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Tenderfoot
By the bestselling, award-winning author of
Addition,
an exhilarating novel about coming of age in 1970s Australia.
Wait for the boxes to open, wait for the race to begin. Wait, and your greyhound will cease to be the dog you know and become an entirely different kind of animal.
Brisbane, 1975: Andie Tanner's world is small but whole. Her mum is complicated, but she adores her dad and the kennel of racing greyhounds that live under their house. Andie is a serious girl with finish school with her friends, then apprentice to her father until she can become a greyhound trainer, with dogs of her very own.
But real life rarely goes to plan, and the world is bigger and more complicated than Andie could imagine. When she loses everything she cares about - her family, her friends, the dogs - it's up to Andie to reclaim her future. She will need all her wits to survive this new reality of secrets and half-truths, addictions and crime.
With luminous, aching prose, Tenderfoot will move you like no other story this year.
Wait for the boxes to open, wait for the race to begin. Wait, and your greyhound will cease to be the dog you know and become an entirely different kind of animal.
Brisbane, 1975: Andie Tanner's world is small but whole. Her mum is complicated, but she adores her dad and the kennel of racing greyhounds that live under their house. Andie is a serious girl with finish school with her friends, then apprentice to her father until she can become a greyhound trainer, with dogs of her very own.
But real life rarely goes to plan, and the world is bigger and more complicated than Andie could imagine. When she loses everything she cares about - her family, her friends, the dogs - it's up to Andie to reclaim her future. She will need all her wits to survive this new reality of secrets and half-truths, addictions and crime.
With luminous, aching prose, Tenderfoot will move you like no other story this year.
Audible Audio
Published August 26, 2025
128 people are currently reading
1312 people want to read
About the author
Toni Jordan
24 books274 followershttps://www.tonijordan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/authortonijo...
Toni Jordan has worked as a molecular biologist, quality control chemist, TAB operator and door-to-door aluminium siding salesperson.
She is the author of six novels including the international bestseller Addition, which was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, Nine Days, which was awarded Best Fiction at the 2012 Indie Awards and was named in Kirkus Review's top 10 Historical Novels of 2013, and Our Tiny, Useless Hearts, which was longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award.
Toni has been published widely in newspapers and magazines.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in physiology and a PhD in Creative Arts.
Toni lives in Melbourne.
https://www.facebook.com/authortonijo...
Toni Jordan has worked as a molecular biologist, quality control chemist, TAB operator and door-to-door aluminium siding salesperson.
She is the author of six novels including the international bestseller Addition, which was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, Nine Days, which was awarded Best Fiction at the 2012 Indie Awards and was named in Kirkus Review's top 10 Historical Novels of 2013, and Our Tiny, Useless Hearts, which was longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award.
Toni has been published widely in newspapers and magazines.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in physiology and a PhD in Creative Arts.
Toni lives in Melbourne.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
July 26, 2025
Tenderfoot is the eighth novel by award-winning, bestselling Australian author, Toni Jordan. One Tuesday in late August, 1975, twelve-year-old Andrea Tanner’s secure, predictable life pivots: at school, she is abruptly and, to her adolescent brain, unfairly friendless. At home, the father she idolises has unexpectedly gone without saying goodbye, taking three of their beloved greyhounds with him. What does this mean for her plan, her one ambition, to apprentice as a trainer with him?
She is left with her critical, often irritable mother, whose mercurial moods require vigilant scrutiny. Thank goodness her favourite dog, Tippy is still in her cage under the house, a small comfort. But soon after, Steve Lynch moves in, a replacement for Eddie Tanner with her mother, but not with Andie. She can be polite, as expected, yes, but she Will. Not. Like him.
“My parents and I had a pact. I had done everything they’d asked of me, always, without complaint, yet our family was broken. It wasn’t fair. I refused to stand for it.” Andie is determined to do what she can to effect the return of her father, and the dogs. Only much later does she realise just how unsuited they really were: her father “so self-contained and focused and unfulfilled, heavy with hopes for his life”; her mother “wilful and extravagant and sensuous, incapable of plans that went beyond the next hour.”
Meanwhile, she has thought of a way to reverse the ghosting of her that has infected the whole school, and regain the affections of her once-best-friend, a rather naïve plan that relies on finding a missing cat. Restoring her home situation will require getting some dirt on Steve that will force his removal: easier thought than done, but she is resolute. As immature and unsophisticated as she is, Andie forges ahead with no concept of the real consequences of her actions.
Young and inexperienced she may be, yet Jordan’s protagonist sometimes shows unexpected insight: “The truth is that greyhounds are two animals at the same time – Tippy and Tenderfoot, the gentlest of animals unless you are a small furry creature. It’s simplistic to think that people are either good or bad. People behave the same way dogs do – their nature depends on whether you are a small furry creature or not.” And indeed, several characters do surprise, in different ways.
