WEBVTT
00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:22.000
Hello and welcome to the CBCA's Shadow Judging Podcast, where young readers share their thoughts on the shortlisted books.
00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:26.000
My name is Poppy Holden and I'm the host for today's conversation.
00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:31.359
We'll be discussing the 2026 shortlisted title Golden by Jade Timms.
00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:37.039
Joining us is our reader, Kara Anger, and later we'll also hear from Jade Timms herself.
00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:39.439
First, Kara's response to the book.
00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:41.280
Kara, would you like to share?
00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:53.039
Um, so I read the book Golden by Jade Timms, and it shows the journey of a girl named Eddie as she overcomes her grief from her brother-in-law Jackson's passing.
00:00:53.359 --> 00:01:02.240
And through the story, we can see her struggles with friendship and difficulties of relationship as she overcomes her grief.
00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:08.159
And as I read the story, I was engaged with many characters and their different stories.
00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:24.000
And it goes through many like relatable topics for teens, such as like dealing with falling outs of longtime friends and fun moments with friends that also could be relatable and enjoyable to read.
00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:36.959
So like she goes through her grief and so it shows how grief isn't always overcome in one way, as we can see through her journey along with her older sister Vivian.
00:01:37.359 --> 00:02:02.079
And I really enjoyed reading as it felt really immersive, and it was enjoyable to I really liked it because they had lots of fun moments with like at the smoothie bar, going on morning runs, and it showed how things aren't always perfect, even in those moments, like how she had those moments where she was still worried about what people thought of her.
00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:13.759
Some other things that I really enjoyed were how they had this nice atmospheric mood of like a small town, and it really showed the nuances of different relationships.
00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:22.080
Like for some of examples of that are like her relationship with Hal and along with her friend Hazel.
00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:28.800
When I really enjoyed reading the romance, it was really nice to read and it was really well written.
00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:31.520
And yeah, that was what I thought of the book.
00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:33.199
Yeah, perfect.
00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:33.919
Thank you.
00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:36.639
I have a couple of follow-up questions.
00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:39.520
What struck you when you first finished the book?
00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:41.919
What were your immediate responses?
00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:59.439
When I first finished reading the book, I was really struck by the sense of like, wow, and how we just went on like a journey, and it really made me reflect on the effect of trauma on one's life and how grief can be like expressed in different forms.
00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:04.639
And it was really beautiful to see how that growth was expressed through the book.
00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:13.439
Yeah, for me as well, when the book finished, straight afterwards, I was thinking about Eddie's growth throughout the book and particularly her grieving process.
00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:33.120
And the moment that I mean it's the last word, but the moment that left me with that was the repetition of Golden, the resolution of that from the start, and how that sort of appears throughout the book, and that just wrapped it all up for me and made it feel very resolved and almost nostalgic for the start.
00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:34.000
Yeah.
00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:40.639
You already mentioned a lot of the activities that happen in the book, like the smoothie bars and the running in the morning.
00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:43.599
And I agree that they made the story a lot richer.
00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:49.520
Is there any other things that you enjoyed reading about or how they added to the story?
00:03:49.759 --> 00:04:03.439
I really liked how all of them sort of added to the sort of vibe of the story because reading it felt sort of like what it's like being a teenager, and it was sort of like reading a movie almost, and it was really fun.
00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:21.199
I loved reading about Eddie's love for art and all the different foods that make you hungry while you eat, and it was really nice, and I think it feels like an actual teenager's life who doesn't just do studying but shows her different interests in life.
00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:29.920
I think that's a very good way to describe it about adding to like the vibe of the novel and how it makes a teenager's life yeah, more real in that way.
00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:38.879
And I felt for me, because all the descriptions, particularly around the food and the art, they're so vivid, they're so specific.
00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:56.560
And I when I was reading it, they're the bit apart from obviously the storyline around grief, stuck out to me so much because it doesn't feel like it's necessary for the plot line, but it makes it so much richer having all those specificities around the descriptions, and it added to like the texture of the novel in that way.
