The Comet Box

by Adrian Stirling

Tense and moving novel, set in the new housing estates of 1980s Melbourne – the heart of the Australian suburban dream. It’s as well-written, psychologically true and compulsively readable as Adrian’s first novel, Broken Glass, but the central characters in The Comet Box could be you or your friend or anyone in your class – what happens to them could happen to any one of us, as they discover that their perfect world isn’t so perfect after all, and the more they know about the people around them, the more they want to forget…

Genres: Young Adult

259 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2011

Reviews

[Nomes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so looking forward to Adrian Stirling's sophomore novel after pretty much being blown away by his debut . My expectations were high and he absolutely delivered.

The Comet Box is quite different in tone and atmosphere to Broken Glass. In Broken Glass, Stirling nails that gritty, claustrophobic and tight knit feel of a dusty small country town community. It was a sensory and gripping read, tense, vivid, absorbing and featured an astonishing climax.

While the Comet Box is different in setting, era and themes, it still shines with the same brilliance that blew me away in Broken Glass: it's a vivid and absorbing portrayal of life in the Aussie suburbs. I was continually impressed with how completely Stirling immerses the reader in the era ~ mid 1980's Aussie suburban life ~ utterly authentic and absolutely undeniably Australian.

There was just so much to love about this novel. Of course, there's the mystery surrounding why Andrew's sister has run away ~ and the suspense bubbles quietly under the surface throughout the novel:

'If I told you the truth, you'd run away as well,' she said so quietly that I could barely hear it. 'Go to bed, Andrew, and forget about everything.' p109

But it wasn't just the hook that captivated me while reading The Comet Box. It was the way Stirling holds a mirror up to suburban life, to human nature, to each character in the novel. He should win some sort of award for delving effortlessly into the minds of all the neighbourhood characters and beautifully, astonishingly, scarily depicting them. I could have been reading about a number of people I know and have grown up with O.O

I don't like to compare books, but reading The Comet Box reminded me very much so of the way Christos Tsiolkas explores Aussie themes/lifestyle/etc in which won so many awards for it's honest & startling depiction) although The Comet Box is still entirely different. I didn't particularly enjoy The Slap but I so very immensely liked The Comet Box. And I think it was because our protagonist is so relate-able ~ and also due to the gritty, grinning sense of humour ~ OH MY GOSH there are some completely brilliant lines in there. It's pretty much an entirely quotable book.

I ate an apple and forgot to take the sticker off first - my mother was probably wishing that I'd saved it for the scrapbook.' p123 (loved Andrew's scrap-booking mum. So easy to imagine her)

Andrew is curious and right at that point in life where he is searching for answers and thinking about life and what it should be against how it is. And finding out things are not at all how they seem. Perfect YA themes. Kind of disturbing and addictive ~ as if reading you are spying on Andrew's neighbourhood. Andrew puts himself right in the thick of things and the climax of the novel really is heart-pounding. There's this feeling that anything could happen and things get perfectly wild and edgy and it's taut and everything a climax should be.

Apart from the main themes in the novel ~ I pretty much LOVED all the smaller events that took place. I have lots of favourite grin-worthy parts. A lot of them made me feel quite nostalgic. Here's some of my favourite scenes/moments:

Going camping at the caravan park ~ just brilliant

MAGIC MOUNTAIN (!) so perfect (I went there too!) and the day there made me LOL

buying lollies from the corner shop <3

all the media and anticipation of Haley's comet (gosh ~ awesome idea to weave into the premise!)

Christmas day ~ so easy to visualise and feel the atmosphere

the BBQ's ~ and the cornflake salad, haha. PRICELESS

Romeo and Andrew in the abandoned house. that scene is so made of teenage win!

I wondered why people were so happy when they were camping, when they left the things they owned. p 83 (adore Andrew's observations)

For a second, I wondered if the road in front of us and the hills in the distance were real or just a backdrop that could tear apart at any moment and leave us hanging in space. p159

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this novel so much because it has three things I really love - it's got a teen boy for the central character, it's YA and it's Aussie. Despite all that, I didn't enjoy The Comet Box at all.

I had numerous gripes with this book but I'll just list the main ones. First up, the writing didn't make me feel anything. When Andrew, the protagonist, shivered or laughed or cried I didn't feel the need to shiver, laugh or cry along with him. And the number of times the author wrote 'It was like magic' irked me. It seemed like the biggest cop out. No, it wasn't like magic. It was like boring.

I didn't enjoy the whole 'the truth isn't everything' premise. It's not something I agree with in general but it kind of just made me mad while I was reading (which could be saying something good about the author, I don't know).