Jordan’s inclusion of the breeding, training and racing of greyhounds is well-researched and balanced, but also steeped in the authenticity born of personal experience. “Those exquisite animals, all that compact muscle and forward propulsion and desperation. The next twenty-five or thirty or forty seconds are the culmination of the dog’s whole life with us from the moment we picked them up as a puppy: all that feeding and brushing and walking, all that preparation and solicitous care compressed and concentrated. They are triers, the dogs. They are desperate and straining and giving it everything they have. Nothing on earth can stop them.”
Jordan evokes her setting and era with consummate ease and this is a story that will certainly strike a chord with readers of a certain vintage, especially the school scenes and the many popular culture references and social mores. Her support characters will feel familiar to many, their dialogue typical of the time, everyday. An exceptionally moving coming-of-age tale the way only Toni Jordan can tell it.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Hachette Australia
She is left with her critical, often irritable mother, whose mercurial moods require vigilant scrutiny. Thank goodness her favourite dog, Tippy is still in her cage under the house, a small comfort. But soon after, Steve Lynch moves in, a replacement for Eddie Tanner with her mother, but not with Andie. She can be polite, as expected, yes, but she Will. Not. Like him.
“My parents and I had a pact. I had done everything they’d asked of me, always, without complaint, yet our family was broken. It wasn’t fair. I refused to stand for it.” Andie is determined to do what she can to effect the return of her father, and the dogs. Only much later does she realise just how unsuited they really were: her father “so self-contained and focused and unfulfilled, heavy with hopes for his life”; her mother “wilful and extravagant and sensuous, incapable of plans that went beyond the next hour.”
Meanwhile, she has thought of a way to reverse the ghosting of her that has infected the whole school, and regain the affections of her once-best-friend, a rather naïve plan that relies on finding a missing cat. Restoring her home situation will require getting some dirt on Steve that will force his removal: easier thought than done, but she is resolute. As immature and unsophisticated as she is, Andie forges ahead with no concept of the real consequences of her actions.
Young and inexperienced she may be, yet Jordan’s protagonist sometimes shows unexpected insight: “The truth is that greyhounds are two animals at the same time – Tippy and Tenderfoot, the gentlest of animals unless you are a small furry creature. It’s simplistic to think that people are either good or bad. People behave the same way dogs do – their nature depends on whether you are a small furry creature or not.” And indeed, several characters do surprise, in different ways.
Jordan’s inclusion of the breeding, training and racing of greyhounds is well-researched and balanced, but also steeped in the authenticity born of personal experience. “Those exquisite animals, all that compact muscle and forward propulsion and desperation. The next twenty-five or thirty or forty seconds are the culmination of the dog’s whole life with us from the moment we picked them up as a puppy: all that feeding and brushing and walking, all that preparation and solicitous care compressed and concentrated. They are triers, the dogs. They are desperate and straining and giving it everything they have. Nothing on earth can stop them.”
Jordan evokes her setting and era with consummate ease and this is a story that will certainly strike a chord with readers of a certain vintage, especially the school scenes and the many popular culture references and social mores. Her support characters will feel familiar to many, their dialogue typical of the time, everyday. An exceptionally moving coming-of-age tale the way only Toni Jordan can tell it.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Hachette Australia
June 21, 2025
Tenderfoot by Toni Jordan is releasing in late August, but I'm quite a fan of her work and couldn't wait until closer to that date to read it. This is the fourth novel by Toni I have read, and each of them have been five star reads.
'It becomes clear in those moments that childhood is as much a place as it is a time.'
Tenderfoot is a coming of age story told almost in the style of a memoir, from the perspective of Andie, looking back on the year she was 12, when her life went from being one thing into entirely another. The writing is everything I've come to love about Toni Jordan, witty, honest, deeply introspective, with time and place so neatly woven through the narrative, so much so, that as a reader, you are transported back to Queensland in the 1970s, that wild, corrupt, yet infinitely casual place.
'The truth is, of course, that everyone can be trusted and no one can be, depending on the circumstances.'
This is a story about Queensland childhoods in the 1970s, about greyhound racing, gambling, corruption, bad people who still have the capacity to do good things, mothers and fathers who fall off their pedestals in the most spectacular of ways. There are Boy Swallows Universe vibes with this one, and yet it sits firmly within a class of its own.
'Maturity does not rise smoothly like water filling a tank. Instead, our coming of age is a jerky, unpredictable process, a wild tide coming in on a ragged beach.'
Needless to say, I loved this novel. Towards the end, some truly brutal truths about the history of greyhound racing were disclosed, and these were not easy to read but were nonetheless essential to the telling of this magnificent story. I can't wait for this to be released and to watch the love pour in once again for Toni Jordan.
Thanks to @hachetteaus for the book review copy.
