a self-sustaining settlement. But at 4pm that day ‘it’ happens.
Fin’s and Max’s mother, (who works for the government in disaster management) instructs Fin to buy food and water and to fill every available container with water and to stay where he is. Within 24 hours though, Fin finds himself alone with his brother – his dad and step mum gone and ‘the sky so heavy‘ with grey radioactive snow.
Days pass, the electricity cuts out, the water too, the temperature drops and the cold settles around them. Boredom sets in. No TV, no telephone, no iPad, iPod, computer. No internet, Facebook updates or current news. No warmth. And soon – dwindling food and water supplies. The narrative slowed (but not in a bad way) through those long days of waiting, shivering and rationing food – it showed the build up to what was to come, the loneliness and the heavy weight upon Fin’s shoulders with the care of his younger brother. I felt for Fin here – I really connected to the fierce love and protectiveness he felt for his brother and heartbroken for him that at the point of nuclear disaster his mother didn’t come for him and Max, and his father left them to race after his new wife.
All Fin’s neighbours are in the same boat, and as the heartbreaking weeks pass things become desperate and Fin must do anything he can to save them. His only chance is to get out. They must leave his home in the Blue Mountains and try to get to the city to his mother. What follows is an unputdownable read. Months into a global disaster, the world has changed, people have changed and the savage instinct for survival settles upon every person – but each handle it different ways. When Fin leaves he reconnects with Lucy and Arnold (Noll), the bullied boy who no one talks to, and together they make their way to the city – but its not an easy task especially with the disaster management plans the government has put in place (which was scary to read!)
For Fin, Lucy, Noll and Max the journey is fraught with difficulty. They do things they never thought they could. They are brave and resilient but also heavy hearted with all that they’ve seen and dispairing for what the future may hold. They come up against violence, hatred and greediness, but also love, friendship and hope. Noll, a devout Christian, brings a spirituality and calmness to the story that helps Fin make his way through some of the tough decisions. The themes winding through The Sky So Heavy are ones that will touch each reader – family and friend ship, nuclear warfare, courage and perseverance, death and grief, survival, spirituality and ethics.
I only had one small niggle about the book which drew me out of the narrative just for a moment – the story was way to good for it to impact the read too much, but ultimately Fin’s luck at running into pretty much the only person who could help him right when he needed it was just a little too opportune and perhaps their accidental meeting could have happened in a slightly different way – but as I said it didn’t have a great impact on the read.
I read this novel quickly and found it hard to put down. It is the kind of novel that resonates long after the last word is read, the kind of novel that made me think ‘this could happen‘. The novel was set in the Blue Mountains – so close to home for me, which made it seem more real, more possible – I could picture it. It made me think about where I could stockpile canned food and water, how I would react if at 4pm today nuclear missiles were launched and how much we rely on our electronic gadgets and up to date news.
We have become a society of knowing about things as they happen – with one click we can find out about anything going on in the world – but what if from one day to the next there was nothing – no internet, no news, no newspapers, radio or TV? And we were stranded in our house with subzero temperatures and declining water and food supplies. I wondered where our axe was in case I needed to cut down trees for firewood, and would I even have the strength for that? My 16 year old son read this book as soon as I’d finished it – and the same as me, he read in in one go – in fact he stayed up way too late for a school night just so he could finish it. And by the way – he told me that he would chop down the trees for firewood – so its all good! We had so many great discussions about the book! And isn’t that what a good book is all about? I say yes to that.
QUOTED: "Zorn’s protagonist, Fin, is engaging, likeable and fallible, making him easy to relate to. Her writing is accessible for both adults and children. The text is first person and present tense, typical for YA writing, but the concepts are handled in a sophisticated manner."
Book Review: The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn
The Sky So Heavy is a dystopian novel set in Sydney’s Blue Mountains in the current day. When disaster strikes and something goes wrong with a nuclear test, Fin must do what he can to survive in an increasingly inhospitable world. Will he reach the supposed safety of the city and will anything happen with Lucy, the elusive and beautiful girl at his school?
