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Girlfriend Fiction #2
Indigo Girls
Zara's an alpha - the first letter of the Greek alphabet. She's popular. I'm more like one of the obscure letters in the middle that no one's ever heard of - an omicron or something.
Zara, Tilly and Mieke go to different schools and live in different social worlds. But for two weeks every summer they're the Indigo Girls - surfing, bushwalking, or just hanging out at the campground or the nearby resort. This year Mieke doesn't show up, and Zara and Tilly - the queen bee and the geek - are left circling each other, unsure how to relate without Mieke in the middle. Soon it becomes a summer of change and a summer of secrets; a summer for losing themselves but finding each other.
Zara, Tilly and Mieke go to different schools and live in different social worlds. But for two weeks every summer they're the Indigo Girls - surfing, bushwalking, or just hanging out at the campground or the nearby resort. This year Mieke doesn't show up, and Zara and Tilly - the queen bee and the geek - are left circling each other, unsure how to relate without Mieke in the middle. Soon it becomes a summer of change and a summer of secrets; a summer for losing themselves but finding each other.
180 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2008
4 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 25, 2008
Allen and Unwin have just launched a new series of fiction for teenage girls under the Girlfriend Fiction banner. Girlfriend is a magazine ostensibly for teenage girls—which means it's probably mostly read by tweens or girls in early adolescence, which makes me wonder a little about the audience for the new series.
I've read one of the first to be released (there will be eight per year), The Indigo Girls by Penni Russon, and it's good! Certainly a cut above what you might expect of a magazine tie-in—which I assume is Allen and Unwin's intention—and streets away from the series fiction for teenage girls of years gone by. Yes, there's romance, but it's not soppy Mills and Boon Junior—the characters are fully drawn and the plot is not centred on the romance. Rather, identity is at the heart of The Indigo Girls, and while sexuality is part of that, it's more to do with the central female characters, Zara and Tilly, figuring stuff out about themselves. Family and friendships are the primary relationships of interest.
Returning to the question of readership for a moment, some of the content of The Indigo Girls is pretty mature. Zara is receiving sexually explicit bullying SMS texts from an unknown source, and there's her backstory of walking in on one of her friends "servicing" her—Zara's—boyfriend at a party. I'm not unduly concerned about younger teens reading this—they are exposed to more explicit material in less "responsible" contexts than this well-written and observed novel, but I do suspect the books may be pitched at a slightly older readership than the magazine actually attracts. The "If you liked Girlfriend fiction, you might also like..." link lists some very mature YA titles, like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.
Still, this very mild reservation aside (and I'm not even sure it's a reservation, more an observation), if The Indigo Girls is any indication, the Girlfriend fiction are a welcome addition to mid-range fiction for teenage girls, books that address their interests and concerns with a contemporary edge and not a whiff of condescension. And they look good, too!
I've read one of the first to be released (there will be eight per year), The Indigo Girls by Penni Russon, and it's good! Certainly a cut above what you might expect of a magazine tie-in—which I assume is Allen and Unwin's intention—and streets away from the series fiction for teenage girls of years gone by. Yes, there's romance, but it's not soppy Mills and Boon Junior—the characters are fully drawn and the plot is not centred on the romance. Rather, identity is at the heart of The Indigo Girls, and while sexuality is part of that, it's more to do with the central female characters, Zara and Tilly, figuring stuff out about themselves. Family and friendships are the primary relationships of interest.
Returning to the question of readership for a moment, some of the content of The Indigo Girls is pretty mature. Zara is receiving sexually explicit bullying SMS texts from an unknown source, and there's her backstory of walking in on one of her friends "servicing" her—Zara's—boyfriend at a party. I'm not unduly concerned about younger teens reading this—they are exposed to more explicit material in less "responsible" contexts than this well-written and observed novel, but I do suspect the books may be pitched at a slightly older readership than the magazine actually attracts. The "If you liked Girlfriend fiction, you might also like..." link lists some very mature YA titles, like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.
Still, this very mild reservation aside (and I'm not even sure it's a reservation, more an observation), if The Indigo Girls is any indication, the Girlfriend fiction are a welcome addition to mid-range fiction for teenage girls, books that address their interests and concerns with a contemporary edge and not a whiff of condescension. And they look good, too!
January 30, 2009
Get book I carnt wait to read the rest of the girlfrind fiction books.
I reckon this book was really good shows two different personalities that are "Same, Same, But Different." If you know what I mean.
I reckon this book was really good shows two different personalities that are "Same, Same, But Different." If you know what I mean.
