Everybody Jam

Everybody Jam
Ali Lewis

Living on a cattle station out in the Australian Outback, Danny Dawson is a thirteen year old boy struggling through a difficult time. His fourteen year old sister is pregnant, his older brother has recently died in an accident that no one ever mentions, and the drought is putting an increasing strain on the family. To add to things, the annual muster has almost arrived and this will be Danny's last one before boarding school, so he needs to prove himself and prove he is as good as Jonny, his deceased older brother. To add to his problems though, he has Buzz the camel to train against his fathers wishes, and the new house girl, Liz, to contend with, who seems to make mistake after mistake. As the tension builds, unlikely friendships are formed to build up to a dramatic and exciting finale.

I loved the insight into another culture with this book! The Australian Outback became a very real and very special place, whilst I enjoyed learning about the cattle stations and the way of life out there. It contrasts so vastly to the UK and the way of life is so unique to how we live and what we take for granted.

I thought the plot was excellent - there were plenty of twists and turns throughout that kept it entertaining and exciting, as well as making me really care about the characters. I particularly liked the characterisation of Buzz and how he got to play a large part in Danny's life - a camel is an unimaginable pet in my life! I also liked the character of Liz (The Pommie) and Danny's scathing remarks about her, whilst all along the reader is likely to share similar views to Liz.

I'm not so sure about Danny's narration as I felt it was a little immature for a thirteen year old and made him seem a lot younger than he really was. However, that was the only flaw that I could really spot - I thought everything else was absolutely excellent! The title is also incredibly fitting, as I think this a novel for everyone, like how everyone likes the 'everybody jam' in the book.

This book was incredible and definitely one of my favourite so far!

Rachel, Yr 12