WE DIDN'T THINK IT THROUGH

I started writing this story in late 2019, a few weeks after receiving my publishing deal for The Boy from the Mish. For months, I had this character in my head who was a combination of Aboriginal boys I had worked with in youth justice centres. His name was Jamie and it was like he was hanging around my apartment trying to get me to notice him and hear his story. I know that sounds so cliche and even a bit pretentious, but it really felt like that.

Filled with momentum and joy from my publishing deal, I finally sat down at my desk and got to know Jamie. It all started with a crime of opportunity - the image of three Aboriginal boys in a stolen car, being chased by cops along a dark, dirt road in the black of night…

I have much more to say about this story and this character, but for now, I’ll leave you with my publisher’s blurb below!

WE DIDN’T THINK IT THROUGH is out in July 2023, and you can pre-order the book now!

From the author of the award-winning The Boy from the Mish, comes a compelling coming-of-age YA novel about sixteen-year-old Jamie Langton finding his future and navigating the challenges of racism, family and friendship in a small Australian town.

The thought comes to me: This is how I die. Dally is going to lose control and crash us into a pole or a house and we will be killed on impact.

The justice system characterises Jamie Langton as a 'danger to society', but he's just an Aboriginal kid, trying to find his way through adolescence.

Jamie lives in Dalton's Bay with Aunty Dawn and Uncle Bobby. He spends his downtime hanging out with his mates, Dally and Lenny. Mark Cassidy and his white mates - the Footy Heads - take every opportunity they can to bully Jamie and his friends. On Lenny's last night in town before moving to Sydney, after another episode of racist harassment, Jamie, Dally and Lenny decide to retaliate by vandalising Mark Cassidy's car. And when they discover the keys are in the ignition… Dally changes the plan. Soon they are all in Mark Cassidy's stolen car cruising through town, aiming to take it for a quick spin, then dump it.

But it's a bad plan. And as a consequence, Jamie ends up in the youth justice system where he must find a way to mend his relationships with himself, his friends, his family and his future.