Grace Notes

Lefa Singleton Norton: A verse novel taking place as Coronavirus takes a grip on Melbourne, Karen Comers debut Grace Notes is a lyrical exploration of how two teenagers experience exceptional times. Crux, an aspiring street artist, and Grace, an aspiring musician, are in high school when the pandemic hits. Both passionate about their respective art forms, they live in safe, loving homes with parents who support themto a point. Graces parents are determined that music comes after academics, while Cruxs parents support his art so long as he keeps it to the family garage. As restrictions and tensions rise these limits chafe. Crux risks his parents disappointment by joining a group of street artists to create a public work, painting a portrait of Grace playing her violin after seeing her in a viral video. Before long the pair find each other online and connect. The two bond over lives in limbo (I want to study music in Paris /but were running out of toilet paper.), a passion for their art (Im so far into my idea of happiness/I wont find my way back to normal life.) and the struggle to grow when they feel stifled by family, lockdowns and expectations. In Grace Notes, Comer captures the beats of Melbournes 2020 and the unique experience of a generation of teens in one of the most locked-down cities in the world. Ideal for young readers who enjoyed fellow Australian verse novel The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot or international sensation The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Lefa Singleton Norton is a writer and bookseller from Naarm/Melbourne. Books+Publishing is Australias number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Karen Comer is a freelance editor and presents writing workshops to children and adults. Earlier in her career, she worked in educational publishing and was the editor for children’s art magazine BIG. She lives in Melbourne. Grace Notes is her debut novel.