00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:04.160
You already mentioned relationships a little bit and how you thought they were very realistic and true to a teenager's life.
00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:07.040
Did you resonate particularly with any of them?
00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:14.879
Um, there's not a particular one that I found relatable, but I really liked how they were portrayed.
00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:22.079
I found some of them a bit realistic, although sometimes I found it like a little too confrontational for a teenager.
00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:28.079
But I really one of my favorite relationships was her relationship with her sister Viv.
00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:34.720
And I really liked the part where she wanted to tell her sister about how, but she didn't want to make her sister upset.
00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:36.959
I thought that was a really nice moment.
00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:47.920
And I also like how she has arguments with her friends and how and how that's shown as like it's not just a straight relationship, it's sort of a bit of like almost a rocky road.
00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:48.639
Yeah.
00:05:48.959 --> 00:06:10.240
For me, the relationships that felt the realest to me, or I could relate most of my life, was those like female friendships, I guess, and how they're also different, and how Eddie interacts with them in different ways, depending on where she is in her personal journey, in her personal growth, but also those family dynamics as well.
00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:23.920
I don't have any siblings, but I read it, having that older sister and the twin brother, it was interesting how she interacts differently with both of them and has yeah, there's complications in her life with it.
00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:27.120
There were lots of different reveals throughout this book.
00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:34.160
I've already talked about a couple, but with Jackson's death, the mother returning, and Eddie's different falling outs.
00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:36.959
Is there one that shocked you the most?
00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:41.839
For me, I found it really surprising when the mother came back.
00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:45.519
The whole situation of that was really surprising to me.
00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:49.680
Because personally, I wasn't a big fan of the mother's character.
00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:54.160
But that whole situation really shocked me that she came back.
00:06:54.560 --> 00:07:06.800
And Jackson's death was also like a little surprising because that was slowly revealed throughout the book as we slowly got little hints about it, and I liked how it was finally revealed somewhere in the middle of the book.
00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:14.079
And the many falling outs, those were interesting to read because it showed like how humans aren't always perfect.
00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:15.519
Yeah, yeah.
00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:27.120
I thought it was very well developed in that sense of having a character that isn't and lots of characters that aren't perfect, or none of them are cliched in that sense of having a direct role.
00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:29.120
They all have their issues.
00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:29.920
Yeah, I know.
00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:41.680
Oh, I just felt like they were all like had their own problems and they were all developed well, like how Hal had his own problems and how everyone had their own reasons for doing their thing.
00:07:42.000 --> 00:08:13.360
Yeah, and I liked how the mother wasn't necessarily displayed as a likable character from Eddie's perspective, and particularly that scene when she comes back with the book, when oh, Eddie finds out about the book, about trauma, and that argument that like ensues with the whole family about who was there when he died, and who like sort of has sort of ownerships in some way over his death, and I thought it was very telling of her isolation after that.
00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:23.279
And so, in that way, I felt that all the confrontations and arguments, as you said, they show the development in that character and in every character.
00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:24.399
Yeah.
00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:26.399
Thank you for those insights.
00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:29.519
It's always fascinating to hear other responses.
00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:32.960
Now we're joined by Jade Timms, author of Golden.
00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:36.240
Was Kara's reaction to your novel what you intended?
00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:38.480
Or did anything surprise you in that discussion?
00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:40.720
Yeah, that was really fun.
00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:46.960
And at one point was trying not to start crying because I thought, oh, that would be really awkward for everyone.
00:08:47.200 --> 00:09:06.240
Um yeah, I never really thought much about how people would react to the like I know that's a stupid thing to say because you write a book and you expect people to read it, but I truly didn't have any sort of preconceived idea of how people might experience a book.
00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:25.759
But I did very much write it for the younger version of myself and the way that she read books like that, the way that books like that felt like friends and books like that that I would sort of come back to again and again because they were yeah, they were just like old friends.
