Bye Beautiful by Julia Lawrinson
When does a history begin? As I was categorizing this book I was tempted to tick Historical Fiction because this book is set in the 1960s – history for many of its readers. But fortunately, or unfortunately, I was alive in the 60s. So I can vouch for the accuracy of the social history contained here.
Briefly, the story is of two sisters moving to a small town in WA. Father is the local cop and Mum is a housewife. Both girls are treated as children even though Sandy is 14 and Marianne is 18. But then Marianne discovers that by getting engaged, she is suddenly considered an adult.
But the town heartthrob notices both sisters, and Marianne’s fiance is back in Perth. You can guess the story from there. However, I doubt very much that you will guess the consequences, at least not unless you also grew up in the 60s.
As always you can count on Lawrinson to challenge her readers. In Bye Beautiful she challenges them to consider carefully their personal morality and even the purpose of society’s rules. Although set 40 years ago, this is certainly a story for today’s youth.
