The #MeToo movement has raised important questions about our attitudes to sexual relationships, the issues surrounding consent and how damaging those attitudes can be. In MINE, Sally Partridge adds her voice to the discussion.
Published in South Africa today by NB publishers, Sally’s fifth Young Adult novel explores what happens when a young girl’s vulnerability is taken advantage of by peers.
On stage, Fin is Thor. Angry and invincible. Yet for all his potential, people always leave him. Kayla is the only girl he's ever met who’s worth loving. The only one he's ever wanted to be worth something for. Kayla knows she's weird and unlovable. But she wants to believe there is no reason to be sad anymore. In each other Fin and Kayla find the only place they've ever belonged. Until the ghosts from the past come to break them apart.
In an interview with Books Live, Sally discussed the role of music in MINE and the importance of speaking about the pressures teenage girls face. She said, ‘This is important because it’s the type of topic we’re only starting to explore now that #MeToo is gaining momentum. Girls often find themselves in situations where they say ‘yes’ when they should be saying ‘no’ because they confuse persuasion and pressure with affection, or they think the repercussions will be different. We’re letting girls down by not talking about it.’
Cape Town novelist Sally Partridge is a three-time winner of the M. E. R. Prize for Best Youth Novel and has been honoured by IBBY International for her young adult fiction. In 2011, she was named one of the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans, awarded annually to notable South Africans under the age of 35. MINE is Partridge’s fifth novel for young adults.
Visit Sally’s website or follow her on Twitter
Praise for SHARP EDGES:
‘It’s a taut, smart thriller, beautifully and cleanly written. Partridge gets into her young characters’ heads and makes them three dimensional – for me, they rose off the pages and reminded me of people I knew, loved, loathed and admired from afar when I was a teenager.’ – Natasha Joseph, City Press
‘Partridge specialises in dark, and this one is dark indeed. But it is a compulsive read.’ – Pat Shwartz, Mail & Guardian
‘In her latest novel, Partridge delivers her signature brand of hard-hitting young adult fiction. A harrowing story of teenage tragedy, told from the perspective of six characters. Insightful, frightening and ultimately sad.’ – Cape Times