00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:37.039
Um, so I I wrote hoping that, you know, knowing that the teenager Jade, if she had had a book like that, she would have she would have considered them all her friends and returned to it.
00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:41.279
But it's really just grateful that actual teenagers are reading my book.
00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:42.799
So I love that.
00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:46.720
I love the idea of writing a book for your past self or something you would have loved.
00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:53.840
And in that sense, relationships, as we've discussed, are very predominant theme in this novel.
00:09:54.320 --> 00:10:01.519
What do you hope readers take away from this discussion with the falling out more than just having friends there?
00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:13.360
I just I guess my feeling is that I think it's important to talk, to not bottle everything up as a teenager and a young adult moving into my 20s.
00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:16.320
I kept everything inside for a really long time.
00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:26.080
And I just would like, I just think it's important to to share with someone, you know, be it a friend, a family member.
00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:32.159
Uh, you know, struggles really shouldn't be something that you are dealing with on your own.
00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:39.679
And I know some people maybe don't have that luxury, but yeah, I just think communication is really important.
00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:58.000
And now as an adult um who's had therapy and everything, I'm a big oversharer because I like to think maybe me oversharing about something, a struggle I've had might help the person listening in some way.
00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:05.759
Or um, yeah, you never know, like by sharing and reaching out, what can sort of come from that.
00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:07.440
Yeah, definitely.
00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:20.799
Coming back to the imagery in this book, as we've discussed with the different activities, it's all very lush and very descriptive, and that's something I I mean, as I mentioned, stuck out to me and really struck me.
00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.080
What was your intention with this language?
00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:32.799
I really wanted to write a fun, kind of beachy small town story.
00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:43.120
A lot of YA, especially in the early days of YA in Australia, they were all sort of set in Melbourne, or occasionally Sydney, but it seemed to be Melbourne a lot.
00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:51.279
And I grew up in a small beach town and I love Melbourne, but I couldn't relate to growing up and catching trams to school.
00:11:51.519 --> 00:12:08.000
So I did really want to write a book s about teenagers living in a small beach town, and you know, I live in a small beach town, so it is really a lot of it is just really just pulled from reality, truly.
00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:10.559
That's just like, yeah, where I live.
00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:12.480
And um Yeah, I love that.
00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:26.399
I did grow up in Melbourne, but I I I enjoy reading books that have this sort of I mean for me it's almost like a fantasy land of growing up in a little beach town, but it is like this really it makes it funner.
00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:45.360
I think that is and what Kara was saying about it having that like vibe, it m adds to obviously this is a very intense book with the grief and the relationships, but it lightens up that way and creates a situation that can still be enjoyed and fun to read.
00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:52.559
And with the activities as well, like with running and cooking, is that also drawn from real life as well?
00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:58.720
My boss, who's a runner, uh, when she read Golden, she was like, When did you used to run?
00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:00.720
And I said, Oh, I've never been a runner.
00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:07.919
And she's like, You got it so spot on that I assume that you had like the secret life as a runner, but I really am not a runner.
00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:10.080
Please don't make that assumption about me.
00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:12.000
I truly have never run in my life.
00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:24.240
But the smoothies and the cooking is probably I did make a lot of smoothies while I was initially drafting Golden, and they have stuck with me.
00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:33.679
Um, I do still make smoothies fairly regularly, but yeah, so like that they were sort of pulled from real life, the cooking probably to a degree.
00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:39.519
Um, but yeah, the running was just like researched, and that's uh that's not me.
00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:42.159
Well, it was very well written.
00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:44.080
Thank you for all those responses.
00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:47.600
Before we finish, one final question for Kara.
00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:51.120
In one sentence, why should someone read this book?
00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:59.279
Um, I would recommend someone to read this book if you like a vivid story that's really immersive and it shows healing.
00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:05.679
I think it would be a fun read over the summer, and I think that's why someone should read this book.
00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:09.679
Thank you to Kara and Jay for joining us today.
00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:16.159
And thank you for listening to the CBTA Shadow Jackie Funday.
