Mel and Shell

by Julia Lawrinson

It’s 1979. Swedish pop group ABBA rules the airwaves, roller skating is cool, and Mel and Shell are best friends. There’s nothing they like more than making up dances to ABBA songs, and there’s nothing they like less than Scary Sharon and Stinky Simon. But things are changing, fast. Confiding in her pen pal from 1829, Shell discovers she has a lot to learn about loyalty, honesty and roller skating.

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2021

About the author

Julia Lawrinson is an Australian writer of children's and young adult fiction. Her debut novel Obsession (Fremantle Press, 2001) won the Western Australian Premier's Prize for Young Adult Writing: since then her work has been shortlisted for numerous awards. Her latest book for young adults is Before You Forget (PenguinRandomHouse 2017). Her latest novel for children is Mel and Shell (Fremantle Press 2021), and in 2023 she published her first picture book, City of Light (ill. Heather Potter and Mark Jackson) with Wild Dog Books. Her memoir, How To Avoid A Happy Life, is out with Fremantle Press.

Reviews

[Dianne Wolfer]

What a great story about the complexities of middle-grade girl friendships and bullying. I loved the ABBA links (timely with their new music release) and horse and BMX adventures. This multi-layered story was fun to read, and you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but this one is lovely and reflects the story perfectly.

[H.M. Waugh]

This book was fab! And I know my 9-year-old loved it, too, because she read it again almost straight away. Think friends and fights, music and horses, compelling characters and real emotions. In typical Lawrinson fashion, this book is so well-written and keeps you hooked as it weaves several interesting storylines together.

It has a clever link to two times in history, learning about conditions in Britain in 1829 as well as some awesome insights into the 'tech' of 1979 that kids today will probably find amusing (even I did!). It also deals with the impact of the British on Aboriginal people, which was refreshing and important to find in a middle grade novel. I love how it softly raised the issue of why Australia still celebrates some dates and events, when they were devastating to some of our people.

A big thumbs up from me and my kid!

[Odelya London · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally a page turner! Mel (Melissa) and Shell (Michelle) are the best of friends, sharing their love for ABBA. Scary Sharon is Mel's enemy and Shell's sort-of-friend. When she takes a surprise liking for Shell this irritates Mel and causes many problems.
This book is full of surprises, sweet friendships, drama, love and lots more.
A fun book to read as it is set in a letter-style as each chapter is a different letter Shel is writing to a dead pen pal, Mary who arrived in Australia from England.