All We Know

by Simon French

Arckie becomes troubled by her changing relationship with the people around her and by her changing perceptions of the world

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Simon French began his writing career as a thirteen-year-old in Sydney's western suburbs, and had his first novel published five years later, while he was still at high school.

In the years since, Simon's writing for children has been published in numerous overseas editions, and in Australia has earned critical acclaim and several awards, including the 1987 Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award for All We Know. Change the Locks was an Honour Book in 1992. Where in the World, Simon's first novel in ten years, is published by Little Hare Books.

The characters in his stories often develop from the children he has worked with—from babies and toddlers in an inner-city crisis refuge to the pupils he has taught over many years at primary schools in suburban and rural New South Wales. Simon continues to work as a teacher in a small school in Sydney's rural outskirts.

He is unable to imagine life without good books, interesting music and movies, exotic food, travel to new places, old cars . . . but, most of all, true friends.

Reviews

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

All We Know is so realistic it has a wholly unsatisfactory ending. The author leaves everything open ended and unfinished. The novel begins with 12-year-old Arkie asking what high school is like, as she'll be starting there next year (year seven is the beginning of high school in this Australian novel). The novel ends with high school still six weeks away, with Arkie still wondering, and life more unsettled than ever. Clearly, this was French's intention, to show that things don't always go the way you hope and that there aren't always happy endings. All We Know wasn't an unhappy novel, just one that leaves the reader hanging.

[Myne]

really nice n sweet