00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:22.000
Hello and welcome to the CBCA's Shadow Judging Podcast, where young readers share their thoughts on the shortlisted books.
00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:26.000
My name is Poppy Holden and I'm the host for today's conversation.
00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:31.359
We'll be discussing the 2026 shortlisted title Golden by Jade Timms.
00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:37.039
Joining us is our reader, Kara Anger, and later we'll also hear from Jade Timms herself.
00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:39.439
First, Kara's response to the book.
00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:41.280
Kara, would you like to share?
00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:53.039
Um, so I read the book Golden by Jade Timms, and it shows the journey of a girl named Eddie as she overcomes her grief from her brother-in-law Jackson's passing.
00:00:53.359 --> 00:01:02.240
And through the story, we can see her struggles with friendship and difficulties of relationship as she overcomes her grief.
00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:08.159
And as I read the story, I was engaged with many characters and their different stories.
00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:24.000
And it goes through many like relatable topics for teens, such as like dealing with falling outs of longtime friends and fun moments with friends that also could be relatable and enjoyable to read.
00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:36.959
So like she goes through her grief and so it shows how grief isn't always overcome in one way, as we can see through her journey along with her older sister Vivian.
00:01:37.359 --> 00:02:02.079
And I really enjoyed reading as it felt really immersive, and it was enjoyable to I really liked it because they had lots of fun moments with like at the smoothie bar, going on morning runs, and it showed how things aren't always perfect, even in those moments, like how she had those moments where she was still worried about what people thought of her.
00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:13.759
Some other things that I really enjoyed were how they had this nice atmospheric mood of like a small town, and it really showed the nuances of different relationships.
00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:22.080
Like for some of examples of that are like her relationship with Hal and along with her friend Hazel.
00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:28.800
When I really enjoyed reading the romance, it was really nice to read and it was really well written.
00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:31.520
And yeah, that was what I thought of the book.
00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:33.199
Yeah, perfect.
00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:33.919
Thank you.
00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:36.639
I have a couple of follow-up questions.
00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:39.520
What struck you when you first finished the book?
00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:41.919
What were your immediate responses?
00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:59.439
When I first finished reading the book, I was really struck by the sense of like, wow, and how we just went on like a journey, and it really made me reflect on the effect of trauma on one's life and how grief can be like expressed in different forms.
00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:04.639
And it was really beautiful to see how that growth was expressed through the book.
00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:13.439
Yeah, for me as well, when the book finished, straight afterwards, I was thinking about Eddie's growth throughout the book and particularly her grieving process.
00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:33.120
And the moment that I mean it's the last word, but the moment that left me with that was the repetition of Golden, the resolution of that from the start, and how that sort of appears throughout the book, and that just wrapped it all up for me and made it feel very resolved and almost nostalgic for the start.
00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:34.000
Yeah.
00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:40.639
You already mentioned a lot of the activities that happen in the book, like the smoothie bars and the running in the morning.
00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:43.599
And I agree that they made the story a lot richer.
00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:49.520
Is there any other things that you enjoyed reading about or how they added to the story?
00:03:49.759 --> 00:04:03.439
I really liked how all of them sort of added to the sort of vibe of the story because reading it felt sort of like what it's like being a teenager, and it was sort of like reading a movie almost, and it was really fun.
00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:21.199
I loved reading about Eddie's love for art and all the different foods that make you hungry while you eat, and it was really nice, and I think it feels like an actual teenager's life who doesn't just do studying but shows her different interests in life.
00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:29.920
I think that's a very good way to describe it about adding to like the vibe of the novel and how it makes a teenager's life yeah, more real in that way.
00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:38.879
And I felt for me, because all the descriptions, particularly around the food and the art, they're so vivid, they're so specific.
00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:56.560
And I when I was reading it, they're the bit apart from obviously the storyline around grief, stuck out to me so much because it doesn't feel like it's necessary for the plot line, but it makes it so much richer having all those specificities around the descriptions, and it added to like the texture of the novel in that way.
