Kirsty Powell recommends All About Kate by Josie Laird - Swooping Kereru Press, 2019
Josie Laird lives on a lifestyle block outside Auckland and has recently returned to writing. She has three adult sons and a bewildered husband.
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A terrific read that touches more of us than we would care to admit. This coming of age story is set in the small towns of Warkworth and Pukekohe and has a warm familiar touch, as does the subject matter. The novel asks the question - "When you hate your body how can you love yourself or anyone else?" In this extraordinarily honest novel, local writer Josie Laird explores the body image topic and the fallout that haunts a young woman who is seeking her own identity and place in the world. Kate is believable and relatable to all those whose "rub together" thighs don't meet the Twiggy/Kate Moss yard stick or our own self-imagined and skinny ideal ... "Kate glared at her thunderous thighs, spread out on the beige wicker seat of the stool. Black was supposed to be a slimming colour. She could picture the dimples beneath her tights, looking like the surface of a pale tan golf ball." This is an all-round excellent read. All About Kate is available in print from NZ bookshops, online in print or as an e-book
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