Spurt: A Balls and All Story

At fourteen, Jack still hasn’t emerged from his child body. He is the joke of the Year 8 locker room. At sports time he has nothing to show that puberty has changed him, in comparison to the other boys’ metamorphosis by testosterone. All he has on his side to boast about is the memory of a win in the reality show Bigwigs, where children go into the workplace and do adult jobs.

All Jack wants to do is fit in with his group again. He falls into the trap of ‘fake it until you make it’. But this can sometimes turn on you. Things get complicated when language and meanings are misinterpreted, and when things are not what they appear. He has to do something about it before he turns into a social outcast. Can the revival of Bigwigs be Jack’s saving grace? And what is going on with his friends who seem to have changed since the holidays?

This witty, cheeky but candid approach to puberty and the changes it brings - or doesn’t bring, is full of truth and the angst of adolescence. It’s about fitting in and friendships, told with hilariously clever word play, in a light-hearted and entertaining fashion. Suitable for the 14+ age group, 

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Title: Spurt

Author: Chris Miles

Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont, RRP $ 16.95

Publication Date: July 2014

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781742974651

Type: Teenage Fiction