Sky lives above the family record shop with a dad who loves beer too much and a brother, Gully, who has trouble fitting into society’s idea of normal. Oh, and there’s Nancy – Sky’s idol of sorts. She doesn’t live there but she’s around, in a world of her own.

Sky spends summer at the shop putting zinc on Elvis’s nose and dusting the records. But when a brick is thrown through the shop window, a girl drowns in the St Kilda canal and a new boy starts working at the store, the season turns into anything but ordinary. Gully leads the investigation into the window vandalism and Sky becomes obsessed with the dead girl from the canal. Nancy becomes scarce as she takes up being a groupie for one of the local musicians, and the new boy plasters pictures of a stencilled girl crying around St Kilda.

With investigations, new friendships and experiencing the world with all its quirks and problems, Girl Defective, simply put, is brilliant. Once again, Simmone Howell captures her audience with unique characters, captivating situations and a creativity that always astounds me. I know it’s early days but I can’t see anything beating this one for my book of the year!

For ages 15 and up.

Katherine Dretzke