The Things That Will Not Stand

by Michael Gerard Bauer

Sebastian is at a university open day with his best friend Tolly when he meets a girl. Her name is Frida, and shes edgy, caustic and funny. She's also a storyteller, but the stories she tells about herself don't ring true, and as their surprising and eventful day together unfolds, Sebastian struggles to sort the fact from the fiction.

But how much can he expect Frida to share in just one day? And how much of his own self and his own secrets will he be willing to reveal in return?

Genres: Young Adult, Humor, Romance, Mental Health, Fiction, Friendship, Australia

217 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2018

About the author

Michael Gerard Bauer was born and lives in Brisbane Australia. In 2000 he resigned from his full-time position as an English/Economics teacher to pursue his dream of becoming a writer.

In 2004 his first YA novel The Running Man was published to great acclaim. It subsequently won the 2005 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year for Older Readers and was short-listed for the NSW, Victoria and South Australian State Premiers’ Literary awards.

In 2008 the German translation of The Running Man was short-listed for the German Youth Literature Prize and won the German Catholic Children’s and Young People’s Book Prize. In 2014 it was short-listed for the Prix Farniente in Belgium. In 2009 the Italian translation of The Running Man was a finalists for the “Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cento” Prize.

In 2007 his second novel, a ‘laugh out loud’ comedy entitled Don’t Call Me Ishmael! was short-listed in both the CBCA awards and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and won the 2007 Children’s Peace Literature Award and the 2008 South Australian Festival Award for Children’s Literature. It was also included in the 2007 White Ravens selection for Outstanding International Books for children and young adults. Its sequel Ishmael and the Return of the Dugongs was a 2008 CBCA Notable book. The final book in the trilogy Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel and was released in July 2011. It was shortlisted for the 2012 CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers.

Michael’s other books include, Dinosaur Knights a 2010 CBCA Notable Book described as ‘an original and adrenalin-pumping adventure’, You Turkeys! an illustrated chapter book, part of the Scholastic Mates series for early readers, and Just a Dog which was named Honour Book in the 2011 CBCA awards in the Younger Readers category and won the 2011 Queensland Premier's award for best Children's Book.

Michael has also written a series of three humorous books for younger readers: Eric Vale Epic Fail; (BILBY Award Winner 2014; KOALA Honour Book 2014) Eric Vale Super Male; (CBCA Notable Book 2014) and Eric Vale Off the Rails (Selected as one of the 2013 GET READING 50 Books You Can't Put Down). The books are fully illustrated by Michael's son Joe who as well as being a talented artist is an amazing young film-maker and along with his wife Rita Artmann make up Artspear Entertainment the creators of the extremely popular TOON SANDWICH film trailer spoofs on You Tube.  Joe also created the trailer for Eric Vale Epic Fail.

The first of spin-off series from the Eric Vale books Secret Agent Derek 'Danger' Dale: The Case of Animals Behaving Really REALLY Badly came out in July 2014. Two other Derek Dale action adventures The Case of the Really REALLY Scary Things and The Case of the Really REALLY Magnetic Magnetic have now been released.

In May 2016 the YA comedy The Pain, My Mother, Sir Tiffy, Cyber Boy and Me was released. Michael's first picture book Rodney Loses It! illustrated by Chrissie Krebs was published in September 2017. It won the 2018 CBCA Award in the Early Readers category as well as the 2018 Speech Therapy Award. His most recent YA book The Things That Will Not Stand won the 2019 Prime Minister's Award in the YA category and was a White Ravens selection

These days Michael is a full-time writer. His books are widely set as school texts and he is in high demand for talks and workshops at schools and Festivals around Australia. He has also enjoyed three very successful visits to Indonesia as a Writer in Residence at the Jakarta International School (2007 and 2008) and the British International School (2008). As well he has visited the American community School in Abu Dhabi (2012) and spent three weeks at schools in Southern China. In 2010 Michael was one of the guest authors at the White Ravens International Children’s and Youth Literature Festival in Munich Germany and in 2012 he was invited to the Edinburgh Writers festival.

