Let’s Never Speak of This Again
Megan Williams
Ella and I have been best friends since grade one. We can spend hours talking about everything and nothing. We know each other’s greatest fears, things that irrationally annoy us, and ideal career if money and skill weren’t an issue. If there was only one Hartford Bakery brownie left in the whole world and it was somehow in my possession, Ella is the only person I’d consider sharing it with.
Life is pretty good for sixteen-year-old Abby. Okay, her grandma doesn’t remember things anymore, her relationship with her mum is increasingly strained and she accidentally kissed her cousin’s cousin on the weekend, so things aren’t exactly perfect. But everything is manageable with her best friend, Ella, by her side.
And with Ella’s brother, Will, interesting and attentive, on the sidelines.
When new girl Chloe arrives, Abby is pleased to be the one to show her around, to welcome her to the group. But Abby doesn’t imagine Chloe fitting in so well or quite so quickly. And before long Abby is feeling just a little left out, a little unsure of Ella’s friendship. In a moment of anger and confusion she wishes something bad would happen.
When it does—with tragic consequences—everything shifts again. And Abby has to face her own feelings and work out what friendship really means.
Megan Williams’ brilliant debut Let’s Never Speak of This Again is a tender, moving story laced with humour, about friendship, about the things that test it, and about what matters most.
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‘Navigating life is hard. Abby and her friends might look like they have it covered, but really they’re still learning the rules. Traversing friendships and changing alliances, and grief and loss with the best of intentions, Abby’s anxieties, stuff-ups and funny saves are completely endearing and relatable, and so very now. Teens will love this. I did!’
‘Megan Williams has done a wonderful job of showing the subtleties of teenage emotion and juxtaposing the mature with the immature…Let’s Never Speak of This Again is a must-read for teens struggling with self-doubt; it has broad appeal and is perfect for fans of Nina Kenwood and Melina Marchetta.’
‘Many of Abby’s experiences in this story will be familiar to us all.’
‘An authentic, gorgeously written story…A bittersweet eulogy to growing older, people changing, friendships growing and breaking apart…This is not a book you’ll be able to say goodbye to easily.’
‘Enjoyable for adults, young adults and soon-to-be-young-adults, this is a fun, well-written and enjoyable story of someone growing up as best they can, all with a distinct Australian setting and flavour.’
‘This is like seeing inside the life and mind of a sixteen-year-old…It details the internal struggles and conversations of a girl trying to do life well, but not always getting it right, but nevertheless learning along the way.’
‘A bittersweet and relatable portrait of adolescence…The book’s great strength is [Abby’s] endearing internal monologue, full of the humour and vitality and confusion of teenage years, with a hint of elegy at their transience.’
‘Beautifully real…The tone and tenor of the text is spot on, capturing the betwixt and between of being 16…A must have book in high school libraries, and readers who like “real life” stories based on friendship will eat this up.’
‘Beautiful, relatable, nostalgic. The Text Prize never fails to deliver the best in #LoveOzYA.’
‘This is a delightful book…I hope the idiosyncratic Megan Williams is well into the creation of her next YA novel.’
‘Writing that wrings your heart with strong emotion but never veers into sentiment…It blends realism with humour, and its universal themes are infused with a timely resonance.’
‘For the person who loves it when friendships are front and centre.’
‘Williams nails the “show don’t tell” technique as Abby struggles with crippling self-doubt, navigating female friendships and the shock of grief along with the heady build-up to adulthood.’
‘A book that doesn’t hold back from emotion, from rejection and the difficulties of navigating life as a teenager…With its distinct Australian flavour, it stands out as fantastically relatable for Australian readers. This has to be one of my favourite young adult books…This is a book that readers will adore.’
