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Anything But Fine

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
All it takes is one missed step for your life to change forever
Luca Mason knows exactly who he is and what he wants: In six months, he's going to be accepted into the Australian Ballet School, leave his fancy private high school, and live his life as a star of the stage—at least that's the plan until he falls
down a flight of stairs and breaks his foot in a way he can never recover from.With his dancing dreams dead on their feet, Luca loses his performing arts scholarship and transfers to the local public school, leaving behind all his ballet friends and his whole future on stage.
The only bright side is that he strikes up unlikely friendships with the nicest (and nerdiest) girl at his new school, Amina Ahmad, and the gorgeous, popular, and (reportedly) straight school captain, Jordan Tanaka-Jones.
As Luca's bond with Jordan grows stronger, he starts to wonder: Who is he without ballet? And is he setting himself up for another heartbreak?
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    • Books+Publishing

      July 13, 2021
      Anything But Fine is the young adult debut of Tobias Madden, who works in publishing and is part of the #LoveOzYA community. Like his main character, Luca, Madden grew up in Ballarat and was a professional dancer, which possibly contributes to his novel’s feeling of authenticity and honesty. Luca is a talented and focused dancer, just about to audition for the Australian Ballet School when he falls down the stairs and irreparably damages his foot. With his future in ballet gone, so is his scholarship at a prestigious school and his connection to his childhood friends. Suddenly Luca finds himself injured and alone in public school, feeling like he’s hit rock bottom. But there he meets the sweet and enthusiastic Amina and the gorgeous school captain Jordan, who may or may not be straight. Full of texts, group chats and social media, Anything But Fine is grounded in a contemporary world. The ‘teenage’ tone is occasionally overdone but the characters’ complexity and longing are relatable and ring true. There are sexual scenes and some alcohol consumption, although nothing is depicted too graphically, so the book is best for teenagers 13 and over. Anything But Fine is a heartwarming story about a young man finding himself. With its diverse cast of characters, the novel touches on racism, faith, homophobia and peer pressure, but is ultimately about growing and learning to be a better friend, embracing all parts of life and being true to yourself. Fay Helfenbaum is a freelance writer and editor and was a bookseller for five years.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

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