Golden (Jade Timms, Text)

Jade Timms’s affecting debut novel, Golden, shortlisted for the 2023 Text Prize, is a charming book about friendship, first love, and reclaiming happiness after a devastating trauma. Seventeen-year-old Eddie’s cheerful interests – pastels, pop music, fitness and concocting smoothies – belie a dark, absolute grief that haunts her with fragmented flashbacks. Eddie, who was present when her brother-in-law died three years ago, has become withdrawn and guarded. She no longer speaks to her best friend, and her once-close relationship with her twin brother, Pat, is fractured. She also avoids her old friendship group. Through unexpected relationships with Howl, the new boy in town, and fellow runner Joss, Eddie learns to trust again and to find a path out of her grief. Eddie’s PTSD is handled with sensitivity and integrity, and Golden never feels overwhelmed by its heavier themes. Timms’s depiction of a large teen social circle is authentic and joyous; she vividly brings each member of the group to life with nuance, humour and energy. The book’s promotional tagline emphasising a story about ‘what it is to be an artist’ is misleading, as Eddie’s art practice is only a minor element. The focus is more on Eddie’s training for the town Mud Run and the creative satisfaction she gets from nourishing others with food. Golden will appeal to fans of Aussie indie dramas such as Claire Zorn’s One Would Think the Deep and Robyn Dennison’s Blind Spot, as well as readers of more commercial, feel-good YA such as Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Charlotte Callander is a freelance writer who has worked as a bookseller and museum educator. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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