00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:04.160
You already mentioned relationships a little bit and how you thought they were very realistic and true to a teenager's life.
00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:07.040
Did you resonate particularly with any of them?
00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:14.879
Um, there's not a particular one that I found relatable, but I really liked how they were portrayed.
00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:22.079
I found some of them a bit realistic, although sometimes I found it like a little too confrontational for a teenager.
00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:28.079
But I really one of my favorite relationships was her relationship with her sister Viv.
00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:34.720
And I really liked the part where she wanted to tell her sister about how, but she didn't want to make her sister upset.
00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:36.959
I thought that was a really nice moment.
00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:47.920
And I also like how she has arguments with her friends and how and how that's shown as like it's not just a straight relationship, it's sort of a bit of like almost a rocky road.
00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:48.639
Yeah.
00:05:48.959 --> 00:06:10.240
For me, the relationships that felt the realest to me, or I could relate most of my life, was those like female friendships, I guess, and how they're also different, and how Eddie interacts with them in different ways, depending on where she is in her personal journey, in her personal growth, but also those family dynamics as well.
00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:23.920
I don't have any siblings, but I read it, having that older sister and the twin brother, it was interesting how she interacts differently with both of them and has yeah, there's complications in her life with it.
00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:27.120
There were lots of different reveals throughout this book.
00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:34.160
I've already talked about a couple, but with Jackson's death, the mother returning, and Eddie's different falling outs.
00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:36.959
Is there one that shocked you the most?
00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:41.839
For me, I found it really surprising when the mother came back.
00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:45.519
The whole situation of that was really surprising to me.
00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:49.680
Because personally, I wasn't a big fan of the mother's character.
00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:54.160
But that whole situation really shocked me that she came back.
00:06:54.560 --> 00:07:06.800
And Jackson's death was also like a little surprising because that was slowly revealed throughout the book as we slowly got little hints about it, and I liked how it was finally revealed somewhere in the middle of the book.
00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:14.079
And the many falling outs, those were interesting to read because it showed like how humans aren't always perfect.
00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:15.519
Yeah, yeah.
00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:27.120
I thought it was very well developed in that sense of having a character that isn't and lots of characters that aren't perfect, or none of them are cliched in that sense of having a direct role.
00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:29.120
They all have their issues.
00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:29.920
Yeah, I know.
00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:41.680
Oh, I just felt like they were all like had their own problems and they were all developed well, like how Hal had his own problems and how everyone had their own reasons for doing their thing.
00:07:42.000 --> 00:08:13.360
Yeah, and I liked how the mother wasn't necessarily displayed as a likable character from Eddie's perspective, and particularly that scene when she comes back with the book, when oh, Eddie finds out about the book, about trauma, and that argument that like ensues with the whole family about who was there when he died, and who like sort of has sort of ownerships in some way over his death, and I thought it was very telling of her isolation after that.
00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:23.279
And so, in that way, I felt that all the confrontations and arguments, as you said, they show the development in that character and in every character.
00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:24.399
Yeah.
00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:26.399
Thank you for those insights.
00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:29.519
It's always fascinating to hear other responses.
00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:32.960
Now we're joined by Jade Timms, author of Golden.
00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:36.240
Was Kara's reaction to your novel what you intended?
00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:38.480
Or did anything surprise you in that discussion?
00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:40.720
Yeah, that was really fun.
00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:46.960
And at one point was trying not to start crying because I thought, oh, that would be really awkward for everyone.
00:08:47.200 --> 00:09:06.240
Um yeah, I never really thought much about how people would react to the like I know that's a stupid thing to say because you write a book and you expect people to read it, but I truly didn't have any sort of preconceived idea of how people might experience a book.
00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:25.759
But I did very much write it for the younger version of myself and the way that she read books like that, the way that books like that felt like friends and books like that that I would sort of come back to again and again because they were yeah, they were just like old friends.
00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:37.039
Um, so I I wrote hoping that, you know, knowing that the teenager Jade, if she had had a book like that, she would have she would have considered them all her friends and returned to it.
00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:41.279
But it's really just grateful that actual teenagers are reading my book.
00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:42.799
So I love that.
00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:46.720
I love the idea of writing a book for your past self or something you would have loved.
00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:53.840
And in that sense, relationships, as we've discussed, are very predominant theme in this novel.
00:09:54.320 --> 00:10:01.519
What do you hope readers take away from this discussion with the falling out more than just having friends there?
00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:13.360
I just I guess my feeling is that I think it's important to talk, to not bottle everything up as a teenager and a young adult moving into my 20s.
00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:16.320
I kept everything inside for a really long time.
00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:26.080
And I just would like, I just think it's important to to share with someone, you know, be it a friend, a family member.
00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:32.159
Uh, you know, struggles really shouldn't be something that you are dealing with on your own.
00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:39.679
And I know some people maybe don't have that luxury, but yeah, I just think communication is really important.
00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:58.000
And now as an adult um who's had therapy and everything, I'm a big oversharer because I like to think maybe me oversharing about something, a struggle I've had might help the person listening in some way.
00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:05.759
Or um, yeah, you never know, like by sharing and reaching out, what can sort of come from that.
00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:07.440
Yeah, definitely.
00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:20.799
Coming back to the imagery in this book, as we've discussed with the different activities, it's all very lush and very descriptive, and that's something I I mean, as I mentioned, stuck out to me and really struck me.
00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.080
What was your intention with this language?
00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:32.799
I really wanted to write a fun, kind of beachy small town story.
00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:43.120
A lot of YA, especially in the early days of YA in Australia, they were all sort of set in Melbourne, or occasionally Sydney, but it seemed to be Melbourne a lot.
00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:51.279
And I grew up in a small beach town and I love Melbourne, but I couldn't relate to growing up and catching trams to school.
00:11:51.519 --> 00:12:08.000
So I did really want to write a book s about teenagers living in a small beach town, and you know, I live in a small beach town, so it is really a lot of it is just really just pulled from reality, truly.
00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:10.559
That's just like, yeah, where I live.
00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:12.480
And um Yeah, I love that.
00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:26.399
I did grow up in Melbourne, but I I I enjoy reading books that have this sort of I mean for me it's almost like a fantasy land of growing up in a little beach town, but it is like this really it makes it funner.
00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:45.360
I think that is and what Kara was saying about it having that like vibe, it m adds to obviously this is a very intense book with the grief and the relationships, but it lightens up that way and creates a situation that can still be enjoyed and fun to read.
00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:52.559
And with the activities as well, like with running and cooking, is that also drawn from real life as well?
00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:58.720
My boss, who's a runner, uh, when she read Golden, she was like, When did you used to run?
00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:00.720
And I said, Oh, I've never been a runner.
00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:07.919
And she's like, You got it so spot on that I assume that you had like the secret life as a runner, but I really am not a runner.
00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:10.080
Please don't make that assumption about me.
00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:12.000
I truly have never run in my life.
00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:24.240
But the smoothies and the cooking is probably I did make a lot of smoothies while I was initially drafting Golden, and they have stuck with me.
00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:33.679
Um, I do still make smoothies fairly regularly, but yeah, so like that they were sort of pulled from real life, the cooking probably to a degree.
00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:39.519
Um, but yeah, the running was just like researched, and that's uh that's not me.
00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:42.159
Well, it was very well written.
00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:44.080
Thank you for all those responses.
00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:47.600
Before we finish, one final question for Kara.
00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:51.120
In one sentence, why should someone read this book?
00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:59.279
Um, I would recommend someone to read this book if you like a vivid story that's really immersive and it shows healing.
00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:05.679
I think it would be a fun read over the summer, and I think that's why someone should read this book.
00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:09.679
Thank you to Kara and Jay for joining us today.
00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:16.159
And thank you for listening to the CBTA Shadow Jackie Funday.
