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White Ute Dreaming by Scot Gardner

Scot Gardner burst onto the teen book scene with One Dead Seagull, the funny and sobering first-person account of a relatively ordinary 15-year-old's life.

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Published 3 January, 2002

Scot Gardner burst onto the teen book scene with One Dead Seagull, the funny and sobering first-person account of a relatively ordinary 15-year-old's life. Funny, because Wayne was telling the unexpurgated version instead of the tongue-tied one he gave to parents and other adults. Sobering, because just as the story got going, Wayne had an accident with a circular saw and cut off his hand. So what can you do to follow that? Gardner sensibly avoids drama. Instead, we meet Wayne as he returns to school and has to pick up the pieces of his life. He is going fine with his injury, but his girlfriend is moving interstate and his father is living in a caravan and drinking too much, just as Wayne really needs his love and support. Only his dog is really faithful. Despite the humour, Wayne shows deeper reactions to his accident and obvious signs of depression. Will a trip up north in his father's ute fix everything? White Ute Dreaming might not pack quite the punch of One Dead Seagull, but it is an absorbing, honest and thoughtful novel and will be popular with teenagers-and adults who can cope with the colourful language.

Gail Mahon is a researcher, teacher and ex-bookseller.

C. 2002 Thorpe-Bowker and contributors

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