'It becomes clear in those moments that childhood is as much a place as it is a time.'
Tenderfoot is a coming of age story told almost in the style of a memoir, from the perspective of Andie, looking back on the year she was 12, when her life went from being one thing into entirely another. The writing is everything I've come to love about Toni Jordan, witty, honest, deeply introspective, with time and place so neatly woven through the narrative, so much so, that as a reader, you are transported back to Queensland in the 1970s, that wild, corrupt, yet infinitely casual place.
'The truth is, of course, that everyone can be trusted and no one can be, depending on the circumstances.'
This is a story about Queensland childhoods in the 1970s, about greyhound racing, gambling, corruption, bad people who still have the capacity to do good things, mothers and fathers who fall off their pedestals in the most spectacular of ways. There are Boy Swallows Universe vibes with this one, and yet it sits firmly within a class of its own.
'Maturity does not rise smoothly like water filling a tank. Instead, our coming of age is a jerky, unpredictable process, a wild tide coming in on a ragged beach.'
Needless to say, I loved this novel. Towards the end, some truly brutal truths about the history of greyhound racing were disclosed, and these were not easy to read but were nonetheless essential to the telling of this magnificent story. I can't wait for this to be released and to watch the love pour in once again for Toni Jordan.
Thanks to @hachetteaus for the book review copy.
September 4, 2025
Tenderfoot is the eighth novel by award-winning, bestselling Australian author, Toni Jordan. The audio version is narrated by Catherine McClements. One Tuesday in late August, 1975, twelve-year-old Andrea Tanner’s secure, predictable life pivots: at school, she is abruptly and, to her adolescent brain, unfairly friendless. At home, the father she idolises has unexpectedly gone without saying goodbye, taking three of their beloved greyhounds with him. What does this mean for her plan, her one ambition, to apprentice as a trainer with him?
She is left with her critical, often irritable mother, whose mercurial moods require vigilant scrutiny. Thank goodness her favourite dog, Tippy is still in her cage under the house, a small comfort. But soon after, Steve Lynch moves in, a replacement for Eddie Tanner with her mother, but not with Andie. She can be polite, as expected, yes, but she Will. Not. Like him.
“My parents and I had a pact. I had done everything they’d asked of me, always, without complaint, yet our family was broken. It wasn’t fair. I refused to stand for it.” Andie is determined to do what she can to effect the return of her father, and the dogs. Only much later does she realise just how unsuited they really were: her father “so self-contained and focused and unfulfilled, heavy with hopes for his life”; her mother “wilful and extravagant and sensuous, incapable of plans that went beyond the next hour.”
Meanwhile, she has thought of a way to reverse the ghosting of her that has infected the whole school, and regain the affections of her once-best-friend, a rather naïve plan that relies on finding a missing cat. Restoring her home situation will require getting some dirt on Steve that will force his removal: easier thought than done, but she is resolute. As immature and unsophisticated as she is, Andie forges ahead with no concept of the real consequences of her actions.
Young and inexperienced she may be, yet Jordan’s protagonist sometimes shows unexpected insight: “The truth is that greyhounds are two animals at the same time – Tippy and Tenderfoot, the gentlest of animals unless you are a small furry creature. It’s simplistic to think that people are either good or bad. People behave the same way dogs do – their nature depends on whether you are a small furry creature or not.” And indeed, several characters do surprise, in different ways.
Jordan’s inclusion of the breeding, training and racing of greyhounds is well-researched and balanced, but also steeped in the authenticity born of personal experience. “Those exquisite animals, all that compact muscle and forward propulsion and desperation. The next twenty-five or thirty or forty seconds are the culmination of the dog’s whole life with us from the moment we picked them up as a puppy: all that feeding and brushing and walking, all that preparation and solicitous care compressed and concentrated. They are triers, the dogs. They are desperate and straining and giving it everything they have. Nothing on earth can stop them.”
Jordan evokes her setting and era with consummate ease and this is a story that will certainly strike a chord with readers of a certain vintage, especially the school scenes and the many popular culture references and social mores. Her support characters will feel familiar to many, their dialogue typical of the time, everyday. An exceptionally moving coming-of-age tale the way only Toni Jordan can tell it.
She is left with her critical, often irritable mother, whose mercurial moods require vigilant scrutiny. Thank goodness her favourite dog, Tippy is still in her cage under the house, a small comfort. But soon after, Steve Lynch moves in, a replacement for Eddie Tanner with her mother, but not with Andie. She can be polite, as expected, yes, but she Will. Not. Like him.
“My parents and I had a pact. I had done everything they’d asked of me, always, without complaint, yet our family was broken. It wasn’t fair. I refused to stand for it.” Andie is determined to do what she can to effect the return of her father, and the dogs. Only much later does she realise just how unsuited they really were: her father “so self-contained and focused and unfulfilled, heavy with hopes for his life”; her mother “wilful and extravagant and sensuous, incapable of plans that went beyond the next hour.”
