Fiction

Cargo by Jessica Au

Item: Cargo
Author: Romy Ash

by Romy Ash •

November 2011, no. 336

Cargo by Jessica Au

Picador, $22.99 pb, 224 pp, 9781405040280

Fiction

Cargo by Jessica Au

by Romy Ash •

November 2011, no. 336

Jessica Au’s first novel, Cargo, is an arresting look at what it means to be young.

Au moves her story beyond the category of Young Adult fiction by not simply showing youth, but also interrogating it. Her characters are unsure of their new, almost adult selves. Readers will feel pity and compassion for these characters on the cusp.

Romy Ash

By this contributor

Romy Ash is a Melbourne-based writer. Her first novel, Floundering, was shortlisted for the 2011 Vogel Award and will be published by Text Publishing in early 2012. She has written for the Big Issue and Frankie magazine. She writes a cooking column for Yen magazine and the blog Trotski & Ash.