Description Hide Description- Show Description+
WINNER - INDIE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 - YOUNG ADULT
A group of school-leavers: free at last, ready to party, expectations high.
A remote island on the Western Australian coast wasn’t exactly the plan, but they’re not going to let that hold them back.
Leonardo, geeky, asthmatic, shy and prone to anxiety, has landed with them. He’s terrified—he’s definitely not part of this cool gang. Super high-achiever Kaiya is trying to forget her frustration with her drug-addicted sister as well as dealing with pressure from the popular girls to lose her virginity. Mason, footy jock with the physique to match, is coming to terms with his secret desire for his best mate, Jared. And Jared wants a week off from his relationship with Val so he can have sex with as many girls as possible.
But the party takes a dangerous turn when Val is drugged and a man is later found dead on the beach. Blame, fear, mistrust, coverups, power plays and dark secrets tear the group apart and expose the deadly tensions beneath the surface. And each teen is forced to confront demons that will lead them either to devastating tragedy or transformative triumph.
Whoever survives the week will never be the same again.
The Brink is a raw, powerful novel that pulls no punches in its authentic exploration of masculinity, sexuality, mental health, drug and alcohol use, relationships and sex. Holden Sheppard takes the teenage experience to the next level.
Author: Holden Sheppard
Paperback Published 2 August 2022 352 pages
'In The Brink, schoolies week goes horribly wrong when a group of school leavers find themselves isolated on a remote island along the Western Australian coast. Everyone is trying to leave parts of themselves behind. For shy, geeky Leonardo, it’s the crippling anxiety that has plagued him throughout high school; for good girl Kaiya, it’s the intense expectations of her parents; and for Mason, it’s the confines of the jock stereotype that have kept him from revealing his feelings towards his best mate, Jared. Fuelled by alcohol, drugs and raging hormones, the pressure cooker of adolescence is set to explode. Nobody will leave the island the same; some won’t leave the island at all. Holden Sheppard’s debut, Invisible Boys, explored the realities of being a gay boy in a small town, and in The Brink, he demonstrates a similar commitment to the realities of being a teenager (albeit through the intense framework of a thriller). Sheppard dismantles and interrogates stereotypes of masculinity and sexuality, showing a great generosity to his characters. Rather than shying away from ‘bad behaviour’, he leans into it, presenting a group of teens pushed to their limits and exposing the best and worst sides of themselves. The Brink is a story about life on the edge—of adulthood, identity, sobriety and reality. In a series of life-defining moments, each character must decide who they will become. Sheppard’s writing is gripping and authentic, and The Brink acknowledges and amplifies the real challenges that face young people as they step into adulthood.' Bec Kavanagh, Books + Publishing
‘The characters leap off the page, warts and all, and Sheppard writes with complexity and realism about sexual discovery, family and social rejection, coming of age (and coming out). A galvanising read for adolescents, and frank about the issues raised by queer teens in a way they’ll appreciate.’-Sydney Morning Herald on Invisible Boys