Say hello to Simone Fawkner. She is in the 9H from hell at Roxdale High School. She is in that class for a reason, and that reason is that she is emotionally and socially disadvantaged. She is not your typical type of girl. She gets into trouble with the law and her only friends are drugs. At the moment she is in a pretty rough state. Do you think she will ever get back up on two feet?

     Does this sound like your type of book? Then ‘Back on Track’ is the book for you.

     In the suburb of Roxdale, things aren’t starting out well for Simone. She has just witnessed her mother’s death in her favorite armchair, with a bottle of whisky beside her. To this point Simone’s life was a wreck and Simone got to the point of not bothering with life anymore. What she has left is all this guilt in her stomach because she believes that she killed her own mother. Simone now lives with her older sister. She has a troubled life at home, as she gets abused by her sister’s boyfriend for no apparent reason, but she believes he has a drinking problem. All she thinks is that she needs someone to love her. Later on she meets a young, beautiful and superstitious guy. His name is Mike. They text and call 24/7 until one day he randomly stops calling and texting. Simone is getting frustrated and moves to a big city called Palmino where she believes Mike lives. Through the middle of the book she meets a gang in Palmino. The head leader, Grace, introduces Simone to her group. At first they didn’t like Simone but after a while they started liking her. Towards the end of the book she was faced with many challenges. Some of the challenges were: getting raped twice, drug addiction, getting pregnant and losing some of her closest friends.

I really enjoyed the book, ‘Back on Track’ because it’s a story about a young girl who has a troubled life, but she never gives up no matter what stands in her way. I was attached to this book by the way Margaret Clark describes the scenes and places. This book always kept me interested, as there was always something new and exciting on the next page. I would recommend this book to young teens that are interested in crime and thriller novels. This book was truly a great read and I would love to read other books by Margaret Clark. I would rate this book 3 out of 5 star.

Courtney L., Year 9

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     Where would you go? What would you do? How would you react?

     These are all questions you would have to face in Margaret Clark’s novel, ‘Back on Track’.

     The novel setting varies from chapter to chapter, from the little run down town of Palmino NSW, to the paradise city of the Gold Coast, QLD.

     The main character of the novel is from a broken family. Her mother has passed away and her father is nowhere to be seen. She knows that she has to fend for herself, there’s trouble around each and every corner, and she knows this and has to survive the life of being a dreaded ‘townie’. 

     Throughout the novel, it poses different questions to you and keeps you connected. These questions can range from you thinking what she is going through, and what is she thinking. Is she losing it?

     This novel kept you enthralled throughout, from the complex descriptive language to each and every twist, it keeps you engaged and craving for more. If you’re into heavy drama, true stories and an edgy plot then this is the book for you. I would advice this novel to either man or woman, above the age of 15 as it possesses its own descriptive language and can be somewhat dark at times. This book will keep you on the edge and wanting more. It makes you wonder where she’s going to go next, what she’s going to do and most importantly, will this young girl ever get back on her feet and ‘Back on Track’.

Kurt M, Year 9

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Drugs, rape and abuse – three things that we don’t want to suffer in our lifetime. Back On Track written by Margaret Clark explains all three of these actions. Say hello to Simone Fawkner, a girl with an awful past.

‘Why does this happen to me?’ She asks herself all the time. Back On Track is set in a high school at the start of the book and moves its way around Australia.

  Simone Fawkner is a 15-year-old girl attending Roxdale High School in class 9h for the emotionally and social disadvantaged. Things are getting bad for Simone lately. First her mother dies, then she gets abused, moves to Palmino with her so-called ‘boyfriend’ and many more events happen.

  Her new boyfriend lures Simone with promises of a better life if she moves to the big city with him, running away from home where her drug addicted sister and her sister’s abusive boyfriend live. She arrives in Palmino with hope that she can start over. But no, that wouldn’t make the book interesting, would it now? No. What happens when her boyfriend turns abusive? She will have to learn the ways of living on the street with her gang.

 I enjoyed this book very much and I think that you would too. Read along with Simone and discover her life and how she works to make her future better. I recommend this book to teenagers and young adults.

– Rebekah

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     Meet Simone, a fifteen year old that’s been through more than most do in their whole lives. Mom’s dead, living on the street, and addicted to drugs. Life’s tough but Simone is tougher and she is back on track. If this seems like the book you would want to read about for days straight using every bit of spare time you get to read then ‘Back on track’ is the book for you!

     Life isn’t easy for Simone, 15 years of age and already her dad has run away, her mom has died and she can’t count on her older sister for a place to call home because her boyfriend beats them up.  Simone gets hooked up with this boy through her friend and she falls for him almost instantly. He tells her he loves her and can give her a fresh start if she comes and lives with him in Palomino. She gets his number and sleeps on it. The next morning she is packed and on a train, so excited! No more school! No more sister’s boyfriends! Just her and her new boyfriend Mike.

     She gets off the train it is pouring rain and she can’t find Mike anywhere. Arriving at the youth camp she gets confronted by a girl called Grace they end up having a punch up then becoming best friends. Grace takes Simone under her wing until Simone finally meets Mike again. But it doesn’t go how she expected. Mike and his mate lock her in a car and take advantage of her violently. She ends up pregnant, addicted to drugs and the most well known bikie in town is keen on her. But that’s not going to stop Simone. She gets her life back on track goes back to school and studies hard.

     I really enjoyed this book because it was so realistic and it is a side of society that doesn’t get exposed often enough. My eyes were glued to this book for hours straight by the way Margaret Clark described the scenes but didn’t describe the characters too much so that your imagination was allowed to run wild with it. I would recommend this book to teenagers and young adults although it is suitable for persons from 14 years up.

Sam, Year 9