Zorn’s book complements similar dystopian fiction, reminding me of Louise Lawrence’s Children of the Dust, one of the influences in Zorn’s conception of The Sky So Heavy. Zorn spent years thinking about the concept for The Sky So Heavy, and when she became disillusioned with the treatment of asylum seekers in Australia and around the world, she wanted to use this story to explore the concept of abstract exclusion, based on political or situational parameters, with the construction of a typical Australian family facing an environmental and social disaster.
The immediacy of Zorn’s writing, jumping straight into the story almost at the point of disaster, is one of the techniques that make strong YA writing so enticing.
In my opinion, every good YA novel has a love story. It can be a simple flutter or a longer dalliance, but so much of the pain and vulnerability of our teen years is centred around the burgeoning awareness of sexuality. And just because there’s an apocalypse doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be a good love story to heighten the tension and increase the attachment to character, which Zorn does well.
Zorn’s protagonist, Fin, is engaging, likeable and fallible, making him easy to relate to. Her writing is accessible for both adults and children. The text is first person and present tense, typical for YA writing, but the concepts are handled in a sophisticated manner and with no apologies.
Young adult fiction has been contentious recently, with discussions ranging around whether adults should be reading it at all. I’m firmly on the YA-fiction-for-everyone side and, the dystopian The Sky So Heavy is a good example of why it’s important not to draw an uncrossable line between adult and children’s fiction. It’s successful in subtly exploring the concept of a disengagement that both adults and teenagers may experience due to our world’s political and environmental situation. Zorn also hooked me onto that important question that every writer wants their reader to ask themselves: what would I do, if I was in the character’s position?
Amelia has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from UTS and a voracious need to experience everything life has to offer. She is also interning at the NSW Writers’ Centre. You can follow her on Twitter, here.
QUOTED: "One Would Think the Deep is a skilfully crafted novel that will resonate with readers from the upper end of the middle years through to senior students."
Book Review: “One Would Think the Deep” by Claire Zorn, University of Queensland Press (2016)
June 21, 2016
cropped-keith-austin3
I commenced reading Claire Zorn’s novel One Would Think the Deep from a strange little place I like to call ‘fearful anticipation’. Zorn’s last book The Protected was a multi-award winning novel. Having had the opportunity to read an advance copy of this I was not surprised. I honestly believe that what Zorn penned in this book was nothing short of a masterpiece; in fact it is a story with the kind of longevity that will entertain YA readers for a very long time. It follows then, that I was both excited and fearful about the opportunity to review her latest offering.
As a piece of retro fiction, Zorn begins her story New Year’s Day 1997. Perhaps I am just getting old but this really doesn’t seem all that long ago. Of course, I do remember this rather nostalgically as being that wonderful time before the internet had really taken off and before mobile phones were commonplace (and if you did have one you were either really rich or a drug dealer). Like Zorn, I remember the time for its music. It was a period when cd’s were expensive and you waited with bated breath for the latest import from your local indie record store.
Sam Hudson, a skater from inner city Sydney, moves to live by the coast with his Aunt Lorraine and cousins Minty and Shane following the sudden death of his mother. He brings with him an understandable amount of emotional baggage which too often manifests itself as violence. This is a sensitive story about love, the fragmentation of family and the pain of grief.
As with Zorn’s other novels, the narrative is driven by sensitively composed language and a cast of memorable characters. In fact, the real strength of this story is in the unforgettable cast of minor characters, especially Aunty Lorraine, who feels like she might be straight out of an episode of Struggle Street, the deeply complex and equally troubled Ruby and his surfie, slash bogan, cousins, Minty and Shane. There is certainly enough material here for another three or four novels should Zorn wish to explore them.
One Would Think the Deep is a skilfully crafted novel that will resonate with readers from the upper end of the middle years through to senior students. While it was an engaging read, and while I applaud Zorn again for her mastery as a storyteller, unlike The Protected, it never quite took me to that exceedingly rare place that truly remarkable novels do.
QUOTED: "It’s a book that deals with belonging and identity, and trauma and hope, and I found it satisfying and layered. As a novel, it’s brash, it’s real, and it’s alive. As an exploration of grief, it’s harrowing and heart-breaking. As a character study, Sam is a wonder—a mixture of vulnerability and sensitivity, combined with rage, and physical and psychological displacement. There are so many aspects to the story, it really is one to savour and linger over."
