Out of the Shadows

Rating:
Summary: A coming of age story told with true sensitivity and style
Review: *Out of the Shadows* by Sue Hines

This is a wonderfully well-told story of teenage sexuality and psychology which I highly recommend to parents and teachers of young adolescents. The plain language and narrative style are a godsend for less capable readers particularly, and the narrative agents, Ro and Jodie, are sympathetic and complex personalities, 'rounded' characters in the best possible sense. The thematic emphases on anti-homophobia rather than pro-homosexuality, and tolerance of differences rather than their glorification, are a welcome relief, and the novel fills a real gap in the market. Teenagers will certainly be able to relate to the central characters and the schoolyard dynamic depicted. The novel avoids simple stereotyping in an adept and engaging manner. The minor themes of friendship, managing grief, and bullying are also very well-handled.

Cultural contexts are clearly identified and explicated, and all readers will be able to empathise with the primary settings of the novel: the family, school, and the peer group. What I particularly like is the way the text deals with a range of relationships and situations in each of these areas, without privileging one or another. This is not a novel which preaches to the reader, rather, it is a coming of age story which will enrich and enhance the experiences teenagers themselves face as they too come of age. Along with the serious issues highlighted there is a vein of humour which runs through the narrative, and Ro's entries in particular are engagingly self-conscious and ironic.

As a teacher of young migrant and refugee students the first thing which appealed to me was the actual physical spacing of the text (which I hope is retained for the American edition). For N.E.S.B. readers such as ours any text consisting of pages and pages of closely-typed script is a daunting prospect, a deterrent to reading in fact. With *Out of the Shadows* many of our beginning English readers have been encouraged to take on the demands of a 'full-length' novel for the first time. Along with this, the stylistic clarity of the narrative makes it accessible to a variety of student ability levels, and it has been a useful text across a wide range of subject and age groups also. The dual perspectives are sustained effectively throughout the novel and afford an excellent entry point for literary analysis. This narrative scheme also lends itself to partial readings, making it a good resource for lower ability readers at all levels as well. Though emphatically not a didactic or moralising book, it does not shy away from the deeper ramifications of its themes, and is an excellent stimulus for classroom discussion on the issues of adolescent sexuality and psychology, and prevailing social attitudes and taboos. Teachers reluctant to set texts such as *Johnno* or *A Hard God* for their classes will feel much more comfortable teaching to *Out of the Shadows*.

I cannot speak highly enough of this novel. Sue Hines demonstrates a mastery of understatement and allows her characters and their relationships to speak for themselves. There is a freshness and sincerity about this book which I find particularly appealing, and the story is told with vigour and charm in equal portions. I look forward to future instalments from this talented young writer.

Rating:
Summary: For Parents, Families, and Friends
Review: I am an American mother who dealt with her daughter's coming out in the media when we sued her school district in a civil rights action to allow a gay-straight alliance at her high school. This book touches on the various forms of isolation homosexual teens and adults and their supporters feel. It is not preachy, it is simply a piece of some lives presented in a very real form. It points out the issues and the feelings that everyone involved has, including the doubts of a daughter of a lesbian. It doesn't dwell on the issue, it isn't even revealed to the parties until well into the novel. Instead it talks about the difficulty of hiding major secrets and the pain that causes everyone. This is a good book not just for those who are directly touched by homosexuality, but anyone who tries to keep a secret that's too big. It points out the relief of sharing secrets. It also helps teens understand and perhaps develop compassion for a segment of society condemned for who they love. I recommend it for all young adults, and adults as well.

Rating:
Summary: For Parents, Families, and Friends
Review: I am an American mother who dealt with her daughter's coming out in the media when we sued her school district in a civil rights action to allow a gay-straight alliance at her high school. This book touches on the various forms of isolation homosexual teens and adults and their supporters feel. It is not preachy, it is simply a piece of some lives presented in a very real form. It points out the issues and the feelings that everyone involved has, including the doubts of a daughter of a lesbian. It doesn't dwell on the issue, it isn't even revealed to the parties until well into the novel. Instead it talks about the difficulty of hiding major secrets and the pain that causes everyone. This is a good book not just for those who are directly touched by homosexuality, but anyone who tries to keep a secret that's too big. It points out the relief of sharing secrets. It also helps teens understand and perhaps develop compassion for a segment of society condemned for who they love. I recommend it for all young adults, and adults as well.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent read about real world issues
Review: I found Out of the Shadows a very fine piece of work. It covers real world issues for today's teens. I suggest this book because it brings awareness to what I consider very important issues in society. Excellent job, Sue, and I can't wait to read more of your work!

