Scarred by Joanne Macgregor – review

What Joanne Macgregor does well is get inside the heads of young adults, and she does so admirably in Scarred. Some people carry their scars on the outside, and for others, though they may appear perfect from the outside, they carry their wounds deep within.

Sloane Munster (and here I was nearly groaning at her surname) was in a horrible car accident in which her mother died. And since then she's been struggling to come to terms with not only the loss (and their relationship had been far from perfect) but also dealing with the disfiguring scars that mar her body. Knowing how important outward appearance can be for young people, this is especially tragic.

Yet Sloane gets by. But there's more guilt to heap on top of things. She has the hots for Luke Naughton, the somewhat arrogant swimming star. But, as we discover, there are Reasons (with a capital R) why Sloane can't be completely honest with Luke about her past. And Luke himself, has Reasons (yes, I'm being deliberately vague because SPOILER ALERT) why he might not accept Sloane for who she really is.

So it's a dance between these two lovely, damaged souls and the push-pull of their attraction for each other in what is a very deftly handled teen romance with a side order of drama. But it's more than just a romance; it's also about how we discover ways in which we continue with life after tragedy, scarred but still alive, still trying to assimilate the fragments that remain.

But Macgregor also treats other issues, such as school bullying, and how different people either fracture or become more resilient in the face of others' cruelty. So yes, there was a bit more going on in this book than your stock-standard YA read, and I commend the author for that (and it's also the reason why I award her a full five stars).

We are never whole again (if we ever were to begin with) but we have no choice but to continue, because life isn't fair.

Okay, so far as reviews goes, I'm getting meta here, which is a bit more than I should be.

The setting is generic USA-ville, though there is a part of me that would have wanted to see a more regional, local flavour to add a bit more dimension to the story (but I understand why the author made the choice). Yet this is a solid read, and the characters have authentic voices, even if I wanted to shout at them to stop being so pig-headed. If you're looking for your next contemporary teen read, this is a goodie. Pick it up; it won't disappoint.

Rock Steady by Joanne Macgregor #review

Title: Rock Steady
Author: Joanne Macgregor
Publisher: Protea Book House, 2013

Even though this is book two in what appears to be a series dealing with the adventures of friends who attend an exclusive girls’ boarding school up in the Drakensberg, Rock Steady can be read as a standalone adventure. From the get go, I must add that Joanne drew me into the story, told from the point of view of Samantha, who is attending Clifford House Private School for Girls on a scholarship. It goes without saying that she’s under a fair amount of pressure to perform academically, so when they get a new – and aptly named – maths and science teacher Mr Delmonico, that things begin to become unpleasant.

Sam, Jessie and Nomusa navigate their Grade 9 year with all the usual trials and tribulations – sports events, school outings, boys, bullies and dances – and the banter between the three friends comes off incredibly refreshing and natural. It’s not often that an author manages to express the sheer energy of teenagers, but Joanne totally convinced me that she’s secretly a teenager herself.

The main narrative arc in this story isn’t so much the girls’ school year, however, but also how the three friends get tangled in the doings of a nefarious gang of thieves intent on plundering South Africa’s cultural heritage. For those who don’t know, the Drakensberg is a region in South Africa that has some of the highest concentrations of ancient rock art, which not only faces natural threats thanks to gradual (and totally natural) environmental erosion, but also suffers thanks to human agents who deface or attempt to steal it.

Joanne deftly weaves in the main plot with the secondary plots in a way that doesn’t feel forced. She drops hints throughout that savvy readers may pick up on so that when the final confrontation occurs, it’s not completely left of field. Joanne’s teens are bubbly, sensitive and are possessed of a lively curiosity and sense of fun, who worry about their schoolwork, about boys, about issues at home. They feel real. Too often I’ve read YA fiction where the teens’ world seems to vanish into a boy-induced solipsist nightmare, where everything just revolves around the boy. Um, hello, teens do have genuine interests beyond boys (even if boys do feature quite high up on the menu, so to speak).

All in all, this is a fun read that I’ll happily recommend to anyone who’s got a bookish kidlet from the age of ten and older. Yes, there is – *gasp* – a kiss, but the romance elements are slight. The story focuses on the eventual altercation with rock art thieves and also weaves in a fair deal of cultural history related to the rock art without being heavy handed about it. Joanne’s writing gets a big thumbs up from yours truly for South African youth literature.