The Transformation of Minna Hargreaves by Fleur Beale
I have loved Fleur Beale’s writing since I first read her book I am not Esther. She creates such a wonderful voice for her characters, male and female. She also successfully works a very realistic plot and setting.
Minna Hargreaves is happy. She is 14, has great friends and even a tolerable older brother and has just found a gorgeous boyfriend. Mum and Dad provide the lifestyle she likes, and life couldn’t be better. That is until her father decides the family is going to participate in a reality TV program. The producers idea is to take a modern family to a lonely island and leave them for a year. Food, and other supplies are provided, but it seems everything else is not.
What follows would make any producer’s dream come true. Mum is horribly travel sick on the flight to the island, well… maybe… travel sick. But when she is still unable to eat weeks later, it is revealed she is pregnant. And Dad is not the father. And then the older brother, who is fond of his recreational chemicals, is found with his little plantation. And then there is Minna’s new love. She gets just enough news during a visit from her friends that shows that he is not sitting at home missing her.
Gradually Minna discovers a strength and a committment to family that she never realised was there, and with it finds she can focus on what is truly important in life.
Well Done Fleur. And when is the next book out?
