Kate Hendrick

When Lindsay meets Elias the signs aren’t promising. She’s a grungy introvert who doesn’t want to talk to anyone. He’s a teen fashionista who can’t shut the hell up. But since Lindsay tracked down a runaway kid, word’s got around that she knows how to find people. And Elias is looking for his birth mother. And he has money, and Lindsay’s perpetually broke... So that’s how this oddest of odd couples teams up. But the thing is, Lindsay wasn’t actually trying to find the runaway. It’s just how she looks at the world. Not idly, like most people, but really looking. Scanning every house, every face, every car. That’s because someone is missing in Lindsay’s life: her identical twin Frankie, who disappeared when they were eight. Since then, her parents have kept themselves busy. And angry. And Lindsay has been...looking. In Elias, despite their differences, she might have found someone to look with.

The Finder

A rainy night. A car crash. After the accident Sarah moves to a new school. A new place where no one knows what happened to her or her brother—where she doesn't have to deal with the history that's pulling the rest of her family apart. Will is keeping his head down at home, just trying to get by. Then his sister Lauren comes back—as caustic as always but somehow changed. Will doesn't know what upheaval brought her home. But it's sparking some serious change in his life too. Eliat's got no mother of her own, and she's way too young to be one. Looking after a two-year-old, trying to finish school—sometimes all that keeps her sane is partying as hard and fast as she can. Now the pressure's building and Eliat just wants to get away. Just get into a car and drive. In this impressive and beautifully written debut, Kate Hendrick sets the butterfly effect in motion. The moving stories of three teenagers going through crucial changes—before, after and around the accident—show how random actions acquire significance. How one pivotal moment could transform your life and you might never know; how what you do matters.

The Accident

Finn the Swimmer. Finn the Winner. Finn who works hard and pushes through and never gives up. Or just Finn. And whatever Finn could be. Life is pretty simple for fifteen-year-old Finn: just keep following the black line in the pool. But in a moment it all changes: distracted by a familiar face in the crowd, he falters on the blocks and loses not just the race, but the single-minded focus that has driven him this far. Did he really see what he thinks he saw? It doesn’t seem possible—not after what happened—but now Finn can’t stop wondering, and everything is starting to unravel. For the first time, he’s got no idea what he’s supposed to do or who he’s supposed to listen to. His bossy older sister, Connie, who wants to know the truth? The whip-smart and unforgiving Aaliyah? Or the unflappable Loki, who gets Finn like no one else ever has? It turns out that in life there’s no such thing as a simple choice. And sometimes there’s no choice at all.

Fish Out of Water

Beloved Australian YA author Kate Hendrick’s new novel deftly examines Australian ideas of masculinity for a teenage audience

A rainy night. A car crash. After the accident Sarah moves to a new school. A new place where no one knows what happened to her or her brother, where she doesn't have to deal with the history that's pulling the rest of her family apart. Will is keeping his head down at home, just trying to get by. Then his sister Lauren comes back, as caustic as always but somehow changed. Will doesn't know what upheaval brought her home. But it's sparking some serious change in his life too. Eliat's got no mother of her own, and she's way too young to be one. Looking after a two-year-old, trying to finish school. Sometimes all that keeps her sane is partying as hard and fast as she can. Now the pressure's building and Eliat just wants to get away. Just get into a car and drive. In this impressive and beautifully written debut, Kate Hendrick sets the butterfly effect in motion. The moving stories of three teenagers going through crucial changes show how random actions acquire significance. How one pivotal moment could transform your life and you might never know; how what you do matters. Kate Hendrick is a high school teacher and creative jack-of-all trades, with interests in art, design, photography, writing and anything DIY, especially if it involved power tools. She and her husband live in Sydney with their young daughter. The Accident is her first novel. 'A thoughtful, philosophical novel for teens interested in or dealing with the aftereffects of trauma.' Kirkus 'For me, it brought back the raw sting of familiarity of reading John Marsden for the first time. Like Marsden, Hendrick's writing shows that sometimes families can let us down. Her vulnerable characters voice our secrets, remind us we are not alone and offer a light at the end of the tunnel.' Australian Bookseller and Publisher 'I was riveted. The characters show vulnerability and emotions true to their age...The Accident was written extremely well...It is a book which evokes a lot of emotions and curiosity.' Obsession with Book blog 'A lovely debut.' YA Midnight Reads blog 'The story swells with promise and hope, and there were some really touching, serious, heartbreaking moments...The Accident is a thought provoking story of life and how we can choose how we react to events, even if we cannot control what happens to us...The fact that this is a debut novel is all the more impressive to me and I hope it's not too early for me to start looking forward to Kate's next book. Rating: 5 stars.' Vegan YA Nerds 'Hendrick's prose is gorgeous, literary and emotive...Likewise, the dialogue is so authentic I felt like I was eavesdropping rather than reading fiction. The characters are flawed and vulnerable and wonderfully layered. Hendrick knows how to up the stakes, raise the tension and she is not kind to her characters (things are tough, things get tougher). They bleed onto the pages in such an intimate and unpretentious way it was impossible not to ache for them...[The Accident] is effortlessly compelling, quietly, sneakily, powerful...I am still thinking about it.' Inkcrush blog

Kate Hendrick

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