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Amelia Westlake Was Never Here
Tired of the sexual harassment perpetrated by the swim coach at her private girls’ academy in Sydney, Amelia Westlake publishes a cartoon calling him out in the school paper. Encouraged by the approval of her fellow students, her acts of resistance (aka “pranks”) continue, and soon school administration is bent on stopping her. The problem is that Amelia Westlake does not exist. She’s the handiwork of Harriet and Will, two polar opposites who reluctantly unite to call out sexism and hypocrisy at Rosemead under the guise of a made-up student. Harriet, a straight-laced overachiever, is an asset to the school; Will, who loves to challenge authority, is more of a liability. Later joined by Natasha Nguyen, Will’s friend and editor of the school paper, the three girls bring light to other problems at Rosemead, including homophobia and racism. Harriet and Will, who are both gay and dancing around an unacknowledged mutual crush, experience homophobia at school themselves; Vietnamese Natasha is the one who must do the work of expanding Harriet’s and Will’s narrow, white perspectives. Lighthearted and funny, this novel uses rom-com conventions to explore surprisingly meaty issues. ©2020 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 12 and older
Age Range:
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Activism and Resistance
Australians
Humor
Lesbians
LGBTQ+ Persons
Love and Romance
Racism
School
Sexism
Diversity subject:
LGBTQ Character/Topic
Publishers:
Little, Brown, Poppy
Publish Year: 2019
Pages: 356
ISBN: 9780316450669
CCBC Location: Fiction, Gough