ONLY EVER ALWAYS

Only Ever Always is a beautifully crafted and emotionally intense novel that teases out this intriguing idea. It is both a classic philosophical quandary and an exploration of the line between self and the material world - does the world shape us, or do we shape the world?

From the author: As a young girl, I used to lie in bed and think how, if the world was so big, that somewhere there might be a girl exactly like me, my twin, living another whole life. In my fantasy our connection would be strong enough one day to pull us together - one day I would find myself. It's still a compelling idea. I still half believe it to be true. Claire lives in an ordinary world where everything is whole. But inside, Claire is broken, frozen with grief after the death of her beloved uncle. Clara's world has always been broken and all she can do is survive, the best way she knows how. Soon Claire dreams of Clara, a girl who looks just like her, with a precarious freedom in a dystopian reality that Claire can barely imagine. But which world is real? And who dreams the dreamer? Penni Russon is an extremely talented young author who has been compared with Margaret Mahy and Jeanette Winterson. She writes, edits, blogs and teaches creative writing. She lives in outer Melbourne with her husband and three children.