Memoirs of a Suburban Girl

by Deb Kandelaars

It is 1979 and a teenage girl is charmed by a man she meets in a disco. Before long, like Alice through the looking glass, she tumbles into a world of strange and frightening characters. Desperate to escape, she takes us into the darkness and out again, delivering her tale with wit, warmth and furious zest.

Memoirs of a Suburban Girl is the cautionary tale of an everyday girl who makes a wrong turn.

158 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Deb Kandelaars was born in South Australia's sunny Riverland and grew up in Adelaide’s north eastern suburbs. She graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Master of Arts - Creative Writing.

Deb writes with the aim of reflecting ordinary Australian life - the experience of growing up, nuances in relationships, the weight of the everyday – and is inspired by a line from the film Shadowlands: ‘We read to know we are not alone’.

'Memoirs of a Suburban Girl' (Wakefield Press, Nov 2011) based on Deb’s experiences as a young woman living with domestic violence, is her first novel. It won Deb a Longlines residential fellowship at Varuna, The Writers’ House, in 2009, and was shortlisted for the Adelaide Festival Awards for an Unpublished Manuscript in 2010.

Her previous publications include the first of the popular 'Postcards' series (Wakefield Press) and 'Moments in Time' (ABC Books).

Reviews

[Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great read. Based on the Authors own experience. Written in a great voice the humour shines through this difficult subject. It gives you an understanding of how someone can get trapped into a bad relationship and find it hard to leave. It really evokes the period with lots of musical references. Its a great cautionary tale for any women young or old. I read it in one sitting and will read it again.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memoirs of a Suburban Girl is not a memoir, it’s a novel, but the author has based this remarkable story on her own life experience and it is compellingly authentic. Wakefield Press released it in November to coincide with White Ribbon Day, a men’s campaign against domestic violence, and I think it should be widely read. I’d like to see governments issue a free copy to every young girl the way they provide free Gardisil…

I picked it up late last night ‘just to have a little look at it’, and could not stop reading it. What could have been a dreary memoir is a riveting tale that is impossible to put down (even when you know you should turn the light out because you have to go to work in the morning). It’s described in the publisher’s blurb as ‘a cautionary tale of an everyday girl who takes a wrong turn’ and what is shocking is the way the teenage girl is so easily charmed by the sadistic older man, and then so easily intimidated into being afraid to leave him.

To read the rest of my review, please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2011/12/20/me...

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memoirs of a Suburban girl takes place in the North of Adelaide, in fact, where i live. Reading this book took me back to my teenage years and I knew the places that are described in.
I was never in the same situation as this girl but found I could relate to her in some ways.
This book is an easy quick read which keeps you interested until the end. Highly recommended for teenage girls.

[Barbara Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly harrowing. But I had to read it so I could honour her bravery

[Bettina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deb, what an amazing book (9/10) ; brilliantly told and with such wonderfully wry humour amid all the drama and hurt. Thank you so much for sharing something so painful and real.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

An empowering read.
Following the journey of a young girl through a violent relationship. Filled with witty lines and heart string tugs, it is definitely worth reading.