Review: This Is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield
South Austrailan author Vikki Wakefield takes a gritty look at the cycle of poverty in This Is How We Change the Ending. How people get stuck there ... and what it takes to break free. Nate McKee is a high schooler living with his dad in a Housing Trust flat in a fictional South Australian town. He shares a room with his half brothers, three year old twins, because his dad is currently using his bedroom for a hydro crop that will (supposedly) make them rich. The only support Nate has is from his stepmum Nance, who is just eight years older than him and has her own struggles with poverty, an abusive husband and the twins, one of whom has additional needs and the other who is already showing signs of turning out like his dad. His best mate is becoming a criminal. Nate's only solace is his notebook, where he records his feelings and the local youth centre, but after a violent incident, it appears that the centre will be closed. Then a local graffiti artist finds Nate's notebook a...