Emily Gale and Nova Weetman, Elsewhere Girls, Text Publishing, May 2021, 288 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922330451
Cat has a sports scholarship for swimming, but with all the morning training and strict dieting, her passion for the sport is gone. Fan is highly devoted to swimming, but she is limited by social norms and her endless family chores.
Two girls, same Sydney suburb, but different eras – Cat in 2020 and Fan in 1908. How will they cope when freaky Friday hits them and they switch places? Will they each rediscover a purpose for their swimming abilities?
Gale and Weetman time jump their readers between present day and the past through alternating chapters narrated by Cat and Fan. Based loosely on one of Australia’s first female Olympic swimmers, the novel creatively intertwines the ideas of equality and women’s rights. Elsewhere Girls is written clearly in an effortless manner which allows readers to easily follow through each character’s new challenges. At times, it did feel almost “too easy” for the characters to escape the sharp eyes of family and friends. Nonetheless, this short and sweet novel presents important ideas and realistic pressures experienced by maturing young girls. I would recommend this book to younger readers, specifically, those moving into their teens.
Reviewed by Anna Tran