A lot of the writing seemed so... insincere to me. On page 35 Andrew says of his Grandpa: "he saw death as a kind of change, an adventure yet to be had." So... he's Dumbledore?

I really liked the character of Amelia. She was feisty and had a lot of personality. I didn't feel any satisfaction or resolution about her character in the end, which was a big disappointment. And the dead dog thing. I don't even want to go there.

The manuscript could have benefited from being written in the third person. I like my first person stories to have really strong voices and Andrew, well, he just didn't.

And one final note: maybe we could have just found out in the beginning that Andrew's dad was a cheating bastard and then explored the character's reactions and emotions throughout the novel? I think I would have enjoyed that more.

[Jess - The Tales Compendium · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Comet Box is the story of one boy as he searches for answers in his slice of suburban Australian life in the 1980's. I don't think I have ever had so much trouble writing a review before. I really enjoyed it, but I have no idea why! I'm failing to put it into words but it's just a feeling that I had while reading it. It was a total page-turner but I can't pinpoint why it was, which is absolutely useless when trying to write a review!

Andrew is a curious fourteen-year-old who likes knowing what is going on around him. He believes he is pretty clued in to everyone and that there isn't much he doesn't know about his classmates and neighbours. What he discovers throughout The Comet Box is that curiosity is not always a good trait to have because once you know something, you then have the responsibility of what to do with that knowledge. How will your decision effect others? What do you do when things fall apart, when you find out that your perfect world is actually not so perfect?

I think the intrigue is because all the secrets and lies that are floating around in Andrew suburbia could very easily be those of anyone's neighbours. And the problems that Andrew's family faces, could be any family's problems. You never know what is going on behind closed doors. Everyone tries to present the perfect life to prying eyes, but usually, nothing is as it seems.The story isn't propelled by major action or teen drama, but is more subtle, with an underbelly of secrets swarming around the streets of Merton. As it simmers, it pulls you in.

[Brodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a hard time writing my review for this book because I could barely find the words to adequately give it justice. I was not expecting such a quietly powerful read. Once I got into the story, I could not put it down. The Comet Box transported me back to my childhood. While this is set in the late 80's and I grew up in the 90's, the atmosphere was still the same in essence. I felt like I was inside this novel and the scorching hot summer days, the neighbourhood BBQ's while parents gossiped about that bad seed who lives across the street. Adrian Stirling's ability to capture the everyday Australian life was fantastic.

Andrew thought he knew everything about everyone in the suburb of Merton. But as we're introduced to these characters and the veil is slowly dropped, Andrew learns he hardly knows anything at all. And sometimes, the truth isn't so glamorous. Six months ago, his sister, Amelia, ran away from home leaving only a name behind on her bedroom wall: Samantha Collins. And that's all Andrew knows of why his sister suddenly left their lives. Now, with Haley's Comet on it's way and a box of secrets inspiring the need for truth, everything Andrew thought he knew about the people around him is about to change forever.

This isn't action packed book, yet it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time as we learn more about each of these characters and uncover, piece by piece, their own hidden story. When Amelia returned, I formed my own theories of why she left. Why she didn't want to come back. Why she made those constant phone calls during her disappearance. Why she was so angry. But I didn't guess right until just before it was revealed and the aftershocks of this revelation were shockingly intense and so very REAL. I can't stress enough how 'real' this book felt, in that Stirling really dug deep and explored the human nature, the depths of these characters. There's a particular scene toward the end that made me shudder. It is so powerful and represents how out of control and twisted ones need for vengeance and justice can get.

The Comet Box showed brilliantly the effect in which holding on to someones mistakes in life and allowing that to fester inside you, unable to forgive them, unable to move forward with your own life, can have on the individual and the people around them. Holding onto those feelings and the blame and the betrayal, making you want to hurt those around you in your own form of justice, it was eye opening to read. And tragic, the way that darkness clouds the mind, the heart and hinders that person from ever really moving on in their life.

This book really made me pause and literally look outside my window at my neighbourhood. Despite how close you might be to those you live next door to or anyone, really, in your life - you never really know what happens in their private life when all the visitors have gone home. There is a secret behind every single door in your neighbourhood. Every single house in your city. And while you may think you want to know everything about those around you, sometimes you're better off not knowing. When people ask whether you'd always want to know the truth or prefer to be kept in the dark - many would say they want the cold, hard facts, no matter the price. I know I would have. But then I read this book and it made me question that need, that continual quest for answers that we seek. Sometimes blissful ignorance really is better than the consequences of the truth.

