"Yawning, I shambled downstairs. I thought Lola Nan had stopped hoovering, but when I pushed open the lounge door she was still at it, only the Hoover wasn't switched on. Her head jerked up and she stared wildly at me, shoving the vacuum cleaner back and forth. Her bone-white hair stuck out all over, as if she'd plugged herself into the socket by mistake.
'Want a cup of tea, Lola Nan?' I said.
'I can't hear you!' she shouted.
'Cup of tea?' I shouted back. God, I'd make someone a great husband one day. I was that used to humouring crazy women.
From Crossing the Line by Gillian Philip.
Gillian Philip *1964
I am not usually reading Young Adult (YA) novels, but a friendly visitor at the EdBookFest advocated Gillian's writings to me (well, actually, he's a friend of Gillian and a barrister with it...). Out of curiosity, I bought one of her books, Crossing the Line, and went to her reading at the festival. So, another 'lesser known' female writer to present:
Gillian Philip was born in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. When she was 11 years old, the family moved to Aberdeen. Besides of spending a lot of time on the beach, she liked to write already from an early age onwards with English being her favourite subject at school. Nevertheless, she chose to read Politics & International Relations at the University, doing odd jobs afterwards, as assisting an aspiring MP who she married in 1989. In 1990, the couple moved to Barbados where Gillian decided to turn to writing seriously. She had several short stories published in magazines but only in 2001, when returning to Scotland, she turned to novels for young adults. Her first full length novel Bad Faith was published in 2008. In the meantime she published several stories covering various genres, including crime, horror and fantasy. She also publishes under the name Gabriella Poole, writing for the 'Darke Academy' series, the 'Rebel Angels' series and 'Shades'. Furthermore she ghostwrites fiction for Evans Brothers, a publisher specialised on books for the UK curriculum.
What I thought about my first YA book: Though there are some flaws in the consistency of the first-person narrator, the seventeen year old Nick ("Ah, hormones and lust, there is no reasoning with them" ???), I was astonished about the intensity of the events taken place and the way the main character handles them. Very dense and emotionally stirring, still the story line stays calm - a very well composed arrangement and well kept to the limited point of view. I was glad to have taken this side path in literature for once.
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