Meanwhile, she has thought of a way to reverse the ghosting of her that has infected the whole school, and regain the affections of her once-best-friend, a rather naïve plan that relies on finding a missing cat. Restoring her home situation will require getting some dirt on Steve that will force his removal: easier thought than done, but she is resolute. As immature and unsophisticated as she is, Andie forges ahead with no concept of the real consequences of her actions.
Young and inexperienced she may be, yet Jordan’s protagonist sometimes shows unexpected insight: “The truth is that greyhounds are two animals at the same time – Tippy and Tenderfoot, the gentlest of animals unless you are a small furry creature. It’s simplistic to think that people are either good or bad. People behave the same way dogs do – their nature depends on whether you are a small furry creature or not.” And indeed, several characters do surprise, in different ways.
Jordan’s inclusion of the breeding, training and racing of greyhounds is well-researched and balanced, but also steeped in the authenticity born of personal experience. “Those exquisite animals, all that compact muscle and forward propulsion and desperation. The next twenty-five or thirty or forty seconds are the culmination of the dog’s whole life with us from the moment we picked them up as a puppy: all that feeding and brushing and walking, all that preparation and solicitous care compressed and concentrated. They are triers, the dogs. They are desperate and straining and giving it everything they have. Nothing on earth can stop them.”
Jordan evokes her setting and era with consummate ease and this is a story that will certainly strike a chord with readers of a certain vintage, especially the school scenes and the many popular culture references and social mores. Her support characters will feel familiar to many, their dialogue typical of the time, everyday. An exceptionally moving coming-of-age tale the way only Toni Jordan can tell it.
August 30, 2025
Tenderfoot by Toni Jordan was a mind-blowing read for me. As usual Jordan's writing is amazing. I read her debut novel Addition after commencing writing-related courses and it was the first time I became conscious of prose and I marvelled at her genius. I felt the same way years later when I read
The Fragments
. Tenderfoot (for me) however offered so much more - a very nostalgic and rather emotive trip down memory lane. Andie, our narrator lives in Morningside in Brisbane - where I lived before making my seachange 12 years ago. Her mother is a barmaid at the Colmslie pub - not my regular cos it was fairly dive-y but almost around the corner from my old apartment. It is themed around gambling (very specifically greyhound racing). My non-betting quite-religious mother worked in a TAB for most of her adult life eventually managing her own branch. I vividly recall the pre-computer days with coloured race sheets placed on the walls with scratchings scribbled out as the horses or greyhounds dropped out. I remember the cigarette stench of those who spent most of the day in there. Of mum's stress when they moved to 'computers' with little cards to be shoved into them.
As this is set in the 1970s I also wistfully teared up at everything from playing 'elastics' to bindis and Christmas beetles in summer to Sunday night Countdown on television. SO. MANY. MEMORIES and Jordan does an amazing job in bringing them to life. It's very much akin to Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe . Told in the present about a pivotal time in Andie's past.
Read my review here: https://www.debbish.com/books-literat...
As this is set in the 1970s I also wistfully teared up at everything from playing 'elastics' to bindis and Christmas beetles in summer to Sunday night Countdown on television. SO. MANY. MEMORIES and Jordan does an amazing job in bringing them to life. It's very much akin to Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe . Told in the present about a pivotal time in Andie's past.
Read my review here: https://www.debbish.com/books-literat...
December 18, 2025
3.5★
I feel a bit mean saying this, knowing that the novel contains several strongly autobiographical elements, but it just didn't maintain my interest. Don't get me wrong - I had no trouble finishing it, but I also had no trouble putting it down fairly often. Toni Jordan is still amongst my favourite Aussie authors though.
I feel a bit mean saying this, knowing that the novel contains several strongly autobiographical elements, but it just didn't maintain my interest. Don't get me wrong - I had no trouble finishing it, but I also had no trouble putting it down fairly often. Toni Jordan is still amongst my favourite Aussie authors though.
October 1, 2025
I love coming-of-age stories and I love greyhounds!!! 5 stars; 1 star for each time this book made me cry
October 15, 2025
I went home and downloaded Tenderfoot after hearing Toni speak at Brisbane Writers Festival. I knew this would have some gems within the pages and oh I was right (it feels good to be right doesn't it)!! In this coming of age story set in the 70s, we first meet gorgeous Andie, a 12 year old girl finding her way amongst her greyhounds (trained racing dogs), her parents (the trainers) and schooling (where the bullies were).
This is a compassionate, heart wrenching story, intertwined with resilience and strength. We gain insight into the world of a child exposed to addiction, greyhound racing and gambling.
I adored this novel and know you will too.
This is a compassionate, heart wrenching story, intertwined with resilience and strength. We gain insight into the world of a child exposed to addiction, greyhound racing and gambling.
