Melissa Keil is
the author of the CBCA shortlisted My Life in Outer Space and the 2014
recipient of the Australian IBBY Ena Noel award given to an outstanding young
writer or illustrator. So my expectations were high. The Incredible Adventures
of Cinnamon Girl did not disappoint.
Alba wants
things to stay the same. She is comfortable and content with her small town
life in Eden Valley, her close group of friends and even herself. She doesn’t
want anything to change.
But change is
inevitable. School has ended and after one last holiday break, some of her
friends will be leaving town. Job offers, study plans and hooking up – nothing is
staying the same – no matter how hard she tries to keep it that way. Her best
friend Grady, who she thought she knew inside-out, is acting strange. Even
Cinnamon Girl, her latest comic book character, won’t do what Alba wants.
When the self-styled
prophet Original Ned announces the world is about to end and provides Eden
Valley’s co-ordinates as the place to be, even greater changes engulf Alba. The town’s
population swells and a never-forgotten childhood friend returns. Dominic is no
longer a chubby boy but a muscled soapie star. Alba welcomes a return to the friendship
triangle but once again, something is shifting.
The world might
not be ending but the world as Alba knows it, definitely is.
There’s so much to
love about this book. It’s easy to identify with Alba who is both gutsy and
vulnerable. The small town setting of Eden Valley comes to life in a personally
familiar way for me. Eddie makes me laugh and Grady makes me sigh.
Finally, no review
of this book would be complete without a shout-out for the cover – absolutely eye-catching.
Reviewed by Sandy
Fussell
Title: The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl
Author: Melissa Keil
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont $19.99 RRP
Publication Date: September 2014
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781742978307
Type: Young Adult Fiction
