Deborah Burnside: On A Good Day

This compelling debut novel by Deborah Burnside bodes well for the future of New Zealand books written with teenagers in mind.

While On a Good Day deals with some emotionally harrowing issues, including the tragic deaths of children, and domestic violence, it is still essentially a hopeful account of a teenager's life.

On a Good Day is told from the viewpoint of Lee Oliver, a 15-year-old schoolgirl who despairs of her body, as she is far too skinny to consider herself attractive. She is an engaging heroine who gains the reader's sympathy almost instantly. Her story is sure to strike a chord with many teenage girls.

Lee lives with her mother in a rental house in one of the poorer suburbs of a small North Island town. Her mother, Helena, is an alcoholic who finds it difficult to hold down a job, so often there is no money for either food or school requirements — like a new uniform.

Lee does not want the school staff or the students to know about her mother's addiction and as a result, she has no close friends at the local high school. Hine Tairoa, a Maori girl who lives across the road from Lee, is the only one who knows the truth about Helena but she is refreshingly non-judgmental.

All that Lee knows about her father is that he abandoned them after her older brother was killed in a car accident on the same day as the Chernobyl disaster in Russia. Lee was just a baby at the time and her mother was driving when the accident happened.

Whenever Helena goes on an extended drinking binge, Lee finds comfort with Evie, the elderly widow who lives next door. Evie allows Lee to use her sewing machine, encouraging the teenager's passion for sewing and dress design. Other concerned neighbours also take an interest in Lee, and there is a feeling of genuine care and support in this micro-community.

At the beginning of the novel Lee admits to having a crush on Gunna, an older boy who is in the same homeroom at school. To her surprise and delight, Gunna asks Lee out on her very first date and gradually they develop an intimate friendship. Burnside writes about this relationship with great sensitivity and captures the insecurities of both Gunna and Lee.

However, there are inevitably complications as parents and friends try to direct (or prevent) the course of young love. While Lee's relationship with Gunna is a central focus, equally as important in the plot are the disappearance of a child, and Lee's entry in the Wearable Arts competition.

In On a Good Day, Burnside has been able to intertwine moments of joy and contentment with moments of sadness and conflict, just as it happens in everyday life. As a result, her novel never descends into the depths of despair or teenage angst, despite some tragic events. Her heroine has a heightened sense of the absurd, coupled with strong personal integrity, that helps her to remain centred.

Lee's difficult relationship with her mother is also convincingly portrayed, with all its bittersweet intensity.

Burnside was born and raised in Napier, where she still lives with her husband and three sons. A keen storywriter from an early age, she has been mentored by Tessa Duder. She set herself the goal to get a novel published before she reached the age of 35 or she would give up writing altogether.

Happily for her readers, On a Good a Day was launched on July 21 to coincide with her 35th birthday.

Publisher: Penguin

Price: $18.99

Age: 14+yrs

Recommended by: Dorothy Vinicombe