This is one of the most anticipated Australian books of 2015. Within minutes of reading, I was hooked. Rebecca Starford writes about her experience as a fourteen-year-old at a prestigious Melbourne school’s outdoor education campus. Rebecca was a scholarship student – clever, obedient, but with wavering confidence and the feeling of being an outsider. She shared a campus house for a year with fourteen other girls, including two, Portia and Ronnie, who were rumoured to be trouble makers. Rebecca found herself drawn to Portia, who was confident, loud, and manipulative. When Portia sought out Rebecca’s friendship, Rebecca was thrilled and her behaviour changed. She talked back to teachers, broke campus rules, and was regularly in detention. Rebecca’s father was called to the campus for a meeting, and together they were told her scholarship was at risk. When the girls begin victimising another girl, Kendall, Rebecca felt uncomfortable yet powerless. The bullying was relentless, and culminates in some shocking events.

Starford weaves the drama of that school year with her post-school life. This is a brave memoir as she examines her history of being enthralled by female friends with strong personalities and how this affected her during that particular year, and later in sexual relationships. I had expected the book to feature Starford solely as a victim of bullying (and she does become a victim for a period when Portia inevitably turns on her) but she demonstrates little self-pity. This is a wonderful book, and will provide great fodder for book groups. It raises thoughtful questions about the nature of female friendships, the realities and repercussions of bullying, and the role of schools in monitoring and maintaining student wellbeing.

Annie Condon