Michael’s books are curre

Reviews

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cover is sort of perfect. Seemingly light and humorous on the surface, but ultimately a lot more going on underneath (of course).

This is both tender and hilarious. Bauer’s humour is restrained here, with the banter between Sebastian and best friend Tolly, a sharp witty back and forth, rather than anything physical or exaggerated. The compressed timeline of one day keeps the narrative moving, and one liners flowing. The gentle truth about the title, That will not stand, is a strong testament to proactive people who refuse to see others suffer, or injustices perpetrated.

While it predominantly deals with the developing friendship between Sebastian and Frida and the subsequent revealing secrets they both hide, Bauer also explores other themes, including the nature of time, future careers, and grief. It’s a tight group of characters who are responsible for entertaining us, but they do more than that. We loved it because it didn’t just make us laugh, we also cried, and were challenged to re-think some of our preconceived assumptions about people and friendship.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly I didn't get the opportunity to read this in a single sitting - or even in a couple of big chunks. I think it's a novel that is best read that way - mimicking the pace and flow of the story itself. Having said that, I still really enjoyed it. I love the "all in one day/all in one night" narratives - think David Levithan, for example, or Patrick Ness' Release. Teen lives move so fast - well, really all our lives move fast - it's interesting to see how much we change/learn in even a single day. MGB's humour is outstanding as always. The characters are real and believable. Secrets are revealed slowly - the pacing is superb. This is sure to be popular with both boys and girls, MGB fans and fans of authors like John Green and David Levithan. Great holiday reading.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Passed along to me by my teen son as he thought I'd like it, and I did. A quick and easy read that I didn't totally fall into but appreciated where the author was going with the characters and storyline.

[laiba ⭐️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read half of it. Found it boring.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is terrific! I loved Michael Gerard Bauer’s work before now, and fell in love again. Have you read this? If not, why?
Actually, why did I wait so long to get to this?
Anyway it’s a perfect mix of comedy, mystery and heartbreak. Set in one day at a uni open day, we meet protagonist Sebastian, his friend Tolly, and stranger Frida, who’s definitely more than she appears.
Wait until you find out how Tolly got his nickname. If you’ve read Sir Tiffy etc (previous novel) you will have more of an idea.
If you need a Brisbane based YA fix, then Bauer has you covered.

[Leo Bellamy · Rating 1 out of 5]

“I’d like to give u a zero. But that’s not possible, so I’m giving u… a one”

Honestly- this book was probably not as bad as I said it would be/am still saying it is. I just had too many frustrations. It wasn’t for me.
1/5☆

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A YA novel full of heart and humour. Of course I loved it. Even shed a few tears during the final chapters! Highly recommend this one for teens 🖤🖤

[Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the dialogue and it was a joy to read. Only the second half of the book wasn't that catching as the first and I didn't enjoyed the end. It was frustrating to read how he didn't managed to find out what she meant and their "happy ending" didn't make me feel like a happy end, if you know what I mean.

[Ian Tymms · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a little while to hook me but I was solidly ensnared by the end. Artful twists and clever referencing produce a book with more than average heart.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a sweet little book! I absolutely loved the exploration of the day and the banter Sebastian, Frida and Tolly shared. It sounded so realistic and exactly the sort of thing that would happen between some young adults enjoying each other's company.

There are some big emotional reveals at the end of the story which worked well and provided a satisfying conclusion, but tbh I just loved the rest of the interplay.

[Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Representation: N/A?
Trigger warnings: N/A?
Score: Six points out of ten.
This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

I don't know about this one, I had low expectations for this book after I read Don't Call Me Ishmael, made by the same author, and I didn't enjoy that book.
Update: This is a rather boring novel, if this was a rom-com, I didn't laugh once. I didn't enjoy any aspect of the book at all, despite the book being just over 200 pages. The two main characters were quite flat, Sebastian was just self-loathing, and Frida was rather moody, and that's it, the side characters didn't add much to the story as well. The story itself was rather flat, it's just the main two characters developing a relationship with one another, but I didn't feel anything for them, since they weren't well written in the first place.

The characters just move from place to place for no apparent reason and just contemplate and talk about random things, like the Pitch Drop Experiment, town planning, and writing a song (how are these things supposed to be relevant to the story?) The story was character-driven, so it described the settings minimally, which I didn't like. There was this one joke that was supposed to be funny but it wasn't, it was about a character called Tolly, and the joke was that it was a nickname for Leo Tolstoy, who made War and Peace, and one of the characters said that the name Warren Pearce sounds like War and Peace, I didn't laugh at that joke. If you want a good rom-com, skip this one and try The Sun is Also a Star. There's one more book I haven't read from this author called The Pain, Sir Tiffy, My Mother, Cyber Boy and Me and it looks interesting to me though I will go in with low expectations considering that I've read two of his novels already and they were only ok to say the least.

[Ms Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the CBCA notables for older readers for this year. I’m working my way through them, although I already think I’ve read the winner (I have until August to have my mind changed).

This book was refreshing though. It’s set over the course of a day, at a University open day. The two male protagonists, Seb and Tolly, are endearingly nerdy and I love that they’re dorky male lead roles, because that doesn’t happen very often. Their banter is boyish and funny, nerdy, fast- paced and generally spot on (but it’s an incredibly dialogue-heavy book).

Seb meets Frida but she’s not who she seems and over the course of the day he slowly unpicks her backstory as things just don’t add up. The sweetener is that ultimately, “Frida” teaches Seb as much about himself as he teaches her. There’s a long build up and a quick resolution. A solid 3.5 and a great read for the academic, nice, kind, semi-nerdy young men in your life.

[Emma Salmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

i finished this is one sitting, and i loved it. gerard bauer's writing as always is incredibly hilarious, i found it very difficult to stop myself from laughing. seb and tolly's banter is witty and i love it. it was like spending a day with my friends, really, as they are much like tolly, frida and seb.
great plot and setting as well. seb is a little pathetic in the beginning with the Perfect Female Human, but the rest of the book makes up for it.

[chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

i do love me a manic pixie dream girl who's actually just a pathological liar

[Daisy, Daffodils and other letters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liebe Daisy,

heute melde ich mich mit meiner Rezension zu „Dinge, die so nicht bleiben können“ von dem australischen Autor Michael Gerard Bauer. Das Buch ist ursprünglich 2019 unter dem Titel „The Things That Will Not Stand“ erschienen und 2020 in einer Übersetzung von Ute Mihr von Hanser auf dem deutschen Markt veröffentlicht worden. Ich hatte das große Glück, das Buch im Rahmen einer Leserunde auf Lovelybooks lesen zu dürfen.

Inhalt
Sebastian und sein bester Freund Tolly besuchen den Tag der offenen Tür einer Universität. Dabei lernen sie ein außergewöhnliches Mädchen kennen: Frieda. Sie ist das genaue Gegenteil des geradlinigen Sebastian: frech, schlagfertig und immer dabei, sich neue Geschichten auszudenken. Unter anderem Geschichten über sich selbst, die sich zunehmend mehr widersprechen. Sebastian möchte nichts lieber als sie besser kennenzulernen, aber wo verbirgt sich die Wahrheit in all ihren Erzählungen?

