It’s 6:40am and all is not well in the Starfish Sisters’ cabin. Five months have passed since we met the girls in Starfish Sisters and Ace, Georgie, Micki and Kia are together again at training camp, vying for a spot on the Australian junior female surfing team. Although they talk a lot about the bff (best friends forever) ideal of the Starfish Sisters, in reality they are keeping secrets, lying and betraying each other. The hothouse atmosphere of adolescent angst will delight teenage drama queens everywhere but in J C Burke’s skilled hands the girls’ characters are rounded out more fully. As we come to truly understand the pain and hopelessness of Micki’s home situation, her inner core of ruthlessness is revealed. Kia’s attempts to lead her friends back to some semblance of normality are touching. Georgie’s stalwart loyalty is addled by her first crush and Ace’s complete and utter selfabsorption is catching up with her. Ultimately, my only quibble was the group’s continuing devotion to Ace; her betrayal of Micki was a deal-breaker in my book. Burke leaves plenty of loose ends to wrap up in a further installment. For ages 13 up.

Liz Riley was a bookseller with The Little Bookroom for many years and now works for the Australian Booksellers Association

Tags: j.c. burke