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A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty
JUDGES' COMMENTS
In dual narratives (punctuated by alternative texts such as witty travel guides and outrageously funny newspaper columns written by travelling Sister Princesses), Moriarty tracks the lives of teenagers Madeleine, living in Cambridge, England, and Elliott, denizen of the town of Bonfire, in the province of The Farms, in the Kingdom of Cello. Madeleine and Elliott have much in common: both are experiencing the loss of a father and the first stirrings of romantic love. But where Madeleine’s troubles are typically those of a girl in our world, Elliott’s are complicated by living in a world where sentient Colours sweep across the land: the Reds that evince feelings of romantic love, the Lemon Yellows, which strike dart-like — first at the eyes, and then the heart. Madeleine and Elliott connect through that corner of white — the ‘slim seam’ of the envelopes containing letters they post to one another through a crack between their respective worlds.
Bringing together science, history, poetry, a dash of philosophy, a sprinkling of the mystical and a whole heaping of imagination, A Corner of White is that rare thing — an astonishingly original novel, that speaks equally to the heart and the intelligence of its audience.
Long known for her epistolary novels of teenage life, love and intrigue, Moriarty’s A Corner of White sees her tread new ground — that of parallel-world fantasy — while maintaining her trademark humour and eccentricity of plot, language and character. Moriarty displays masterful control over her various narrative threads, and the book rewards multiple readings. A Corner of White sees one of Australia's best writers for young adults at the peak of her not inconsiderable craft.