Description Hide Description- Show Description+
Shortlisted for the 2021 Text Prize
Dale is grappling with guilt and intense regret after stumbling in on what looked to be a rape in a bedroom at a party. In his drunken confusion, he froze—and then bolted. Why didn’t he do anything? Why didn’t he tell someone? He can’t stop thinking about what happened. He wants to make things right—but he doesn’t know how.
There’s no way he can talk to his dad. His mum walked out four months ago. And his best friend, Kieran, wouldn’t understand. Dale’s not even sure Kieran would see a problem with what happened. Kieran is so casual about sex. And drugs. And life in general. The opposite of Dale.
Then Max arrives, Dale’s cousin. She’s older, smart, cool—with her own perspective on Dale’s problem. But she’s also suffering from an eating disorder, and Dale once again is powerless to help.
Meanwhile, Dale meets Brent: he’s a year older, and hot. And they hook up. It’s intense and intimate and seems destined to become the perfect relationship. And Dale holds on tight—too tight.
Blind Spot is a nuanced and insightful exploration of the responsibility that comes with being a witness, the culpability of inaction and the complex nature of friendship—from an exciting new voice in Australian YA literature.
Author: Robyn Dennison
Paperback Published 4 July 2023 288 pages
"Robyn Dennison’s debut novel Blind Spot is a sophisticated, challenging novel that explores themes of personal responsibility alongside a duty of care for others. Dale is a ‘nice’ guy who’s happy just hanging out and getting stoned with his best friend, Kieran. But he’s weighed down by the guilt of having witnessed a moment at a party in which, if he’d intervened, he could have prevented a sexual assault. For months Dale has been spiralling deeper into self-loathing, obsessing over his inaction and what it probably led to, as well as what it reveals about who he is as a person. When his cousin Max (Maxine) moves in with him and his dad to recover from an eating disorder, Dale is forced to confront his failure to act. As a witness to assault rather than the survivor or perpetrator, Dale is a fascinating subject for a novel that gives voice to difficult issues such as shame, masculinity and fear. Dennison writes Dale with great depth and empathy, capturing his struggles as he navigates his first gay romance while holding him accountable for his apathy and inaction. Blind Spot was shortlisted for the 2021 Text Prize and is a compelling, important novel for young people." - Bec Kavanagh, Books+Publishing