Erzählstruktur
Die Kapitel sind ziemlich kurz, was ich überaus praktisch fand, um das Buch beim Pendeln zu lesen. Das Buch selbst ist im Präsens aus der Sicht des Protagonisten Sebastian geschrieben. Er war mir vom ersten Moment an sympathisch, insbesondere sein selbstironischer Humor. Einen stilistisch genialen Schachzug finde ich, dass er regelmäßig von sich selbst in der Dritten Person spricht und dadurch eine Metaebene aufmacht, bei der er stellenweise sogar die vierte Wand durchbricht. Das passte hervorragend zu dem zugrundeliegenden Thema von Filmen: Das Buch war gespickt mit Referenzen und Vergleichen, aber auch mit Instanzen, in denen Sebastian diverse Situationen, in denen er sich gerade befand, mit verschiedenen Genres verglichen hat. Ein durch und durch rundes Konzept war das!

Figuren
Michael Gerard Bauer gelingt es mit großem Geschick, drei lebhafte Hauptfiguren zu zeichnen. Natürlich gibt es auch noch einige interessante Nebenfiguren, aber die drei erwähnten tragen einen mühelos und mit großer Leichtigkeit, trotz schwerer Themen, die angeschnitten werden, durch die Erzählung. Als Lesende durfte ich den Tag der offenen Tür mit ihnen verbringen und hatte große Freude daran, sie nach und nach besser kennenzulernen. Ich durfte Dinge, die ihnen Freude bereiten miterleben und von belastenden Erlebnissen erfahren. Es fühlte sich fast an als wäre ich selbst dabei. Hierfür essenziell waren die Dialoge, die es, gemeinsam mit Sebastians innerem Monolog, schaffen, die Essenz des Teenagerseins einzufangen, ohne dass ich beim Lesen in’s Fremdschämen verfallen bin: Eine Gratwanderung, die, im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Jugendbüchern, gelingt.

Fazit
Du merkst schon, ich bin durch und durch begeistert von dem Buch. Ich würde es Leserinnen und Lesern ab 12 Jahren empfehlen, die Lust auf ein peppiges Jugendbuch mit Tiefgang haben (klingt nach einer unmöglichen Mischung, oder? Hier gelingt sie aber!)

Deine Daffy

[Katharine Pepper · Rating 5 out of 5]

O.M.G. This is the first novel I’ve read by Michael Gerard Bauer and I absolutely LOVED it. I’ve just this minute finished it and I am feeling all the feels. (Where’s a damn tissue when you need it?)

Sebastian and his best mate, Tolly, are attending a university open day. Sebastian meets the girl of his dreams - a ‘PFH’ (‘Perfect Female Human’) called Helena, and thinks he’s landed smack bang into the middle of his own rom-com.

He soon discovers, though, that he hasn’t, because the PFH, very inconveniently, already has a boyfriend. (That’s not really a spoiler because it happens very early on.)

But then he meets ANOTHER girl, Frida, who is sarcastic, and funny, and a storyteller - a girl with piercings and a wild hairstyle and a ‘husky and raw’ voice. As the day goes on, Sebastian can’t decide which of Frida’s stories are true, and which aren’t, but he really wants to find out…

Gradually, Sebastian and Frida both reveal their secrets - and there’s some pretty gut punching stuff (particularly Frida’s revelations) - but even when things are at their darkest, you never lose hope that they’ll work it out.

There were times when I laughed out loud (the dialogue is clever and witty) and the three friends get into some amusing and surprising situations. But amongst the humour, there are poignant, heartbreaking and tender moments that made me love these characters so much that I wanted to just reach in and give them a big, comforting, motherly hug…

This is Sebastian’s story, told in first person, and his is a likeable, self-deprecating voice. The three main characters are beautifully drawn (Tolly is the best friend all teenage boys should have), and the minor characters also play their parts to perfection.

A wonderful, heartwarming, hopeful story, with characters that will stay with me for a long time.

[Jill Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sebastian is waiting for his PHF (perfect human female) to walk through the university cinema's glass sliding doors. Tolly, who came with him to the Uni Open Day, is his best friend and his Dad is a mad film buff. Sebastian buys a ticket to see Casablanca hoping PHF will want to watch it with him. When PHF arrives with her boyfriend. His dreams are shattered.

