Gabrielle Reid
I’m an Australian YA author of contemporary and short fiction. My debut novel, The Things We Can’t Undo was published by Ford Street in 2018 and subsequently won the Australasian Association of Family Therapy’s Book Award. My short story collection, Josie Robs a Bank, was published with Impressum in 2021. I love to hear from fellow readers, writers and teachers. Please feel free to contact me or follow me on social media!
I work from the unceded traditional lands of the Awabakal people, in what is now known as Lake Macquarie, NSW. In the spirit of reconciliation I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. I pay my respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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The Things We Can’t Undo is for every teenager (suggested reading age 15 and up) and tackles some of the biggest contemporary questions about sex, consent, friendship, family, social media and of course, the things we wish we could take back.
Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, always powerful, this unforgettable short story collection speaks to the power of the human spirit in the face of adversities both small and large. For ages 14+
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With themes of consent, sexual assault, suicide and social media at the core of this story, it is hugely relevant in today's teenage world and I highly recommend it both as a classroom discussion opener or just an intriguing story for YA's 15 and older.
It’s a highly thoughtful, important and engaging read, set in Sydney, that explores consent from more than one perspective. The amount of depth she has managed to squeeze into this book without losing pace, essence and while still keeping the reader engaged, is remarkable and should be highly commended.
Well-written and presented, this riveting novel succeeds in provoking thought and discussion in many areas, and will serve many purposes when conversation on this subject is brought up.
This book comes equipped with a moral compass and an ethical formula for those pursuers needing some guidance about sexual encounters and the notion of consent, a topic that remains vitally important. Reid’s informative depiction of one such episode should become essential reading within the national high school curriculum and would also provide a great foundation for supervised classroom discussion groups exploring these issues and the consequences of such actions.
This appealing, fast-pace novel covers tricky subjects like consent, mental illness, suicide and the negative aspects of social media. It doesn’t pull any punches but is never gratuitous.