Description
From the award-winning author of Selfie comes the story of Maisy, whose life is shaped by financial hardship.
I often sit and dream with all my might but nothing's happened. Yet. Maybe I'm not wishing hard enough. Maybe I'm not very good at believing it. It feels like I spend all my time dreaming, waiting for the life I was supposed to have to appear.
Maisy Hayes is doing it tough. There's never enough money, even for the simple things like having a decent breakfast. Her friends have given up inviting her out. And then there's her sister's serious illness, her overwhelmed mum, and her latch-key kid brother. It's a lot. Maisy never hears from her dad-not now that he's got a fancy life in a different city with his new wife and kids. Why would he care?
Maisy's angry. She feels ripped off. And she's a first-class expert at hiding it-at making excuses, at covering her shame, pretending it doesn't exist. But pretending will only get you so far...
When Maisy's dad insists she go and stay with him and then lavishes her with spending money and extravagant gifts, it's everything she always wanted. So why doesn't it feel right? Maisy is forced to question what she really wants-and she must find the power within herself to make it happen.
Maisy Hayes Is Not For Sale is a heartfelt coming-of-age story about hardship, coping with anger and frustration, and being true to yourself.
Review
Fourteen-year-old Maisy is just finding out what life is about. She has her Mum, her sixteen-year-old sister Luka, who has heart problems, and a younger half-brother, and they are poor. Mum is on welfare, and she does some hairdressing jobs for cash to help top up, but there is never enough.
On the flipside, her Dad, who left when Maisy was six, is now a super successful big city lawyer with a new family and a mega-wealthy fashion designer wife. He has nothing to do with their lives, and doesn’t even send a present or money for their birthdays.
So when he suddenly and unexpectedly invites Luka and Maisy to stay with him over the holidays they are thrust into a different world. Luka resents their Dad, but Maisy wants to believe that this life can last forever. But it leaves so many questions. Is Mum useless? Can money buy you happiness? Does their Dad care about them now? Is a totally materialistic world something to desire anyway? Luckily, Maisy’s new friend Bobbie, who is not afraid to speak her mind, helps Maisy see the things that are truly valuable in life.
This is a wonderful book with terrific characters, and so many current day issues, with the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, poverty and hardship being at the forefront. It also explores issues of misogyny, sexuality, youth anger, frustration and materialism, and it will certainly get readers thinking about what is important in their life. Allayne L. Webster is a wonderful author who always gets to the heart of her subjects so well. This is best suited to readers in the middle secondary years.
