About the book

I think I can best answer this with a memory from when I was nearly thirteen and tried to get into the cinema to see Dirty Dancing with my friends. At that time (1987) Dirty Dancing was rated 15. I did not look fifteen when I was twelve, and nor did my friends. We put on eyeshadow and lipgloss and backcombed our hair. We picked out our most sophisticated clothes (stone-washed drainpipe jeans with ankle zips) and clip-on earrings.

Of course, we were all very hyped up about trying to cheat the system, but I was also riddled with anxiety – perhaps my friends were, too. On the bus we practised what we would say if questioned about our age. We reapplied lipgloss (pale pink pearlescent). Finally, the bravest of us (not me) approached the ticket booth. The guy looked at us for about three seconds and said “Sorry, girls, you’re underage.” And that was that.

I can remember the drop of my stomach as if it were yesterday. I was so ready to see Dirty Dancing! What did that guy know anyway? Why didn’t anyone take us seriously? Now we were all dressed up with nowhere to go, except to the nearby McDonalds for a sad bag of tepid fries.

So that’s pretty much where The Other Side of Summer fits in. It wants to get into YA, has applied some lipgloss and is hiding its nerves. But deep down it knows it’s not that edgy, older YA that gets the majority of airtime. It’s Middle Grade or young YA. Right on that cusp.

(p.s. I did eventually see the movie and it became my favourite for years.)

If you’re a teenager looking for your next read after The Other Side of Summer, my novel I Am Out With Lanterns is about some of the same characters. It’s more complex and aimed at a teenage readership. Summer’s sister, Wren, is one of the six main characters, and their next-door neighbour, Milo, is another. Find out more about it on the I Am Out with Lanterns page.