March 13, 2018
Absolutely loved this book! It made me angry, sad, happy! All examples of a great book. If you can get a book to emanate all the emotions then it is well worth the read. I wanted Eliza to succeed in growing indigo.
June 5, 2017
it is one of those book you read but never again. it is to dramatic
October 1, 2020
Just as nostalgic as I remembered. Read this when I was much younger and still love it.
January 10, 2021
*read back in the day when I was about 14 years old
Read
December 28, 2022me trying to remember what books i read this year and forgot to add on here hold up
June 12, 2023
3.5 stars
August 30, 2023
Great book. Wish I read this when I was younger. Especially a good book for summer time.
February 17, 2014
if I tried to describe the plot, it might sound like lots of other YA novels - and I guess in many ways it is. the central characters are teenagers; they're dealing with issues in their families, with their friends, with self-image and identity - yet Penni Russon's writing makes this one of the most unexpected books I've read.
the characters develop and interact in ways I didn't expect, and the plot twists avoid the obvious. there's a great sense of place. the girls' voices and characters are distinct (Zara seems to be suffering from depression some of the time), each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
their experiences are quite tangible, whether they're surfing, Zara is running, Tilly is struggling to to walk fast, or they're wearing clothes they're not used to...
the families are also well drawn.
one of my favourite bits is when Tilly has been dancing - something she doesn't normally do - and feeling both self-conscious and uncertain, and can't decide whether to run away or stay:
"I dithered, which is almost the same as dancing, but with less swaying."
recommended for anyone who enjoys character-based YA realism, self-discovery, tales of friendship, and coming-of-age stories.
the characters develop and interact in ways I didn't expect, and the plot twists avoid the obvious. there's a great sense of place. the girls' voices and characters are distinct (Zara seems to be suffering from depression some of the time), each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
their experiences are quite tangible, whether they're surfing, Zara is running, Tilly is struggling to to walk fast, or they're wearing clothes they're not used to...
the families are also well drawn.
one of my favourite bits is when Tilly has been dancing - something she doesn't normally do - and feeling both self-conscious and uncertain, and can't decide whether to run away or stay:
"I dithered, which is almost the same as dancing, but with less swaying."
recommended for anyone who enjoys character-based YA realism, self-discovery, tales of friendship, and coming-of-age stories.
September 9, 2017
Title: Indigo Girls
Series: Girlfriend Fiction (#2)
Author: Penni Russon
Genre: Teen Fiction
Rating: 3.5 stars
This is a wonderful story of friendship, finding oneself (identity) and learning about love.
It follows one summer of friends, Zara and Tilly. This summer things are different. The girls are different, they are each battling identity issues, Tilly may be falling in love, and Zara is hiding something huge. Plus they are both worried about how to interact with the other given that their other friend Mieke isn't going to be there for another week - she's usually the buffer to Zara and Tilly being complete opposites.
It's one heck of a summer that's for sure.
And a really great book. :)
Series: Girlfriend Fiction (#2)
Author: Penni Russon
Genre: Teen Fiction
Rating: 3.5 stars
This is a wonderful story of friendship, finding oneself (identity) and learning about love.
It follows one summer of friends, Zara and Tilly. This summer things are different. The girls are different, they are each battling identity issues, Tilly may be falling in love, and Zara is hiding something huge. Plus they are both worried about how to interact with the other given that their other friend Mieke isn't going to be there for another week - she's usually the buffer to Zara and Tilly being complete opposites.
It's one heck of a summer that's for sure.
And a really great book. :)
January 29, 2011
The tie-in with Girlfriend magazine made me think the worst - that this'd be another schmaltzy teenage puff piece - but I was pleasently suprised! This is a well crafted, interesting story. The characters have real depth and the storyline is completely believable.
March 3, 2011
Wow, all I can say is wow. It's a true frendship story and its just amazing! I love how both the girls changed so dramatically! Penni Russon is in my top 5 fave authors, this book is definitely a must read!
June 11, 2012
I REALLY liked this book! Something that i would recommend!!
You really feel that you become a part of the characters' lives knowing anything and everything about them. It was a book for me, hard to put down :)
You really feel that you become a part of the characters' lives knowing anything and everything about them. It was a book for me, hard to put down :)
June 9, 2008
oh my gosh, Love it
July 8, 2010
people said it wasn't worth reading so i didn't actually get past chapter 1
May 5, 2011
just great
Read
October 24, 20111st April 2012
March 18, 2016
A sweet and brilliantly crafted teen novel that is just the kind of book you should read whilst hanging out at the beach with your friends.
October 22, 2015
This book was pretty good but I didn't really like Tilly's story. I liked and understood Zara's but not Tilly's.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews