Pink

Pink

A fresh and lively ride on the chaotic rollercoaster of love, friendship, musical theatre and the back stage crew, from one of the brightest new voices in Young Adult fiction.

Ava Simpson's girlfriend Chloe is the coolest and most alternative person ever, and they hang out at the grown-up, lesbian Batcave with artists and intellectuals. But Ava has a secret. In the depths of her wardrobe, a shiny bag with rope handles hides a pretty soft pink cashmere knit.

Deep down, Ava thinks she might actually be the kind of girl who likes boys.

So, she transfers to a posh private-school, without telling Chloe her real reasons why. Ava quickly makes friends with some well-groomed and shinily mainstream Pastels, who match her up with an eligible, handsome boy and persuade her to audition for the musical.

Ava fails to get a part after a cringe-worthy audition, but joins the stage crew to remain involved with the production. The Screws are a bunch of messy black-wearing misfits, headed by a cheek redhead named Sam, who involve Ava in their hilarious debates and missions. Ava's having a lot of fun, but she must resist making them her real friends- because of course she's nothing like them.

Ava's life grows increasingly complicated as she struggles to keep her divided loyalties a secret and her three groups of friends apart. She finds herself dashing between Pastel parties and café gatherings with the Screws, covering her tracks and lying to Chloe. And it all comes unstuck on the disastrous opening night of the musical.

In the fallout, Ava must at last be totally honest with all the people around her. Might it actually be possible that she could be liked just for herself?

Praise for Pink:
'Fun, razor-sharp, and moving, Pink- like love is a many splendored think'- John Green (Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns)
'I laughed, I cried and occasionally burst into song'-Justine Larbalestier (How to Ditch Your Fairy, Liar)
'Pink is laugh-out loud and cringe-in-corners funny. An ouch-sharp, thoroughly modern comedy'- Simmone Howell (Notes form the Teenage Underground, Everything Beautiful)

From the Author
At the 2007 Reading Matters conference, David Levithan (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist) received a standing ovation for his plea for more Australian books that feature authentic teen characters with a range of sexual orientations and for gatekeepers to enable the passage of these books in the hands of teenagers. Pink was written in response to David's all to arms, as his speech made me start thinking- what about the teenagers who aren't sure? Who haven't made up their minds? Where are the books for them? I wanted to write a book that said - it's okay if you're not sure. You don't ever really have to decide for sure, and you certainly don't have to do it when you're sixteen.

Lili Wilkinson 29, was born in Melbourne, Australia. First published at age of 12, Pink is Lili's fourth published novel. After studying Creative Arts at Melbourne University, Lili was employed by the Centre for Youth Literature at the State Library of Victoria, where she manages InsideaDog, a highly acclaimed all-about-books website for teenagers. She is an avid reader and writer of books for teenagers, but when she's not doing that, she's usually hanging out with friends, watching DVDs and making monsters out of wool.

Pink
Allen and Unwin