Oleanders are Poisonous: Some Things Can't be Forgiven

Front Cover
AJC Publishing, Feb 7, 2020 - Fiction - 170 pages

In a town where gossip spreads like dust blowing in from the Mallee's canola fields, something unspeakable is about to happen to sixteen-year-old Lauren. It's bad enough she's losing her mum to a horrible disease and that her best friend is leaving town, but now the only person she thought she could trust, is about to betray her. She can't stay here. No one is going to believe the town cop could do such a horrific thing to his own daughter. There's nothing left to do but run. Especially after the fire.

This mature YA coming-of-age story is filled with heartbreak, laughter and poignancy, unafraid to address the sometimes gut-wrenching complexities of growing up.

*Suitable for a mature YA audience.

*Contains swearing and themes of sexual abuse, mental health, suicide, self-harm, homophobia.

*This book uses Australian spelling and grammar conventions.

About the author (2020)

AJ Collins is a Melbourne based fiction author. A recipient of first prize and several commendations for the Monash WordFest awards, AJ has been published in various short story anthologies and magazines and was awarded a place at Hardcopy 2018 in Canberra, a national professional development program for writers. Her work has also been read on Radio Queensland. AJ graduated from RMIT's Professional Writing and Editing Associate Degree in 2014 and has since established a successful editing and publishing business, AJC Publishing. Previous to this, AJ had an eclectic career from managing commercial mortgages, to working in a legal tribunal, to fronting her own function band for over twenty years. A one time devotee of adrenaline sports, including bungee jumping, skydiving, parasailing, sky walking, sky jumping, and volcano climbing, AJ is now happy to be settled at home with her hubby and two fur kids, writing her adventures instead of living them.

Bibliographic information