Review: Queenie In Seven Moves


Ripping up roots can cause wilt; in saplings at least and, as it turns out, in young human beings like Queenie Jean Anderson. Queenie is a girl with a passion to rock and roll. At least, she plays a mean guitar but what she has in raw talent, she lacks in confidence. Stricken with stage fright and the belief that her ex-bestie, Sparrow, will out best her every time, Queenie chooses to flee at every given opportunity rather than face the possibility of abject failure.

Leaving, exit stage left, is one thing but when she and her mother are forced to move from their rented ramshackle home, aka Peachy, things take on a more desperate and tension-filled tone. Salvation comes in the form of temporary refuge in Queenie’s mum’s place of work, the Diamond Sands Seniors Village. Adaptation is the key to survival and Queenie soon becomes the oldies’ favourite but the situation is short-lived and so begins a hopscotch journey from one place of abode to another.

Throughout this pell mell of moving, Queenie is unsettled by thoughts of the Summer Song Contest, something she simultaneously wants to participate in yet is reticent about. With nothing but her dad’s old guitar and her natural songwriting ability, Queenie scribbles out lyrics which her erstwhile (new) roommate, Dory transforms it into something beyond credible with the help of his high-tech know how. Destination: viral.

But it’s not enough. Being homeless and harassed by Sparrow’s taunts increases the strained relationship between Queenie and her mum. They move again, this time into a teacher’s caravan. At first this arrangement sounds idyllic and carefree until the rains begin. Leaks turn into torrents that threaten to cave in the van’s roof, a symbolic metaphor for the flood of misfortune in which Queenie finds herself floundering. Forced to abandon the van and with her Mum stuck at work thanks to rising flood waters, Queenie makes her fourth move, to higher ground as it were. But life has not quite finished its game and Queenie is still in emotional and physical motion.

She makes desperate social appeals to no avail and yet somewhere between all the ‘bouncing around’ from one domicile to another, Sparrow and Queenie collide and a tentative renewed friendship adds to Queenie’s pre-Christmas confusions. The summer marches on. The moves become less comfortable. Change is a constant through which realisation eventually seeps. And Queenie Jean Anderson finally learns that she is stronger than she first thought.

Inspired by the real-life events of accomplished author, Zannie Louise, Queenie’s tale embodies the plight hundreds of families who through circumstances indited by the pandemic, found it nearly impossible to secure a permanent dwelling. Moving house is rated among the top ten most stressful things a human being can undertake, never mind the uncertainty created by constant house hopping. Change is inevitable. What is less certain is our capacity to embrace and develop from it until it is actually upon us. Queenie’s collection of changes is huge and all-consuming and yet through her creative outlet in song, she develops a sense of space and reason, compassion and determination enabling her to sing her song, complete Year 6, accept her mother’s new beau and most importantly, love the life she’s in. It’s not a perfect checkmate but it could be Queenie’s best move yet.

Louise’s narrative is a triumph of nuanced layers and emotions with far reaching appeal. Touching, witty and wonderful to the nth degree, Queenie In Seven Moves is a proper crowd pleaser proving that home really is where the heart is.

Title:  Queenie In Seven Moves
Author:  Zanni Louise
Publisher:  Walker Books Australia, $16.99
Publication Date:  February 2023
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760655662
For ages:  10 – 13
Type:  Middle Grade Fiction

Buy the Book: Walker Books Australia, Boomerang Books

 

 

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