A spotlight on Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard
Invisible Boys is one of the six books shortlisted for this year’s Readings Young Adult Book Prize.
Nerd Zeke, punk Charlie, and footy hero Hammer don’t appear to have anything in common. But appearances can be deceiving, and these three boys are all coming to terms with their homosexuality in a town where it is much safer for them to keep aspects of themselves invisible.
Here’s what the judges said…
‘Observed from their three points of view, with anonymous letters interspersed in between, this is a stunningly written novel that will open your eyes to what it’s like to live in a small town full of prejudice and hurt. Nobody is perfect, nobody is off the hook and nobody will ever be the same again after the explosive events that take place in this book. This is a raw, sometimes confronting story that is best suited to readers aged 15+.’
– Angela Crocombe, Chair of the judging panel
Meet the author…
Holden Sheppard is an award-winning author born and bred in Geraldton, Western Australia. His debut novel Invisible Boys won the 2018 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award for an unpublished manuscript. Holden’s writing has been published in Griffith Review, Westerly, Huffington Post, DNA magazine and many other places. He serves as the Deputy Chair of Writing WA, and as an ambassador for Lifeline WA. Holden is a misfit: a gym junkie who has played Pokémon competitively, a sensitive geek who loves aggressive punk rock, and a bogan who learned to speak French.
