Writer of three books in the Choose Your Own Ever After series and three YA novels through UQP, including Everything is Changed. Her middle grade novel, The Secrets We Keep, was a CBCA Notable, shortlisted for the Readings Children’s Prize, the ABIA Awards, the Speech Pathologist Awards, the Sakura Medal in Japan, and winner of the Kroc Awards 2018. Nova’s most recent middle grade novel Sick Bay was a CBCA Notable, shortlisted for the ABIA Awards Book of the Year and will be published in the US in June through Simon & Schuster. Nova has two novels coming out this year: The Edge of Thirteen in March and Elsewhere Girls in May.
Today, Nova Weetman is on the blog to answer a few of our questions about The Edge of Thirteen. Read on!
Nova Weetman
Tell us about your book, The Edge of Thirteen!
NW: It’s about all the firsts. The first kiss, the first bra, the first time you realise that your friends are developing faster or slower than you are. It’s about trying to find a way through all the confusing feelings that you have when you are on the cusp of puberty. When I was young, we didn’t talk about sexuality, gender and puberty openly like my children and their friends do. I hope this book is a celebration of that change.
Where did you get the first spark of inspiration for this book?
NW: My daughter is sixteen, so she’s navigated much of this territory already, but my son has just started high school and is new to body changes and friendship dramas and thinking about sexuality. I think watching him go through the beginning of puberty, and also remembering my own experiences of first crushes and the horror of needing a bra, really made me want to write about this. I have such strong memories of being furious with my mum for buying me a book about puberty when all I wanted was to pretend that it wasn’t happening. I tried to write all of those competing feelings into Clem’s story.
It can be hard to navigate your friendships when you’re young and feeling left behind, like Clem. How do you think books can help kids with this?
NW: I still turn to books to help me navigate how I feel. I don’t think books have ever lost that magic for me. I would love to think that by Clem surviving her confusion and embarrassment, readers can feel encouraged that they’ll be okay too. It’s just about seeing someone else who is going through something you’re going through represented on the page. That’s true for every reader, which is why we need diverse books.
This is a story about figuring out who you are and who you might want to be in the future. Without spoiling the plot, can you tell us a little bit about how Clem does that?
NW: What I love about Clem as a character is that she gets herself into all sorts of messes and discovers things about herself by then having to tell the truth. She hates confrontation almost as much as I do, but she gets there in the end. Clem is lucky because she has great friends and great parents. She can fight with them because she knows that deep down those bonds are really strong. I also think it takes time to work out who you are and who you want to be, and I think Clem is a great example of that.
How did you come to be a writer?
NW: As a child I used to write stories on an old black typewriter. I desperately wanted to be like Agatha Christie and carried a suitcase of props around with me for inspiration. In Grade 6 I had this amazing school principal at the tiny primary school I went to, who told my best friend Cathy and I we had to write a book. We typed out nearly seventy pages on the typewriter and wrote a darkly dystopian story about a cloud covering earth and turning the world to jelly. We were the heroes of the story and it cemented my love of writing early on. I still that have that story and it’s really gruesome!
What do you love so much about writing for younger readers?
NW: Books were everything to me as a younger reader. Judy Blume supplied much of my education during my tween years, and I’ve seen the same thing happen with my children. There is something really special about writing for that age group, because books are so important then.
What is one of your earliest reading or book-related memories?
NW: I loved the Australian series, Bottersnikes and Gumbles. I was so taken by these books that I would write letters to my dad’s friend, Jane. I was Mrs Bottersnike and she was Ms Gumble, and we wrote back and forth for a couple of years as these characters. I still have the letters and the books.
What is the last book you read and loved?
NW: The last book I read and loved was Tiger Daughter by Melbourne author, Rebecca Lim. It’s also middle grade and it’s a fierce and fabulous read.
What do you hope readers will discover in The Edge of Thirteen?
NW: I hope they will discover that growing up and experiencing puberty is different for everyone. There’s not one timeline. Some kids want to grow up faster than others and there’s no right or wrong about any of it. I also hope they discover some new songs inspired by Clem and Tom’s music discussions that I basically stole from my kids who talk about music constantly.
And finally, what’s up next for you?
NW: The middle grade historical time slip novel that I co-wrote with author Emily Gale is out in May. It’s called Elsewhere Girls and it’s not like anything I’ve ever worked on. It’s about a real swimming champion who had to fight hard to represent Australia in the Olympics, and she was an amazing sportsperson and feminist.
Thanks Nova!
—The Edge of Thirteen by Nova Weetman (University of Queensland Press) is out now.
The Edge of Thirteen
Limited Signed Copies Available!
Clem Timmins can't wait to see her best friends after being apart all summer holidays.
But when they get back together, things have changed. Bridge is boy-crazy and acting like a different person. Ellie is wearing a bra and having a real-life romance. Clem feels left behind. When she makes friends with Tom, suddenly everyone's gossiping about whether they're going to be a couple. Clem's got no interest in having a boyfriend. Or does she?
What do we know about the Boy Swallows Universe Netflix show? 
Booktopia’s top thrilling fiction picks for Crime Month 
Booktopia’s Top First Nations Book Recommendations for 2023
Comments
No comments