I can't sing enough praise about Stirling's fantastic ability to both capture the Australian suburban lifestyle and the very heart of his readers as he takes you on an incredibly moving experience that will stay with you long after you finish reading. The Comet Box is a thoroughly engaging novel, sprinkled with a nice touch of humour and such a compelling cast of characters who are so well-defined and feel so recognisable - you could literally walk outside and meet that kind of person on the street - all set in a wonderfully Australian environment. I highly recommend you give this a read!

[ALPHAreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few weeks before Halley’s Comet arrives, Andrew’s sister runs away from home. The only traces of her are angry words between his parents and a name written on the wall of her room; Samantha Collins.

In the wake of Amelia’s disappearance Andrew starts to notice the cracks in his family, as well as the literal and figurative fissures that run beneath his suburban street. A shopping complex is being built, Halley’s comet is hurtling towards earth and Andrew’s family is being propped up with thin lies and a crumbling facade.

‘The Comet Box’ is the new novel from Aussie author Adrian Stirling.

‘The Comet Box’ packs a surprising punch in the first chapter. Stirling kicks the mystery off quickly, and leaves readers with the writing on the wall; Samantha Collins. He really does a masterful job of ferreting into your brain and dragging you along this quietly powerful story . . .

The beginning is quietly explosive – a fight in the middle of the night, a runaway child and mysterious phone calls from the missing girl. Andrew wonders at the reasons for Amelia’s disappearance, and knows that the entire neighbourhood is likewise curious as to her whereabouts. But Andrew’s mother and father remain tight-lipped and doggedly optimistic that she will return.

Andrew begins to realize that everyone is in on his family’s secret, except him. But now that a niggling has started in the back of Andrew’s mind, he can’t seem to switch off the lies around him. There’s his blind neighbour, Ruby, who lives in squalor she can’t see. Mrs Warnock watches her young, handsome neighbour from her window while her husband is at work. His best friend, Romeo, is terrified of his brutish father and secretly wishes for his death. All these lies and veneers and still Andrew is none the wiser about the lies within his own life . . .

"She never really belonged here," added my mother who had appeared in the doorway behind him. Her arms were folded. I stared back at the glass of Milo.
My father shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Listen," he said. "It's not your job to run around interfering in adult problems . . ."
I stopped stirring the Milo and looked at him.
"Nobody tells me anything," I said, "so I have to find it out for myself."
My father glanced up at my mother. They weren't sure what to do next.
"Everyone has their own secrets," said my mother, "and just because you know them doesn't mean that you understand."

And then Amelia returns. She comes home carrying the weight of betrayal on her shoulders and it’s only a matter of time until Andrew catches up to his family’s secret. Will the lies affect him the same way they did Amelia? Or will Andrew choose to live the lie in sweet oblivion?

‘The Comet Box’ is a quietly unassuming novel. There’s a lot happening, but it’s never overtly explosive or melodramatic. The drama in the novel is more like ripples than waves. The novel is quite complex, using meteoric metaphors and Electra Complex characterizations. But Stirling revels in writing between the lines, rather than knocking his readers over the head with the obvious. He is clearly a writer who likes readers to work, to draw their own conclusions about character motivations and denials, and for that I am very grateful. ‘The Comet Box’ is a far more satisfying read for what Stirling holds back.

Even the compelling secret that pushes the story along is sadly suburban. An all too common hush-hush that many families experience. The point of the secret is more that it triggers Andrews’ self-awareness; marks his transition from child to adult and his own, small, version of ‘paradise lost’ within his family unit.

I loved ‘The Comet Box’. It’s one of those books that I started reading and two hours later I was on the last page, somewhat gobsmacked at how easily I was suckered in and carried away. Adrian Stirling got under my skin with this suburban mystery that reads like a river – calm on the surface, but with a whirlpool amassing in its depths. This was an utterly compelling and fascinating read for its intricate storytelling and mundane exposé of suburban secrecy.

[Bambi · Rating 5 out of 5]

i dont know what it is about this book. i found it at my local community centre when i was 14 i think. im 20 now. its been 6 years, what feels like a lifetime. i find it hard to put things i love into words. this peek into a regular family, being overturned by this hardship, the struggle of keeping to together, living with this lie. such a good book.

[Bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memories can almost make us travel through time. We can be standing in a room, driving our car, sending an email and suddenly a smell or a thought will send us back to the moment where we are five years old. For me it was the cover of The Comet Box that sent me shooting straight back to my childhood. The light blue fading into dark blue with the over developed pink rooftops on the houses below transported me from my loungeroom to a brick pathway winding under grape laden archways. I was on the way down to our laundry (a separate little room disconnected from our house) and I was wearing white cotton shorts and a t-shirt. On my head sat my favourite cap – the visor was a vivid blue see through plastic and looking through it the world was the same colour blue that graces the cover of Adrian Stirling’s book.

