Stay Well Soon by Penny Tangey

JUDGES' COMMENTS 

Stevie is an ordinary girl whose life is not simple. Her mum and stepfather, Dad Ben, are living apart. Her brother Rhys is very ill and has become the focus of attention. She’s ostracised by her school group because she can’t afford to attend school camp or own a pony, her greatest wish. In creating the character and daily life of Stevie, Penny Tangey has captured the quintessential contradictions of pre-teen girls. Stevie takes responsibility for all the family laundry and puts together a meal when necessary, but she also is able to rationalise to herself that it is okay to steal from her brother’s moneybox while he lies in hospital, or to deceive her mother when it suits. But she is disbelieving and then angry to learn that her mother has deceived her about the fact that Rhys has cancer, and that her friends at school knew before she was informed.

Authenticity is the hallmark of Stay Well Soon. It applies to all of Tangey’s characters, not only Stevie, but also her family members, her friends and the other adults in her life. It is apparent also in the detail in the various settings: Stevie’s home, school and the children’s hospital. Tangey achieves this through Stevie’s unself-conscious first person present tense narrative, and through wonderful dialogue between Stevie and the various other characters, particularly her unusual newfound but forbidden teenage friend, Lara. It is Lara who is responsible for the book’s curious title. The novel is both poignant and humorous, and the serious issues it deals with arise naturally and deftly from the narrative. It is an uplifting celebration of friendship and empathy.