A SONG ONLY I CAN HEAR BY BARRY JONSBERG

A Song Only I Can Hear is a wonderful book. It is one of the few I’ve read recently, that I feel I can’t say too much about story-wise, it has a high spoiler alert rating. So here a just a few words to get you interested.

13-year-old Rob Fitzgerald is in love. The fact of it simple, it’s what to do next that is the difficult part. Destry Camberwick melts Rob’s heart, makes his surroundings disappear and has taken up his every waking moment. How to impress her when Rob is the shyest person in school, has nothing to offer and suffers from panic attacks at the drop of a hat? Rob enlists the help of his best friend Andrew, who has much experience in this field. Rob also confides in his Grandad, a straight talker and no-nonsense kind of man.

Apart from trying to write a poem to his love, a difficult task when ‘vestry’ is the only word he can come up with that rhymes with Destry, Rob is persuaded to join the school soccer team as a way to show his sporting prowess and get noticed by his love. The night before the game against a rival school that beats them annually by a staggering amount of goals, Rob receives an anonymous text. It proposes a set of challenges, each of which is supposed to help Rob see his potential and believe in himself.

As Rob works his way through the challenges, his relationship with his Grandad grows. He has finally persuaded him to talk about his life. Rob knows he fought in a war and that he was married and produced Rob’s father, but that is it. Over the following weeks, as the school year comes to a close, Rob’s journey to impress Destry moves into one of discovery and acceptance.

Barry Jonsberg’s writing style captures the thoughts of 13-year-old who is perhaps wise beyond their years. The format is clever and as the reader nears the end of the narrative, a series of surprises make it even more poignant. This story is amusing and moving and complicated – a bit like life really.

For Ages: 10 +years

Number of Pages: 276 in paperback.

Published: July 2018

Themes: Family, grief, bravery, transgender.

Rating: 4.5/5

I wish: I’d known someone like Rob when I was at school.