This debut novel tells the story of young teens Eli Bell and his brother Gus. Luck is not on their side. They are being raised in a Brisbane suburb by their junkie mum and stepdad Lyle who are both involved in dealing drugs, and they haven't seen their dad in years. The steady influential adult in their lives is their babysitter Slim, a notorious former criminal. Things get worse for Gus and Eli when their parents business turns sour. Gus hasn't spoken in years, but manages to communicate by writing words in the air with his finger. He repeatedly writes "your end is a dead blue wren" and the name "Caitlyn Spies". It is clear, that at some point, the reader will find out what the dead blue wren is all about and who Caitlyn spies is.
The boys mum says they're special and the book hints at their ability to play with time. When Eli is streesed a red telephone appears and he talks to an unknown man on it. This element of the story seaparates the book from similar drug related novels; it shifts the genre to something hard to pinpoint.
The book has won a lot of awards, and they're well-deserved. One review compares it to The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I can see it featuring on the HSC syllabus in the next few years. The writing is amazing. The ideas are deep and thought provoking, while the settings are grim and challenging. The villans are scary, particularly young Darren Dang, who Eli goes to school with, but the book is also full of hope and love. Eli likes to ask people if they're good or bad, and he reflects on whether people get to choose to be good. The book suggests that behind the everyday fronts of local businesses, some seemingly friendly people are up to no good, making money through drugs and violence and then doing the school run. No doubt this is true, but it's something most of us don't want to think about!
