Plenty

by John Dale

Seventeen-year-old Jed White lives with his mum and dad behind the Ampol service station in the small coastal town of Plenty. His girlfriend Chrissy works in the local fish cannery. When a foreign trawler crashes on the rocks one night, Jed and Chrissy figure from the rolls of stained bedding below deck that the boat must have been carrying a lot of people. They soon discover dozens of refugees are sheltering at a nearby property.

At first the townsfolk accept the new arrivals, but gradually Plenty becomes divided as more and more boat people are relocated there. Jed is torn between his feelings for Chrissy and his fascination for Ashley Page who lives with her father on the property and is helping the new arrivals move in and adapt. As external pressures build, Jed is forced to make a choice about where he belongs and what he believes.

A story of love and loyalty, prejudice and pride, Plenty is the riveting new book from the bestselling author of Huckstepp and The Dogs Are Barking.

Praise for Plenty

‘An authentic voice telling a compelling story for our times.’ Peter Corris

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2013

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has light shades of Wake in Fright about it. Not as horrific as that, but the way Jed sees all the townspeople and shows us how they react to the "boaties" reminded me of that book. Jed comes across as a quiet and thoughtful young man , torn between his affection for and interest in two very different girls and the love and respect he has for his father (in spite of himself).
The storyline of the boat people takes on a life of its own - starting as background to the "relationships" between Jed, Chrissy and Ashley. Eventually the refugee "situation" comes to the fore - hitting notes we have all seen in the media over the past few months. The best part about it is that Dale never pronounces judgement on any of his characters. He lets them speak for themselves, often from the heart. We are left to ponder how we might react in a similar set of circumstances, and also to marvel at small town spirit and connections.
When I reached the end I felt strangely dissatisfied - I guess I expected more of a conclusion, but in hindsight it really reflects the reality of life for many refugees and asylum seekers. A life lived in limbo.
Definitely a novel for our times, and one destined to be remembered of its time.
For ages 14 and up.

[Tina Jameson · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first page I knew this book was going to be something special. The language is rich and evocative, but does not detract from the pace and plot of this excellent novel. A story for our times, this novel explores the deep conflict within a small town community, which is thrown under the media and political spotlight after being 'chosen' without any consultation, as a base for 'accommodating' refugees waiting for asylum approval.

Told from the perspective of a teen boy trying to rationalize his experiences and values in the midst of all the small town antagonism, we are shown many negatives of living in such a socially isolated town. Ultimately we also learn that there are things that ought to be valued even where there are attitudes that could be shunned.

[Katie Beitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good short Australian novel. I have used it with my senior English Communication class and they found the characters very easy to relate to. There were some gaps in the novel which forced the reader to make big jumps.