I adored this novel and know you will too.
September 21, 2025
This book is taken from a young girls perspective on life as it is and becoming an adult.
Set in Brisbane, 1975, I was reminded of games we played, school friendships, and looking at our parents through childish eyes, trying to understand all they said and did.
You will be taken into the world of gambling, Grey hound racing, and the hardship of surviving in these years being a woman in a man's world.
I enjoyed reading this book 📖 😊
Set in Brisbane, 1975, I was reminded of games we played, school friendships, and looking at our parents through childish eyes, trying to understand all they said and did.
You will be taken into the world of gambling, Grey hound racing, and the hardship of surviving in these years being a woman in a man's world.
I enjoyed reading this book 📖 😊
September 24, 2025
I don’t like greyhound racing or gambling but I do like greyhounds, Toni Jordan’s writing, coming of age stories and books set in Brisbane. The odds were in my favour and this turned out to be a winner. What I wasn’t betting on was having my heart broken so early and often throughout! You know those books where you miss the characters when you finish? I miss Andie already.
October 25, 2025
I’m rounding up to 4 stars, but it’s probably 3.5.
This is a beautiful coming-of-age story set in the 1970s in Morningside, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. I live in Morningside myself, so this gave the book an extra special feel.
I was a little nervous about reading it at first, as the story centres around Andie and her family, who are deeply involved in the greyhound racing industry. But I decided to give it a go, recognising that this was an important part of Brisbane’s history — a time when there were numerous greyhound tracks and many families would head to the races regularly.
Andie’s dad is a trainer, and several greyhounds live under their house. She adores them and wants to be just like her dad, until one day the dogs disappear — along with him. Andie is left behind with her critical mother, and as she tries to make sense of what’s happened, she puts a plan in motion to piece her world back together.
The book is told in dual timelines, with adult Andie reflecting on her childhood. It’s beautifully written, with pacing that suits the story perfectly. I’ve seen Tenderfoot compared to Boy Swallows Universe, but aside from both being set in 1970s Brisbane and told through a child’s perspective, I don’t think they’re very similar. While Boy Swallows Universe leans into the grit, violence, and underbelly of society, Tenderfoot doesn’t. You sense the presence of gambling and hardship, but the focus remains on Andie and her emotional journey as she comes to terms with the changes in her life.
It’s a slow-paced, reflective novel — and if you’re looking for some Brisbane nostalgia, I think you’ll really enjoy it. Happy Reading 🩷📚🩷
This is a beautiful coming-of-age story set in the 1970s in Morningside, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. I live in Morningside myself, so this gave the book an extra special feel.
I was a little nervous about reading it at first, as the story centres around Andie and her family, who are deeply involved in the greyhound racing industry. But I decided to give it a go, recognising that this was an important part of Brisbane’s history — a time when there were numerous greyhound tracks and many families would head to the races regularly.
Andie’s dad is a trainer, and several greyhounds live under their house. She adores them and wants to be just like her dad, until one day the dogs disappear — along with him. Andie is left behind with her critical mother, and as she tries to make sense of what’s happened, she puts a plan in motion to piece her world back together.
The book is told in dual timelines, with adult Andie reflecting on her childhood. It’s beautifully written, with pacing that suits the story perfectly. I’ve seen Tenderfoot compared to Boy Swallows Universe, but aside from both being set in 1970s Brisbane and told through a child’s perspective, I don’t think they’re very similar. While Boy Swallows Universe leans into the grit, violence, and underbelly of society, Tenderfoot doesn’t. You sense the presence of gambling and hardship, but the focus remains on Andie and her emotional journey as she comes to terms with the changes in her life.
It’s a slow-paced, reflective novel — and if you’re looking for some Brisbane nostalgia, I think you’ll really enjoy it. Happy Reading 🩷📚🩷
November 29, 2025
Before I start I must preface this by saying I quite enjoyed this book. It could have been a great book, made more succinct. The storyline was very good, but it got lost within itself a bit. What I am about to write MAY be more of a reflection of what I’m looking for in a book rather than the book itself.
I heard an author referred to as “a writer of commercial fiction” today, and I realised that this is exactly what I struggle with - commercial fiction. Accessible books with repeating information and themes, easy to read (or not, if you are not a fan). Don’t get me wrong I love a fun book (Taylor Jenkins Reid and Christian White are some good examples of this) but in the main I feel I begin to read very critically, as if I’m marking it 😅
I also think I expected more from this one. I did not realise that this sat in the realm of “commercial fiction” when I bought it as part of a haul of 5 or 6 new releases at an indie bookshop. I don’t like to think of myself as a book snob, as I will give a lot of different genres a go, but possibly I am becoming one 😬
There were a few things I struggled with in this book. Most notably, the jumping around - every time something was about to happen, some other (sometimes related) subject was discussed. A lot of unnecessary words were used almost like filler. The pace did however improve toward the end of the book.
