Thunderhead (Sophie Beer, A&U Children’s)

Thunderhead is the debut middle-grade novel by award-winning author and illustrator Sophie Beer. Thunderhead (the titular character’s online username—their name isn’t revealed until the end of the book) is an anxious Year Eight student who is obsessed with music and wants to be a music journalist when they grow up. After being diagnosed with a rare tumour, and with their best friend Moonflower (another username) moving to another school, Thunderhead begins using a defunct internet forum as a journal. From here, the story follows Thunderhead’s anxious wait for surgery, worries over losing their hearing and ability to appreciate music (especially favourite band Bin Night), and the beginnings of Thunderhead’s new and authentic friendships. Beer’s illustrations throughout the story (line-drawn representations of photographs) add a touch of optimism—a bright side that Thunderhead can’t always see for themselves. Beer packs a lot into this warm-hearted novel, with an empathetic execution comparable to Jacqueline Wilson. Inspired by her own experience with a brain tumour that resulted in hearing loss, Beer was motivated to write the novel to contribute to better representation of disability, D/deafness and tumours in Australian children’s literature. Each chapter includes an awesome playlist of songs from a range of genres and generations. Thunderhead will suit readers aged 10+ who enjoyed Penny Tangey’s As Fast as I Can and are looking for a step up into high school—or for a story that deeply understands music and disability.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Clare Millar is a writer, editor and children's bookseller. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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