It isn’t just the cover of The Comet Box that gave me a sense of nostalgia. Stirling captures the lifestyle of suburban families in Australia in the 80′s so vividly that it is impossible not to stray down memory lane whilst reading. Andrew might be surrounded by the changing lifestyles of families in the 80′s, but his experiences are universal. He is growing up, trying to impress girls and not get in too much trouble with his teacher. Andrew’s one wish is that his runaway sister will return.

Exert from http://athousandwordsfestival.com.au/...

[A Thousand Words Festival · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memories can almost make us travel through time. We can be standing in a room, driving our car, sending an email and suddenly a smell or a thought will send us back to the moment where we are five years old. For me it was the cover of The Comet Box that sent me shooting straight back to my childhood. The light blue fading into dark blue with the over developed pink rooftops on the houses below transported me from my loungeroom to a brick pathway winding under grape laden archways. I was on the way down to our laundry (a separate little room disconnected from our house) and I was wearing white cotton shorts and a t-shirt. On my head sat my favourite cap – the visor was a vivid blue see through plastic and looking through it the world was the same colour blue that graces the cover of Adrian Stirling’s book.

It isn’t just the cover of The Comet Box that gave me a sense of nostalgia. Stirling captures the lifestyle of suburban families in Australia in the 80′s so vividly that it is impossible not to stray down memory lane whilst reading. Andrew might be surrounded by the changing lifestyles of families in the 80′s, but his experiences are universal. He is growing up, trying to impress girls and not get in too much trouble with his teacher. Andrew’s one wish is that his runaway sister will return.

Exert from http://athousandwordsfestival.com.au/538...

[Marj Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In Merton our streets were named after astronauts and sports stars. You could stare at the names on the street signs for hours, hoping that some of the greatness would rub off onto you, but by the time you were six you already knew that greatness was meant for other people."

In this, Adrian Stirling's highly accomplished second novel, we are brought into the everyday world of an Australian street. Through the eyes of Andrew, our teenage protagonist, we gain a view of what's really going on behind closed doors. We journey with him from the innocence of childhood to an uneasy adolescent knowledge of the problems in his family, together with the less savoury elements of how others around him live. The presenting devices for his growth are: 1. His sister running away from home and 2. His classmates' Halley's Comet box of wishes.

Unlike the movie 'The Castle', Stirling doesn't soften his portrait of Australian family life with humour. It's a gritty, wry, at times uncomfortable journey, rounded off by some emerging hope at the end of the novel. Highly recommended. 4 1/2 stars.

[Kaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but it just seemed boring... and kinda depressing. I found it hard to relate to the POV of a 14 year old boy. But I could relate to the setting of suburban Australia in 1986, although I was only 5 and don't remember Halley's comet. I got through this book really quickly, mostly because I just wanted to be done with it.
I feel like I should apologise for not liking it. I'm sorry Mr Stirling, don't take it personally -I just don't like books that have no romance, no happy ending and leave me feeling deflated. I can't imagine today's teenagers wanting to read this.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just borrowed from the library. It comes highly recommended and should fit into my Aussie YA challenge.

Now having finished this most unusual mystery I'm not quite sure how to describe my reaction. I felt compelled to read it quickly as the suspense about family secret that cause Amelia to leave home certainly drew me in to solve the mystery.

But, I'm not sure that I liked the book because it is so bleak, very sad. Can't say I'd recommend it to younger students, more for those in Year 9 and up.

[Kitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really beautifully, simply written, evocative Aussie setting. Heart wrenching story about a boy trying to make sense of his complicated world. A little too dark at the end though for my liking, hence not five stars.

[Gemma]

i did not read this book but truly recommended it

[Tanya (aka ListObsessedReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 3 of #UnderHypedReads

[Meg]

I really liked this book. It was the sort of book that you just didn't want tho put down.

[Christina Batey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and gritty, I enjoyed the parallels of Andrews discovery of the pipeline under the suburb and the gradual uncovering of the secrets of its residents living in the houses above.

[Roseandtrad · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst piece of crap i have ever seen

[Miquaelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was alright but it is more for younger people then myself. I gave it to my ittle brother and he was quite into it.

[Sacha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Relevant themes for adolescents but the language and vocabulary was fairly simplistic. This was disappointing. Also, the ending was unsatisfactory.