AMA VICDOC Autumn 2024 - Magazine - Page 6
I N R E V I E W: RE A D | L I ST E N | R ES E ARC H
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WILD THINGS
THE CASSANDRA COMPLEX
WOMANICA
Nonf iction by
Sally Rippin (2022)
Fiction by
Holly Smale (2023)
Podcast hosted by
Jenny Kaplan (2023)
As Australia’s highest
selling female author,
Sally Rippin can be trusted
to spin a good yarn.
And while most of her
more than 100 books are
fiction for children and
young adults, this one,
Wild Things, is all fact.
Intended for parents,
it explores how we
learn to read and what
can happen if we can’t.
Rippin speaks from a very
personal position: her own
experience as “a parent
who did everything the
wrong way” with her son,
Sam, who was diagnosed
with dyslexia and ADHD
at a relatively late age.
Rippin blends insights from
education, medical, learning
and disability experts with
her own observations and
anecdotes to deepen her
understanding of her son’s
experience, and how the
Australian education system
does (and doesn’t) support
kids who learn differently.
Fiction with neurodiverse
main characters can offer
insights into the internal
world and experiences of
people living with diagnosises
such as autism. In Holly
Slade’s touching book,
The Cassandra Complex,
the main character,
Cassandra, is autistic, and
discovers she can time travel.
With endless opportunities
to go back in time to correct
situations where she has
misinterpreted people,
missed social cues, or said
the wrong thing, surely she
can save her job, friendships,
and romantic life — right?
But fitting her 'circular' self
into a 'square box world’
proves a huge challenge,
and in Cassandra’s quest
to do everything right,
life becomes even more
confusing. Cassandra is
forced to confront some
big questions about what
it means to see and
experience the world
differently, how to be okay
with being yourself, and
ultimately how to bravely
forge your own path.
If you’re after a daily hit
of womanly inspiration,
then look no further than
this fabulous podcast.
Each weekday Womanica
offers up a brisk and
informative five-minute
biography of a woman
from history. It’s hosted by
Jenny Kaplan, co-founder
of Wonder Media Network
and a former award-winning
journalist recognised in
Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in
Media list for 2022, it’s
well worth a listen. Some
noteworthy examples are
Charlotta Bass, the first
Black woman to run for
vice president of the
United States, Dr Chris
Longman the first known
Chinese-American woman
to become a doctor,
and Burmese politician,
diplomat, author, and
Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi. The only
downside is that most of
the women it covers are
American, though there
are a few exceptions.
AMA VI C TO RIA
Reviews by: Vanessa Murray and Taryn Sheehy