Then sentence length - far out there were some long sentences (where to breathe???). I appreciate story and plot, but most of all I look for beauty in writing. I found myself very easily distracted and in the first half so much of it felt forced, clunky and not particularly pleasant to read. I found myself thinking “get on with it”many times.
I also at points questioned whether this was not a YA book, as that’s how it read to me, even though it was told from the perspective of the adult Andie. It wasn’t until about 1/3 of the way through that I decided it probably was an adult book. (Also, yes, we got it pretty early on that Queenslanders call bags “ports”).
If you like the mean girl trope, then you will probably like this book as there are mean girls everywhere - at home, at school - it’s a veritable mean girl fest.
Loneliness, neglect, rejection, loss and addiction are the recurring themes against a background of a very corrupt Queensland under JBP. (Definitely not enough dog theme. I was definitely expecting more dog.)
The fact that a Catholic education was some kind of saviour for Andie really bothered me. I’m a big advocate for public education and I really dislike this classist kind of idea. (I recently heard a talk by Jane Caro on this subject and she eloquently spoke the views that I too have on this subject).
Greyhound racing is beginning to be banned around the world, and I’m glad the writer did address the cruelty of it toward the end. These dogs weren’t pets to their trainers (as Andie finally began to realise when she was young, when visiting retired trainers). I have known many rescue greyhounds. They are beautiful dogs with the most beautiful temperament. They are just about the sleepiest, no trouble dogs I have met too, which has always made me feel very sad and angry about this awful industry. The dogs in this book were used and abused, as greyhounds often still are. Andie’s mother was cruel, but her father was much, much crueler.
I heard an author referred to as “a writer of commercial fiction” today, and I realised that this is exactly what I struggle with - commercial fiction. Accessible books with repeating information and themes, easy to read (or not, if you are not a fan). Don’t get me wrong I love a fun book (Taylor Jenkins Reid and Christian White are some good examples of this) but in the main I feel I begin to read very critically, as if I’m marking it 😅
I also think I expected more from this one. I did not realise that this sat in the realm of “commercial fiction” when I bought it as part of a haul of 5 or 6 new releases at an indie bookshop. I don’t like to think of myself as a book snob, as I will give a lot of different genres a go, but possibly I am becoming one 😬
There were a few things I struggled with in this book. Most notably, the jumping around - every time something was about to happen, some other (sometimes related) subject was discussed. A lot of unnecessary words were used almost like filler. The pace did however improve toward the end of the book.
Then sentence length - far out there were some long sentences (where to breathe???). I appreciate story and plot, but most of all I look for beauty in writing. I found myself very easily distracted and in the first half so much of it felt forced, clunky and not particularly pleasant to read. I found myself thinking “get on with it”many times.
I also at points questioned whether this was not a YA book, as that’s how it read to me, even though it was told from the perspective of the adult Andie. It wasn’t until about 1/3 of the way through that I decided it probably was an adult book. (Also, yes, we got it pretty early on that Queenslanders call bags “ports”).
If you like the mean girl trope, then you will probably like this book as there are mean girls everywhere - at home, at school - it’s a veritable mean girl fest.
Loneliness, neglect, rejection, loss and addiction are the recurring themes against a background of a very corrupt Queensland under JBP. (Definitely not enough dog theme. I was definitely expecting more dog.)
The fact that a Catholic education was some kind of saviour for Andie really bothered me. I’m a big advocate for public education and I really dislike this classist kind of idea. (I recently heard a talk by Jane Caro on this subject and she eloquently spoke the views that I too have on this subject).
Greyhound racing is beginning to be banned around the world, and I’m glad the writer did address the cruelty of it toward the end. These dogs weren’t pets to their trainers (as Andie finally began to realise when she was young, when visiting retired trainers). I have known many rescue greyhounds. They are beautiful dogs with the most beautiful temperament. They are just about the sleepiest, no trouble dogs I have met too, which has always made me feel very sad and angry about this awful industry. The dogs in this book were used and abused, as greyhounds often still are. Andie’s mother was cruel, but her father was much, much crueler.
September 4, 2025
One word, magnificent.
May 25, 2025
I absolutely loved this book. Set in 1970s Brisbane, it beautifully captures the innocence and intensity of growing up, with a unique and heartfelt focus on greyhound racing. The writing is vivid and nostalgic, transporting you straight into the sun-soaked suburbs and under-the-house kennels where Andie Tanner's world revolves around her beloved dogs and her dreams of becoming a trainer.
As Andie’s life begins to unravel, the story takes a gripping turn, blending coming-of-age themes with deeper issues of family, loss, and resilience. I was completely absorbed—from the thrill of race night to the quiet heartbreak of Andie's shifting world.
