All that impossible space by Anna Morgan

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Hachette Children's Books, 2019. ISBN: 9780734419637.
(Age: Teens) Highly recommended. All that impossible space blends one of Australia's greatest mysteries with the typical drama of teenage girls at an all-girls school. This combination makes conversation about the Somerton man incredibly accessible and presents history in a fun light for teenagers and I would highly recommend it to teenage girls.
Following the start of year ten, one of the most important social years for the girls at St. Mags, the novel's protagonist Lara Laylor is faced with mystery after mystery, the first being new girl Kate who threatens Ash's best friend claim to Lara. How do you manage a new friend when you're so close with someone else? Second comes Mr Grant's history assignment on the Somerton man - a man found dead with no identification on an Adelaide beach in 1948. Next comes the clincher - the disappearance of Mr Grant, easily Lara's favourite teacher. With her sister on her gap year somewhere in Europe and Mr Grant's illness, Lara almost doesn't notice the growing closeness between her and Jos, a friendship blossoming into something new and complicated - something that Lara, let alone Ash, can't comprehend.
Mixing with boys has never been so heady. Distracted and weighed down with the mystery of the Somerton Man, Lara's thoughts are elsewhere, making her the perfect girl for Jos and the boys from St. Johns to befriend. Between rehearsals, boys, and the Ash-Kate cold war Lara doesn't know how to find the answers she craves. Why is nothing ever easy?
Kayla Gaskell

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