Then he meets Frida, wearing a white, skirt and top, with a distinctive half-head of hair. They watch Casablanca together. The lectures for soon-to-be university students, to choose courses to begin the next step in their lives.

The book is full of crazy conversations between the old friends Sebastian and Tolly. They start bouncing off each other as they try to impress Frida, the girl Sebastian just met. She's very good at making conversations about fictitious adventures, such as Sebastian saving her from the kindergarten bully. Frida tells another tall tale to a security guard, she calls herself Zoe then. Next, she convinces the boys to go to the theatre sports activity, instead of the drone battles. Frida has the audience laughing at her one-line comedy. She's asked to pick someone from the audience for the next to join her on stage. She picks Tolly much to Sebastian's relief.

Sebastian wonders if anything Frida has said is real. Frida manages to get Sebastian to play a song he's written. The discovery of the real-life world and getting to know each other begins. They discover tragedies that make them who they are.

I laughed a lot at the whimsical inventions of their lives. Tolly and Sebastian derived The Things That Will Not Stand from The Big Lebowski, it means once the idea is spoken, it has to be acted upon.

Michael Gerard Bauer hit the mark with this one.

[yexxo · Rating 5 out of 5]

An der Uni ist Tag der offenen Tür. Sebastian, 16 Jahre, extrem schüchtern und hoffnungslos romantisch, wartet im Foyer eines Kinos ohne wirklichen Grund auf ein bestimmtes PWW – ein perfektes weibliches Wesen. Statt dessen lernt er Frida kennen: frech, schlagfertig und ziemlich schräg. Wie auch Sebastian ist sie meisterhaft im Geschichtenerfinden, doch bald wird es immer nebulöser, was von dem, was sie über sich selbst erzählt, tatsächlich stimmt. Aber auch Sebastian ist zurückhaltend mit der Wahrheit …

Es sind ernste Dinge, die die beiden Jugendlichen zu verarbeiten haben; es geht um Trauer, Verletzung, Gewalt, Einsamkeit. Doch keiner von Beiden will (natürlich) offen darüber reden und so liefern sie sich statt dessen einen verbalen Schlagabtausch voller Witz, Intelligenz und Schlagfertigkeit, der jedoch über ihre Verletzlichkeit nicht hinwegtäuschen kann. Gemeinsam mit Sebastians Freund Tolly, der auf der Sonnenseite des Lebens steht, nähern sie sich sehr vorsichtig einander an, was trotzdem für eine/n noch immer zu schnell geht.

Michael Gerard Bauer hat hier ein tolles Jugendbuch geschrieben, dass mit den Problemen in diesem Alter (und noch ganz anderen) nicht hinterm Berg hält, diese jedoch geschickt unter mehr oder weniger geistreichen, aber stets witzigen Wortspielen und Frotzeleien verbirgt, die von Ute Mihr grandios übersetzt sind. Ich bin mir sicher, Jugendliche werden das Buch lieben – Erwachsene auf jeden Fall auch 😉