A moving and unforgettable read.
As Andie’s life begins to unravel, the story takes a gripping turn, blending coming-of-age themes with deeper issues of family, loss, and resilience. I was completely absorbed—from the thrill of race night to the quiet heartbreak of Andie's shifting world.
A moving and unforgettable read.
September 15, 2025
Similar vibe to boy swallows universe but better (easier to follow) also advocates for greyhound so that’s big win
December 9, 2025
Poignant read for staff bookclub.
Lots of layers, allusions in a lyrical voice full of longing and insight.
Good discussion was held.
Lots of layers, allusions in a lyrical voice full of longing and insight.
Good discussion was held.
September 27, 2025
A compassionate and loving narrative reminiscent of Trent Dalton in style and theme .
October 25, 2025
I’ve got a page of quotes that I loved from Tenderfoot…things like ‘Sometimes I think andie at twelve was the original..other times it seems these past andies are distinct enough to be different people altogether’ (doesn’t that just hit you in the feels) and gosh all the nostalgia- I had completely forgotten my dad pouring the Vincent’s powder down his throat- ‘an olde world Red Bull’ I adore this novel. A beautiful coming of age story I’m saying is as beautiful as To Kill a Mockingbird with Boy Swallows Universe charm. I love everything about it
December 26, 2025
Probably my book of the year - I could not love it more.
If you grew up in Brisbane in the 1970s, or probably anywhere in working class Australia, this will flood you with memories.
From playing elastics & Barbies , eating Curly Wurlys & seafood vol-u-vounts, catching tadpoles in the creek, shoplifting at KMart lol - it’s all there.
And so is a poignant, sometimes heartbreaking, coming of age story about a girl called Andrea growing up in the world of greyhound racing, TABs, and her mother’s unpredictable and volatile lifestyle.
Toni Jordan is our new Trent Dalton.
If you grew up in Brisbane in the 1970s, or probably anywhere in working class Australia, this will flood you with memories.
From playing elastics & Barbies , eating Curly Wurlys & seafood vol-u-vounts, catching tadpoles in the creek, shoplifting at KMart lol - it’s all there.
And so is a poignant, sometimes heartbreaking, coming of age story about a girl called Andrea growing up in the world of greyhound racing, TABs, and her mother’s unpredictable and volatile lifestyle.
Toni Jordan is our new Trent Dalton.
November 8, 2025
Book club November 2025
A quick read
I wanted to know what happened in the end
The author kept me guessing
Interesting themes of childhood, poverty, greyhound racing
Set in my home town so interesting reflection on gentrification
Set about 10 years before my childhood but still plenty of nostalgia
Great to read about Australia without stereotype
8 or 8.5/10 loved it!
A quick read
I wanted to know what happened in the end
The author kept me guessing
Interesting themes of childhood, poverty, greyhound racing
Set in my home town so interesting reflection on gentrification
Set about 10 years before my childhood but still plenty of nostalgia
Great to read about Australia without stereotype
8 or 8.5/10 loved it!
October 17, 2025
I was transported back to childhood in the 70s. A touching story told by Andie aged 12 in the halcyon days of greyhound racing, no seatbelts, and smoking anywhere. And Angie in her 60s reflecting on how her flawed parents and a few people unexpectedly helped her find her passion.
September 6, 2025
Started and finished in one day. Greyhound racing in the 70s is certainly not a setting I can relate to, but the overall themes of this book certainly are, and I found myself identifying with Andie a lot.
September 23, 2025
Brilliant
October 9, 2025
Definitely brought back the nostalgia of living in Queensland back in the day. Story was great and characters were strong.
December 11, 2025
Beautiful aussie story
September 18, 2025
So good!! One of the best coming-of-age stories I’ve ever read.
November 27, 2025
Read this book for book club…..
I can appreciate the writing style, the nods to old Aussie culture, and the ways the metaphors were used to provide hints as to what was really happening in the story…
However, I’m not a dog person.
If I never hear a metaphor about dogs and how it relates to our lives again, it will be too soon.
I’m not sure, at the end of the day, what the story was even really about… was it about divorce? Broken families? Unseen child abuse? Gambling problems? Substance abuse? Murder?
I really don’t know.
Why did it feel like absolutely nothing happened in the story but it could have done so much more.
I can appreciate the writing style, the nods to old Aussie culture, and the ways the metaphors were used to provide hints as to what was really happening in the story…
However, I’m not a dog person.
If I never hear a metaphor about dogs and how it relates to our lives again, it will be too soon.
I’m not sure, at the end of the day, what the story was even really about… was it about divorce? Broken families? Unseen child abuse? Gambling problems? Substance abuse? Murder?
I really don’t know.
Why did it feel like absolutely nothing happened in the story but it could have done so much more.
September 27, 2025
I found the jump around between life events and times took away from the story being told.
