This Is How We Change the Ending
Vikki Wakefield
I have questions I’ve never asked. Worries I’ve never shared. Thoughts that circle and collide and die screaming because they never make it outside my head. Stuff like that, if you let it go—it’s a survival risk.
Sixteen-year-old Nate McKee is doing his best to be invisible. He’s worried about a lot of things—how his dad treats Nance and his twin half-brothers; the hydro crop in his bedroom; his reckless friend, Merrick.
Nate hangs out at the local youth centre and fills his notebooks with things he can’t say. But when some of his pages are stolen, and his words are graffitied at the centre, Nate realises he has allies. He might be able to make a difference, change his life, and claim his future. Or can he?
This is How We Change the Ending is raw and real, funny and heartbreaking—a story about what it takes to fight back when you’re not a hero.
INTERVIEWS and REVIEWS
3CR: Published or Not
CBCA Shadow Judges
Diva Booknerd
InDaily (extract)
Kids’ Book Review
Love Oz YA
Love Oz YA: Vikki Wakefield's Top Writing Tips
Nadia King
Paperbark Words (Joy Lawn)
Readings
ReadPlus
RNZ: Nine to Noon
Storylinks
andThis Is How We Change the Ending
‘Vikki Wakefield is one of Australia’s best YA writers.’
‘When I finish a Vikki Wakefield novel I get a tiny ache in my heart because I’m already missing her gutsy characters.’
‘Vikki Wakefield is one of the most creative and daring authors writing for young adults today.’
‘This is How We Change the Ending is [Vikki Wakefield’s] best book and my YA novel of the year. It may well be the perfect YA novel.’
‘With This Is How We Change the Ending, Vikki Wakefield crafts an examination of violence, stunted masculinity and class disparity that’s as complex as any literary novel…this never comes across as hopeless or grim – just honest. With its emotional realism, This Is How We Change the Ending feels like an Australian Friday Night Lights: the hazy washed-out glare of a small town, the slightly aimless wandering nights, and the ultimately uplifting message. I’m not sure what we did right to deserve a writer as fine as Wakefield, who captures the bruised vulnerability and tremulous potential of youth with so much honesty and power.’
‘Bravo Vikki Wakefield…This Is How We Change the Ending is a ripper yarn!’
‘Brilliant…I’m still reeling. This stands shoulder to shoulder with any lit-fic young protagonist novel, YA or otherwise…Intelligent, vivid and so moving.’
‘[Vikki Wakefield] captures the angst of coming-of-age with honesty, understanding and some humour.’
‘Friday Brown…will break your heart then put the pieces back together in a new way. I absolutely loved this book.’
‘[A] powerful, affecting story…stories like Wakefield’s are essential reading.‘
‘This is one of the best Young Adult novels I’ve read since “young adult” first came into being as a specific literary category.‘
‘This skilfully structured and beautifully balanced novel with its mix of palpable pain and understated humour, and a cast of complex, memorable characters, is Wakefield’s best so far.‘
‘Heartbreaking and heartwarming’
‘This has to be my favourite YA book of 2019…even on a second read, I still had tears in my eyes, grateful for the chance to have read about such a gutsy character as Nate.’
‘Authentic, compassionate and a remarkable narrative cementing Vikki Wakefield as an exceptional Australian young adult author. Sublime reading.’
‘Dancing the fine line between raw and relatable, complex and light-hearted, this coming-of-age story proves you don’t need to be a hero to stand up for what is right.’
‘A raw and poignant work of storytelling, a clever melding of poetry and prose with a compelling narrator, curt dialogue, and gritty realism.’
‘My YA novel of the year…[Vikki Wakefield] writes brilliantly from inside a teen boy’s head, illuminating his thoughts and words with searing understanding and empathy, along with hints of hope.‘
‘Wakefield gets better with each book, and this one BURNS it’s so good.’
‘In this complex novel…examinations of disadvantage and hopelessness lead to brilliant revelations.’
‘…examinations of disadvantage and hopelessness lead to brilliant revelations.’
‘Complexity is the strength of this novel…Wakefield skilfully controls the suspense for a nail-biting finish.’
‘Vikki Wakefield is one of our finest YA writers and she gives insight and appreciation to the lives of Australian kids.’
