This is a story about a family who embark on a seachange moving from Melbourne to the coastal city of  Newcastle.  It’s about the crazy impact this move has on the kids in the family, Ella and Creaky, and the resilience of young people to handle change. Ella is fifteen and finds herself in a new town having to start all over again leaving behind a full and happy life complete with best friend and boyfriend. In Newcastle, Ella doesn't know who to be or what to do but she slowly starts to make new friends. A dancer for most of her young life, Ella is thrown into a new world where surfing is the city’s obsession and she takes it on with all the joy of a new challenge. Through Ella’s newfound love of the sea, we learn a few secrets about her mum's controversial past as a gun surfer.  Above all, this is a story about family and love and the secrets we keep. It's a book about girls doing things. Through Ella, we are infected with a passion for dance and surfing. This complete immersion in doing something you love is an important part of this book. It is an antidote to celebrity. The characters in this book are incredibly active in their own lives. They are not passively consuming the lives of others. They are too busy enjoying their own. 

You can find out all sorts of bits and pieces in this download here : a series of questions from Walker Books and Good Reading Magazine.

Surf Ache is now available at all good booksellers.

Category: Young Adult Fiction
Age Range: 12-15 years 

Publisher: Walker Books Australia
Distributor: TL Distribution in Australia & Macmillan Publishers in New Zealand