September 24, 2025
I really loved this book. It will be a story that will stay with me for a long time.
October 19, 2025
I LOVED Tenderfoot. It is an easy reading, heart wrenching, coming-of-age story, with 12-year-old narrator Andie who lives and breathes on the page. You do not have to be in to greyhounds at all, though through Andie’s love of her dog Tippy, I gained a new understanding of the fraught world of a racing greyhound. Highly recommended. You may need tissues. 😥 Bravo, Toni Jordan.
September 30, 2025
I loved this book. It’s the voice that carries it – along with the depiction of the child and the child’s mother. And then maybe also the place that they live. This narrative is evoked through the eyes of 12 year old Andie who is nearing the end of her primary school when her father suddenly splits with her mother and leaves. While we see events through Andie’s eyes at the time (1975), we are conscious that the narrator is now much older and has the benefit of hindsight. I like a “limited narrator” book where you are aware of more that is going on than the person telling the story. This one is done so well.
Andie is an only child but there are also four greyhounds living underneath the old Queenslander which is their family home. Her father is a greyhound trainer, both parents are keen gamblers and Andie LOVES the dogs. When her dad leaves, three of the dogs go with him. It’s devastating. At the same time, Andie is being ostracised by her so-called friends at school. It’s a very vulnerable, upsetting time for her but she has such a tenacious and dogged spirit.
She needs it because her mum is a very tough act and offers little in the way of support. I thought she was evoked so vividly – this bad-tempered unpredictable woman who Andie has to tiptoe around. But Jordan also subtly evokes the mother’s vulnerability – and how funny she is. Elements of the book are autobiographical – Jordan reflected on her mother after she died: “My mother was a really remarkable person and after I spoke about her a little bit someone else asked me to write another little thing, and I started to think about a child growing up with an unpredictable mother and how that child learns to be extremely observant, and quick to try and decipher things because she needs to keep on her toes at all times.” (https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/...)
The voice of the child feels so authentic. Of this Jordan says: “"There are people who would give anything to be young again … These people are mistaken. The number of years ahead of you is not the measure of anything at all. They forget the helplessness of being young, that feeling of being a cork tossed by waves. To be in need of protection again — that is my worst nightmare. Children have no say in anything that concerns them and if they try to exert some control over their own life; they are blamed for everything that goes wrong from that day forward."
(https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-1...)
This is the second novel with a child narrator that I’ve read this month (the other one was ‘A Beautiful Family’). Both really engrossing reads. This reviewer really sums up this novel: ”Andie tells us that “childhood is as much a place as it is a time” and Jordan renders this place with extraordinary clarity and precision. Her spare, honest prose captures the confusion of being 12: a mixture of earnestness and vulnerability, competence and helplessness. Tenderfoot honours the naivety of its child narrator without softening the world’s edges and I felt a creeping terror for Andie as she is compelled to navigate this world alone.” (https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...)
Andie is an only child but there are also four greyhounds living underneath the old Queenslander which is their family home. Her father is a greyhound trainer, both parents are keen gamblers and Andie LOVES the dogs. When her dad leaves, three of the dogs go with him. It’s devastating. At the same time, Andie is being ostracised by her so-called friends at school. It’s a very vulnerable, upsetting time for her but she has such a tenacious and dogged spirit.
She needs it because her mum is a very tough act and offers little in the way of support. I thought she was evoked so vividly – this bad-tempered unpredictable woman who Andie has to tiptoe around. But Jordan also subtly evokes the mother’s vulnerability – and how funny she is. Elements of the book are autobiographical – Jordan reflected on her mother after she died: “My mother was a really remarkable person and after I spoke about her a little bit someone else asked me to write another little thing, and I started to think about a child growing up with an unpredictable mother and how that child learns to be extremely observant, and quick to try and decipher things because she needs to keep on her toes at all times.” (https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/...)
The voice of the child feels so authentic. Of this Jordan says: “"There are people who would give anything to be young again … These people are mistaken. The number of years ahead of you is not the measure of anything at all. They forget the helplessness of being young, that feeling of being a cork tossed by waves. To be in need of protection again — that is my worst nightmare. Children have no say in anything that concerns them and if they try to exert some control over their own life; they are blamed for everything that goes wrong from that day forward."
(https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-1...)
This is the second novel with a child narrator that I’ve read this month (the other one was ‘A Beautiful Family’). Both really engrossing reads. This reviewer really sums up this novel: ”Andie tells us that “childhood is as much a place as it is a time” and Jordan renders this place with extraordinary clarity and precision. Her spare, honest prose captures the confusion of being 12: a mixture of earnestness and vulnerability, competence and helplessness. Tenderfoot honours the naivety of its child narrator without softening the world’s edges and I felt a creeping terror for Andie as she is compelled to navigate this world alone.” (https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...)
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