Reviewed by George Ivanoff

Two kids from sister schools in different countries are paired up for a class assignment in which they are to email each other over a period of time in order to “discover the personal and cultural similarities and differences” between their lives. Mila is a 15-year-old girl living in Hollywood and attending Beverly Glen Girls High School. Her father is a film and television producer; Mila lives in a large house with a maid, and she has a driver to take her to school. Sim is a 15-year-old boy living in Byron Bay in Australia and attending Byron Bay Progressive High School. An orphan, he lives with foster parents who also foster a stream of other kids. His household is ‘freegan’, meaning they don’t buy anything, including food, unless absolutely necessary. These two kids have absolutely nothing in common—which, of course, is a perfect recipe for a young adult novel like It’s Yr Life.

Over the course of 278-pages of emails, Mila and Sim learn about each other and develop a friendship. Of course, there are revelations along the way to spice up the plot. Mila’s family life isn’t quite as picture-perfect as it first appears—violence, drugs, and a possible stalker are all part of the plot. Meanwhile, Sim’s problems are all brought about by a shocking discovery in a local dumpster, where he and his ‘family’ where searching for food discarded by commercial society. Each kid’s problematic situation is revealed slowly over the course of numerous emails, and the tension is maintained right to the end.

Mila and Sim take a while to warm to, as they both initially come across as rather unlikable. But one of the novel’s ‘messages’ (for want of a better word) is that you shouldn’t judge people by first impressions. And sure enough, I found myself growing to like these two kids over the course of the book. It’s Yr Life is co-written by Tempany Deckert & Tristan Bancks (incidentally, both are former cast members of Home and Away), each tackling one character. They wrote the book via email, each creating a character and writing from their point of view. It’s an effective way to tell a story, although there are times the emails seem a little contrived in order to get a plot point across.

All up, this book is an engaging read.


It’s Yr Life
(2009)

by Tempany Deckert & Tristan Bancks
Random House Australia
ISBN: 9781741663976
282pp AUD$18.95