Rating:
Summary: More books from Sue Hines please?
Review: I loved Out of the Shadows, and couldn't put it down. Its characters are entirly sympathetic, and the plot easily holds the reader's attention. I would highly recommend it to anyone, and if I knew any teens it would be on my Christmas present list for them in a second. So would Hines' second book, _The Plunketts_. When's the next one coming out, I want to know?

Rating:
Summary: Some background - who should be reading this novel?
Review: I'm pretty new to this authoring thing, and find it hard to talk about Out of the Shadows without sounding like I'm blowing my own trumpet - but what the heck - really, it's a good book, and everybody should read it!

A group of teenage boys asked me recently what the book was about, and when I said "Oh, about girls - about growing up, secrets, families..." they smirked. One brave soul said "Oh yeah? I heard it was about lesbians!" I think he wanted me to blush or something, and I admit, I was kind of taken aback. "Oh," I said, "but lesbians are girls. They grow up, they have secrets, they have families..." He shrugged and grinned. "Fair enough," he said. I guess I passed the test, because they stopped smirking and started asking sensible questions about the authoring process. Kids are alot more grown up than plenty of adults think.

So why _did_ I write Out of the Shadows? Lots of reasons. I wanted to be rich and famous, of course, ha ha. Apart from that, though - firstly, I wrote it for the teenagers who spend their lives hiding in the shadows, afraid of being discovered. How must it be for them to spend their school lives in fear of exposure and harrassment, hearing anti-gay comments every day and finding so little in the way of support anywhere? Is it any wonder the figures for gay youth suicide are so frightening?

And what about the families of gay and lesbian people? How must their children feel when they think theirs is the only family in the world with two mums or dads, and they have nowhere to turn for support? It is for those teens, too, that I wrote Out of the Shadows.

Finally, there are far too many people in our schools who think it is acceptable to condemn gays in a loud and particularly hurtful way, and I see very little done to address this kind of behaviour, although I make a personal effort to do so, in the same way that I speak up about sexist or racist remarks. Gee, I've been harrassed myself at times, just for speaking out. Out of the Shadows is an attempt to show the harrassers that their behaviour is hurtful and unfair, and that their victims are real people with real feelings, so I guess I wrote it for them as well.

Out of the Shadows won the Family Award for Children's Literature in 1999, here in Australia. I hope teenagers, parents, teachers and counsellors in other parts of the world will find it valuable too. Oh, and did I mention, it's a good read as well!

Rating:
Summary: More books from Sue Hines please?
Review: This book deals with two young girls and a ex-lover of one of the young girl's mother. One of the girl tries to find her true sexuality while the other girl tries to express her feeling for her mother's ex-lover, who now keeps care of her after the mother's fatal death. This book is awesomely written by Sue Hines. She takes you straight to where the homosexual first thoughts begin as a teenager. She shows great detail on how society, family and friends feel towards the unpopular way of life. Sue knows how to write about this subject without making any bad remarks or saying anything that would be upsetting to the homosexual community. It is a great book with realistic events. You never know what is going to happen next.

Rating:
Summary: Out of the Shadows Review
Review: This book deals with two young girls and a ex-lover of one of the young girl's mother. One of the girl tries to find her true sexuality while the other girl tries to express her feeling for her mother's ex-lover, who now keeps care of her after the mother's fatal death. This book is awesomely written by Sue Hines. She takes you straight to where the homosexual first thoughts begin as a teenager. She shows great detail on how society, family and friends feel towards the unpopular way of life. Sue knows how to write about this subject without making any bad remarks or saying anything that would be upsetting to the homosexual community. It is a great book with realistic events. You never know what is going to happen next.