Gracehopper

I was first introduced to Mandy Hager earlier this year at a conference where she discussed her career and knack for writing about complex and challenging social themes. Gracehopper coincidentally landed in my hands a few months later, and though I knew a bit of background about Mandy's work, I wasn't quite prepared to devour such a gripping, unique, and twisty novel in a few sittings.

Set in Wellington, New Zealand, the reader is introduced to seventeen-year-old Grace limping through a train station on the eve of Christmas, where she runs into her old childhood best friend in a most unconventional setting. My first impression of how the story kicked off was strong, and I wanted to know more. Why was Grace limping? Who is this friend? And what was he up to? This became my thought process throughout the story - constantly thinking & questioning what would happen next - fixated on getting to the crux of it
all. For a young adult novel, this is crucial in developing critical thinking and comprehension
in literacy.

As the story develops, the reader is taken through a series of events set between different timelines that weave through intergenerational trauma, mental health, drug abuse, grief/loss and complicated relationships. The more the readers get to know Grace and the host of intricate characters introduced throughout, the clearer it becomes how each relationship affects her as she searches for answers to her identity.

Grace consequentially leans into Jeet Kune Do and idolises Bruce Lee to cope with the challenges in her life, with mentions of this hobby heavily peppered throughout. It was nice to see this healthy mechanism develop and symbolise the hope one carries even in the darkest times.

I haven't read a young adult book of this calibre in a long time and am grateful that something like this exists for the new wave of readers in this space. It is full of depth - giving voice to minorities, people & whānau who experience traumatic events and live through distressing realities.

There are a lot of meaningful aspects to take away from this story. As a librarian and book buyer, this title will undoubtedly be on the shelves at Kaipara Libraries. I see this as a text to study in a high school English classroom setting and hope other public/secondary school libraries consider adding this to their collections if they haven't already done so.