Girl Running, Boy Falling
Kate Gordon
Publication Date:
15 Oct. 2018
Rhiza Edge
ISBN 9781925563528
Format: Paperback
Do you ever look at the sky and think that's where we belong? Like maybe the world is the wrong way around and we're meant to be up there, floating? Sixteen-year-old Therese lives in a small town on a small island. Her Aunt Kath calls her Tiger. Her friends call her Resey. The boy she loves calls her Champ. She's a lot of different things for a lot of different people. Therese has always had her feet on the ground. She's running through high school, but someone in her life is about to fall ... And when he does, her perfect world falls with him. For the first time in her life, Therese can't stand being on the ground. Girl Running, Boy Falling is a raw read about a girl and boy‰ÛÓ who are beautifully flawed.
Talking to CBCA-Notable Author Kate Gordon
Who is ‘Kate Gordon’?
Can you tell us about ‘Girl Running, Boy Falling’ and how it came to be?
I have been working on various incarnations of ‘Girl Running, Boy Falling’, for many years. When I was nineteen, one of my friends killed himself. He was a hugely popular kid – funny, incredibly smart, handsome, popular, athletic, completely beloved. Everyone who knew him was in utter shock at his passing, and it rocked our close-knit world. Three years ago, another childhood friend took his own life. He, too, was so loved, and I was completely shaken to the core at his loss. I began ‘Girl Running, Boy Falling’, as a way of dealing with his passing, and of – finally – examining the impact that my other friend’s death had on me, at an early age. I wanted to look at the things we tell other people, and the things we hide; how we can never truly know people – even in this world of social media communication, where we feel like we know everything. I also wanted to look at the ways a community might deal with the death of one of its favourite sons; and how we “should” process grief. Word to the wise: there is no “right” way. ‘Girl Running, Boy Falling’ is a deeply personal book for me, but I am so hopeful that it might be able to help others, too, who are going through a similar tragedy.
