Review: Red Day


Charlie lives in a regional Australian town with a colourful past. Charlie also has synaesthesia. To describe her as supersensative is not quite right. She just senses things differently, intensely. Days of the weeks have colours. People have auras and sounds have scents. 

She's accustomed to her unique ways of perceiving the world, it is after all all she has ever known. But when Japanese exchange student, Kenichi is relegated to her dead brother's bedroom for part of her new school term, Charlie's senses intensify to the point she begins to suffer flashbacks accompanied by violent and unpredictable visceral reactions. 

Despite Charlie's determined stance to keep Kenichi, aka Ken, at arm's length (loving the Japanese culture is her mum's jam not hers), they soon come to realise they are inextricably linked not only to each other but to unravelling a puzzling mystery surrounding the infamous Cowra Breakout. 

Sandy Fussell has a natural flow and rhythm to her stories that envelope and involve the reader with unassuming ease. This one, told with eloquence, charm and enough humour to normalise everything, resonates honesty and authenticity despite it's tentative time slipping qualities. Charlie and Kenichi begin as opposites and conclude as bonded equals. Their experiences which oscillate around Charlie's synaesthesia traits is both intriguing and enriching.

Synaesthesia is a condition that presents in 2 - 4 % of the (Australian) population. It's documentation in fictional narratives such as this one is a welcome and valuable way of introducing neurodiversity to youngsters while acknowledging the infinite wonders and mysteries of the human mind and its makeup.

Fussell's Red Day takes this one step further promoting the acceptance of being 'synth' while exploring one of the more significant moments (the Cowra Breakout) in Australia's (and Japan's) wartime history. Fascinating, stirring stuff and highly recommended reading.

Title: Red Day
Author: Sandy Fussell
Publisher: Walker Books Australia, $17.99
Publication Date: March 2020
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760651866
For ages: 9+
Type: Middle Grade Fiction

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