All This Could End by Steph Bowe

What’s the craziest thing your mum has asked you to do? 

Nina doesn’t have a conventional family. Her family robs banks—even she and her twelve-year-old brother Tom are in on the act now. Sophia, Nina’s mother, keeps chasing the thrill: ‘Anyway, their money’s insured!’ she says. 

After yet another move and another new school, Nina is fed up and wants things to change. This time she’s made a friend she’s determined to keep: Spencer loves weird words and will talk to her about almost anything. His mother has just left home with a man who looks like a body-builder vampire, and his father and sister have stopped talking. 

Spencer and Nina both need each other as their families fall apart, but Nina is on the run and doesn’t know if she will ever see Spencer again. Steph Bowe, author of Girl Saves Boy, once again explores the hearts and minds of teenagers in a novel full of drama, laughter and characters with strange and wonderful ways.

Some fact-ish stuff:

All This could end is narrated by both Nina and Spencer, in alternating POVs.

There is a love story. 

And bank robbery's. With guns and stuff.

And intriguing family secrets, and sad family secrets, and secret secrets as well. 

It's about families and friendships and wanting and hoping and dreaming and growing up. And everythign complicated in between. 

Steph Bowe's second novel is an absolute breath of fresh air. Despite the original and delicious premise (a family of bank robbers) All This Could End is much more of a character driven than plot driven novel, . And this is where Bowe shines. Her characters are brimming with life and insecurities and intelligence and hope and just the perfect amount of truth and charm. 

The other thing I loved about this book is that it is this gorgeous blend of the real and the slightly surreal. This book is so grounded in real life, yet has the whimsiest* touches of creative licence. While reading I was reminded of a post Steph Bowe wrote where she talks about her 'love of the slightly ridiculous'. 

"I don't think ridiculous and genuine have to be mutually exclusive, or that literary fiction has the monopoly on affecting and brilliant stories. I think as long as there are characters the reader can empathise with, a ridiculous plotline will work (and some degree of self-awareness and irony helps)."

This quote really stood out to me when I first read the post (as a reader, I completely concur), and afterwards while reading All This Could End. All This Could End isn't all that ridiculous, at all, it's completely genuine and the characters are grounded and perfectly relate-able and achey. But. There are these perfectly delightful little anecdotes, memories and idiosyncrasies that just make the reader smile. It lifts the story and gives it this charming and fun edge. 

This is the kind of book you sink into and savour the vibe and small moments. It's narration is often full of internal dialogue. Fast-paced, it is not. I found it so easy to engage with both Nina and Spencer, but at times wished there was a bit more of a tug in the plot, that little bit of something that would keep me sitting a little bit tighter, keep me a little more glued to the pages. 

Most of all, this book is just full of soul with the right dash of whimsy. It's also the teensiest bit surprising, teetering on the edge of certain heartbreak, the climax and resolution and little mysteries unknown and revealing themselves at just the right moments. 

It has it's own utterly unique heartbeat. It's the kind of book that, when placed in the right set of hands, turns out to be a perfect kindred spirit kind of book.   

I have mentioned before how I so love Text publishing and a lot of the books they are bringing to readers. All This Could End is another gem of theirs and I would be so pleased to see this book picked up by international publishing houses. For those in Australia, this is not to be missed out on.

All This Could End is available now :)

* so I invented a word, what of it? ;)

All This Could End @ goodreads

Steph Bowe's site

All This Could End @ Text Publishing

Alpha Reader interviews Steph Bowe

Thanks so much Text Publishing for my review copy

Girl Saves Boy by Steph Bowe

The first time we met, Jewel Valentine saved my life. 

Isn’t it enough having your very own terminal disease, without your mother dying? Or your father dating your Art teacher? 

No wonder Sacha Thomas ends up in the lake that Saturday evening… 

But the real question is: how does he end up in love with Jewel Valentine?

With the help of quirky teenage prodigies Little Al and True Grisham, Sacha and Jewel have a crazy adventure, with a little lobster emancipation along the way. 



But Sacha’s running out of time, and Jewel has secrets of her own. 

Girl Saves Boy is a hugely talented debut novel, funny and sad, silly and wise. It’s a story of life, death, love… and garden gnomes.

Girl Saves Boy is 16 year old Aussie author Steph Bowe's debut

Girl Saves Boy has a unique flavour to add to the YA scene. With it's quirky and off-beat vibe it's an intelligent novel that manages to convey hope among devastation and silliness alongside mourning.

The story is told from Sacha's POV and Jewel's POV.

The narrative isn't always linear in a sense of plot moving forward with scenes. It's got anecdotes and a running internal narrative of thoughts on life and death and the world in general. You know how sometimes you're thinking one thing which leads to thinking about another and another and so on and then you come back to original thought? Sometimes the narrative swirls along in that style, with quirky asides and observations.

The prose is gorgeous and charming. And it felt straight from a teen perspective - in the concerns of the characters and their outlook on life: sometimes jumbled, other times hopeful and also occasionally defeated. It reflected the braveness and conviction of teens but lacked hindsight that comes with adulthood - which gave it a true teen vibe.

I do think there was a lot going on in the novel in terms of tragedies and scarred pasts and tormented characters and dead people. It seemed overwhelming that they all had such complicated and devastating back-stories. Although the novel didn't just dwell on this aspect - there were plenty of moments of fun and general silliness.

Some sections were reminiscent of Brigid Lowry's Guitar Highway Rose - so much so that I would imagine that book may have had an influence on Bowe's writing style? And GHR is a dynamically brilliant book (as a teen, my friends and I were inspired to write our school writing assignments in a format similar to Guitar Highway Rose - I love that book hard. Diverting in my review here to urge anyone who hasn't read it yet to track it down - you can thank me after :).

Random Thoughts:

• Throughout the novel I was unsure where it was headed. I like the feeling of things lurking unpredictably up ahead but occasionally I felt like I was floundering a little in terms of following the main story arc.
• I didnt always understand the characters motivations, but I kept flipping the pages regardless.
• Like in many alternating POV books, I connected stronger with one POV over another (in this case, it was Sacha's). Does anyone else find this in duel/multi-POV reads?
• It felt teenagery with it's many comments on clothing and what everyone looks like and how tall they are, etc. Kinda cute, that.

It's really an impressive debut and I haven't tried to be favourable in my review due to Steph's age. She's a bright talent and I imagine teens will find lots to love about this book and it's characters. It will appeal to guys and girls.