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Dinge, die so nicht bleiben können“ von Michael Gerard Bauer ist der lustigste Jugendroman, den ich seit langem gelesen habe. Sebastian begegnet am Tag der offenen Tür seiner favorisierten Uni dem Mädchen Frida. Frida ist frech, schlagfertig und irgendwie schräg. Tolly und Sebastian mögen Frida sofort und verbringen den Tag mit ihr und blödeln herum. Mühelos denkt sich Frida die obskursten Geschichten aus, lässt aber niemanden an ihrem persönlichen Leben teilhaben. Nach und nach findet Sebastian heraus wer Frida wirklich ist und gibt dabei auch viel von sich selbst preis.
„Dinge, die so nicht bleiben können“ hat mir total gut gefallen. Ich habe in dem Buch so viel gelacht und ich fand alle drei Protagonisten gleichermaßen gut ausgearbeitet. Sebastian hat mich von der ersten Seite an fasziniert und durch seine unnachahmliche Art habe ich ihn echt ins Herz geschlossen. Seinen besten Kumpel Tolly hätte ich auch gerne als Freund. Die beiden sind echt ein super Duo. Besonders gefallen hat mir, dass der Titel im Buch erklärt wurde (also woher der Spruch kommt und warum er für die beiden eine Bedeutung hat). Das zieht sich wie ein roter Faden durch das Buch. Da es sich um ein Filmzitat handelt, werde ich mir diesen Film wohl auch ansehen.
Sprachlich ist das Buch einfach geschrieben aber dennoch für junge wie auch erwachsene Leser geeignet. Ich fand es hat insbesondere durch die Dialoge gelebt. Die Ideen für Diskussionen oder absurde Situationen waren wirklich genial. Und auch von der Dynamik der Dialoge war ich begeistert. Manchmal war es ein regelrechter Schlagabtausch.
Ich kann das Buch jedem ans Herz legen und habe beim Lesen einen riesen Spaß gehabt.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. At first, it seemed like a typical young adult story (not that there is anything wrong with those, this is coming from an avid YA romance reader) but there are underlying themes regarding serious topics. I also love "Frida" as a character, as well as Sebastian (sometimes) and Tolly. I found myself giggling at some moments in the book on my commutes to and from university in which I read this book. I probably looked like an idiot but it was worth it.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 4 1/2 stars.

There have been plenty of books and films were two slightly misfit teenagers meet up and spend a lot of time talking. So in one sense, the idea behind this is not exactly new. But the characters are wonderful, Frida is not your average manic pixie dream girl, Seb is a dude and it will not stand if you ignore this book.

Well written, some very funny moments and also some very touching scenes.

[AD · Rating 4 out of 5]

This whole book is set in one single day, in the life of Sebastian. He is in Year 11, about to start Year 12, and visits a University open day with his friend, Tolly, so they can explore their options. At the first session, he meets the girl of his dreams and ends up waiting for her at the movies (even though he never invited her, and doesn't even know her name). Instead, he ends up meeting a very different girl and spends the day getting to know her. It's not always smooth sailing, but it makes for great reading!

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST READ!!!

This book was so beautiful. I loved Sebastian, Tolly and Karen, especially Karen. Sebastian and Karen's story left me bawling whilst their playful banter made my cheeks hurt from smiling. I absolutely adored Frida's character. Her piercings, her hair and especially her way of coping with reality. This book was absolutely fantastic and I am so, so glad that I had the fortune of reading it.

The sweetest 4 hours of my life.

[emma *ੈ✩‧₊˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is honestly such a good read to get me out of a slump. i loved how it was only over a day, it made it a lot easier to read at a faster pace. the characters were also very similar to my own age so it was really interesting to see them go through things we go through. i missed the emotional factor, it felt very flat the whole time and the plot twist was kinda predictable. good break from having to read extension english books lol

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice novel, but I've read other YA that I have found more engaging. I had some personal interest as it was set at the University I attended, and where my daughter now studies and works, so I could picture each scene vividly. However, some early plot holes dampened my enthusiasm (the time line just could not pan out) and.this ultimately diminished my enjoyment.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Things That Will Not Stand was okay, I guess. I could see the plot going somewhere but it needed to happen earlier in the book. I could see character development at the end of the story but I just wished that the development happened earlier. I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did, but it all seemed to be too little, too late.

[Steph La Greca · Rating 4 out of 5]

“'Of course, getting those happy snaps in the first place...that's the hard part. That's always been the hard part for me.'
'Maybe I could help you make them.'”


“Because you have no idea how beautiful you are. And it will not stand.”

[Ellie French · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing, I could not put this book down. Sincerely hope there is will be a series because I am just so in love with the characters.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. Great characters and plot. Year 7 and above.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Love the humour and the characters.