When Only One
Meg Gatland-Veness
When Only One
Meg Gatland-Veness
‘There’s someone in the school. They’re holding something in their hands. Something terrifying.’
- Sam lives with his mum, dad and four brothers in a small farming town and life is pretty good. He works as a lifeguard at the local surf club, is saving to buy his first car, trains with his friends for the Ironman, and on Sunday afternoons he and his family take care packages to their less fortunate neighbours. Then, five years since they last spoke, Emily Burrow climbs through his bedroom window and back into Sam’s life.
Emily’s life couldn’t be more different. She lives with her mother, who struggles with mental health, and sometimes her alcoholic father, but it’s better when he’s not there. There’s no hope for Emily’s future, and she seems to be the only one who both knows and accepts it. That’s why, to Emily, help is just not necessary.
The new school year brings a heap of changes. Emily starts to hang out with Sam and his mates. A new girl arrives and Sam is smitten, but she brings with her unexpected adjustments. And Sam’s friend Miles faces the biggest challenge of his life. When tragedy strikes one sunny afternoon, everything they thought they knew about growing up will change and they will be forced to face adulthood head on.
From the bestselling author of I Had Such Friends comes a gritty novel, full of heart, that shines a light on kids who are doing it tough in a rural Australian town.
Review
Aurelia Orr
When Only One is a requiem to every soul lost too young to violent causes. Raised in a rural Australian town, Sam lives a seemingly average teenage life. He worries about high school pressures and math tests, feels the heart-skipping jitters of first love, and works hard to make his family proud. But when tragedy strikes at his school, Sam’s life is irrevocably changed forever.School shootings is a topic Australians predominantly don’t relate to close to home. Rather, we tend to have a sympathetic outsider perspective towards other countries that do experience it often. It’s a topic Meg Gatland-Veness addresses here, but she also calls attention to issues such as domestic abuse, broken families, and mental health struggles in adolescents – topics widely recognised and relatable to many Australian homes.
For Sam, the year also brings the return of Emily Burrow, a childhood friend with troubled parents. The question of how safe Emily is in their hands is always present, and Gatland-Veness shows how growing up in such conditions can make someone unable to accept help, ultimately leading them down a path of loneliness and isolation from the much-needed aid that may save a life. Through these themes, Gatland-Veness asks readers to view strangers with empathy and kindness, reminds us how little we may know of others’ daily struggles, and to show immense gratitude for the life that a loving family can give.
Despite its tough subject matter, When Only One is a testament to the teens who wake up each day and face the world with courage, and the strength it takes to fight to hold onto every precious moment. For ages 13+.
Aurelia Orr is from Readings Kids
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