Thyla

Kate Gordon (author)

Random House, Australia: April 2011; 279pp

ISBN: 9781864718812

Genres: adventure, fantasy, gothic, paranormal fiction

Issues: bullying, friendship, identity, power

When Tessa wakes up in hospital the only things she knows for certain are her first name, that she is strong and brave and that she doesn't cry.

Found in the wilds of Tasmania, Tessa has no memory of anything – the fall that must have given her concussion; who she is; whether she has family; how she came to be in the bush in the first place. Nothing. In particular she has no idea why there are strange, striping slashes down her back – scars that seem to prickle and thicken, even change colour at times.

Connolly, the kind policewoman involved in Tessa's rescue finds her a place at the school where her lost daughter went; but Tessa finds that Cascade Falls is a place of secrets and alliances. There are the rich girls, the 'beautiful people', exclusive and domineering; there are the 'scholarship kids'; and then there are those that wear the copper bangles. These girls seem different, more alive, stronger – and Tessa feels a strange connection to them, beyond friendship. Who are they? And more to the point, who is Tessa? Only by joining the nighttime bushwalks will Tessa recover her memory and realise what she truly is – and recover her connection with Cat, Connolly's lost daughter.

A strong new voice in young adult fiction in Australia, Thyla is Gordon's second novel and the first in a series. The novel has the usual problem of first-person recounts – it's difficult to believe that Tessa could remember (or would bother to scribe into her journal) conversations in such detail, extracts from books, lessons etc. Allowing for the fact that it's really omniscient narrator using Tessa's as the dominant perspective, the novel is beautifully crafted to build up the mystery and tension. While experienced readers of paranormal fiction will be able to tell fairly early on that Tessa is more than human, the point is not that the reader knows but that Tessa doesn't.

It's wonderful to see this type of fiction in an Australian setting, using Australian creatures and our convict history. Tessa's memory loss allows Gordon to explore the drama and uncertainty of a supernatural creature realising her abilities, as well as having an experienced 'thyla' available when the story needs one – and when Tessa's memory returns. There is enough drama and romance to attract fans of Stephanie Meyer but Gordon's is superior writing. Characters are complex and relationships nuanced; and Tessa, while at first in need of guidance and protection, is more than capable of looking after herself as well as protecting others.

An interesting, absorbing, distracting read.