Review of ‘One Would Think the Deep’
By Megan Daley - May 29, 201613936
Jem SurfingIt seems that Claire Zorn can do no literary wrong – I just hope that the pressure doesn’t freak her out entirely and give her writers block! I’ve only just turned the final page on her latest novel, published by University of Qld Press, and I’m already wondering when her next will be out. ‘One Would Think the Deep’ is deeply affecting and will be one of this years must-read YA novels. I’ve already passed it on to my twenty-something year old brother who is a mad keen surfer and co founder of Maven Surf with Clayton Nienaber. You can follow him and Clayton here on Facebook for more photos like the ones in this post. I rarely re-read a book, but ‘One Would Think the Deep’ will be on my re-read list for the Summer holidays, and will be enjoying Sam’s playlist, supplied at the back of the book and reprinted below. I’ve asked the lovely Trish to review this one for me as, seriously, novels of this calibre need Trish on review duty. And before I hand over to Ms Trish, if you’ve not yet read Zorn’s ‘The Protected’, click, read and buy here…it’s astonishing. xone-would-think-the-deep.jpg.pagespeed.ic.LM5bO_EP1K
To purchase ‘One Would Think the Deep’ click on title links or cover images.
‘One Would Think the Deep’ is Claire Zorn’s third novel. It will do as well as the first two – that is to say – very well. She cements herself here as the grief counsellor of Young Adult writing. The grief that main character Sam faces is not 6 months ago, or a year (like ‘The Protected’), or even five. Sam’s mum literally collapses in his arms within the first two chapters. All his raw emotions, his rage, his shock, his inability to process, is on display in high definition. It’s achingly sad.
Zorn has chosen to set her novel in 1997. A funny year. I know in 2016, we feel like we’re losing many celebrities, but in 1997 we also lost some pretty special people. And there was no Internet, no common use of mobile phones, and CDs were in their prime. Sam’s love of the Beastie Boys and Jeff Buckley shows the two sides of his personality – the skater, the tough boy, full of rage just barely under control, and the sensitive clever young man, interested in meteorology and very close to his mother. What happens to a kid like that when the one true thing in his life leaves?
Sam’s sea-change to a small town of Archer Point, two hours from Sydney comes with strong feelings – His mother’s sister, Lorraine, long estranged from Sam and his mum, treats him civilly, but she herself grieves. Her younger son, Minty, once Sam’s best friends acts like they’ve never been apart, and immediately teaches Sam to surf. Shane is Minty’s older brother – cruel and standoffish. Sam only remembers a bully. He moves into their small fibro house, numb, angry and aimless.Claire Zorn
Zorn’s greatest skill is her ability to create genuine, original characters, who feel fully developed and real. Her descriptions of Minty surfing, Sam skateboarding, and Gretchen swimming and running are all clear and distinct. We also meet Ruby, an Aboriginal girl who has a complex relationship with Minty. A better surfer, she prefers to attend school, and dreams of making something of herself with a university degree. This clashes with Minty’s dreams – he wants to find the biggest waves he can, and make the world fly. Meanwhile Sam descends into a spiralling cycle of smoking pot, getting drunk, surfing and listening to music. Zorn uses the ocean as a way to reflect Sam’s darkest moments and most glorious triumphs. The power of nature to beat us into submission, to make us accept that we cannot control the elements has meaning for Sam. That his mum is taken away, so unfairly breaks him, and it takes a long time for him fight back.
It’s an astonishing tour-de -force. The family dramas involving Nan and the reasons the family fell apart are revealed slowly. Minty has to face the pressures of trying to make it onto the professional surfing tour. Sam falls for Gretchen, but he also falls into making mistakes, his impulses sometimes getting the better of him. It’s a book that deals with belonging and identity, and trauma and hope, and I found it satisfying and layered. As a novel, it’s brash, it’s real, and it’s alive. As an exploration of grief, it’s harrowing and heart-breaking. As a character study, Sam is a wonder – a mixture of vulnerability and sensitivity, combined with rage, and physical and psychological displacement.
There are so many aspects to the story, it really is one to savour and linger over.