Sam Kinnison is counting down his days at Bowen Lakes Secondary School in Melbourne. He is super smart, even helping the I.T staff in his lunchtimes, but school is something to bear, not particularly enjoy. Sam’s passion is movies – particularly horror and slasher movies, and he constantly compares moments in his life to the movies he reveres.

Sam and his mates, Alison – (deemed unpopular), Adrian (nicknamed The Troll because of his short stature, long hair, chin fuzz and bizarre behaviour) and Mike (a spectacled, closet gay, black belt in martial arts) are targets by the school popular ‘jocks’, by one in particular.

Justin Zigoni has made Sam’s life hell for years, but now in this last year of High School, Zigoni has stepped up his bullying campaign. No one ever stops him as he taunts, annoys and physically pushes Sam around.

Things are a little rough for Sam at home too, with warring parents or solid silences. Mike is worrying Sam on top of everything. He has been acting strangely since the beginning of the year and won’t talk about it when Sam asks..

And then Camilla arrives. Her accent is a mix of New Yorker and British and everyone she meets is instantly captivated. She wears retro clothes that no one else would ever get away with and is confident, friendly and being emulated within minutes of arriving by other girls. She also just happens to be the daughter of a very famous music reviewer who travels around the world. Not only are the students wowed by her ‘fame’, so is their teacher.

Sam, instantly realising she is way out of his league, isn’t falling all over himself like his classmates when she asks for help with her laptop. Little does he know, Camilla is about to change his life. It all begins when she invites him online to a game of Warcraft. Then at school she waves to him in the corridor, stops to chat with him, despite the in-crowd gathered around her, then begins to spend more time with him and his friends.

Little by little, his life morphs into something that is more than just to be endured. The bullying magically wanes at school and Sam and his friends even find themselves at a beach party with their tormentors. Camilla is like armour, repelling all that was bad in his life.

But Sam knows Camilla is used to a jet setting life, and probably won’t be around for long. Things begin to unravel again for Sam and suddenly the four people he would risk a zombie apocalypse for are caught up in a spin cycle of confusion. He’s kissed one, obsessed over another, punched one in the face and been punched repeatedly for another.

Surely life can’t go back to how it was before?

This novel was so easy to get caught up in. I instantly empathised with Sam from the very first page as he picks himself up off the school corridor floor. His colourful terms for his tormentors made me laugh, even as I cringed inwardly for him and his friends. I got to know Sam well during the novel, as a new girl called Camilla arrives in his class and changes everyone and everything around her, just by being herself.

She is a character that isn’t caught up in the false and painful popularity stakes of high school, even though she is popular by default through her famous father. She tells Sam and his friends what her life is really like behind the scenes at parties with old rockers and having to move all the time.

There are several plot threads that intertwine effortlessly and authentically – although I would have liked Mike to use his blackbelt martial arts he won a room full of trophies for – on their bullies!

This is a light, fun read with great characters, a beautiful romance and as usual between teens, lots of miscommunications causing strife. 

Originally published 2013, but I’m really glad this special edition is here for all new readers to enjoy. 

Author – Melissa Keil

Age – 14+

(2022, Hardie Grant, Horror Movies, Screenplays, Music, Bullies, Family, Friendship, Growing up, Humour, Love, Romance, School, Martial Arts, Friendship Dynamics, New Girl, Confusion, Falling in Love)