THE OTHER CHRISTY

Christy and Christie are enemies at school - they seem to be about as different as two girls with almost the same name could be, but when things go sour with Christie's friends, strangely it's the Other Christy she befriends.

Christy and Christie are two Grade Six girls in class. Christie is a loud bully who gets everyone to call Christy, the Other Christy. Christy is a loner who doesn't have a voice at school and lives with her ultra-hygienic grandpa. She often wonders why he has to be so clean. Christy just wants to have a real friend, someone to share her life with and invite over to her place.

Christy's one solace is to bake with her Auntie and she decides to bake a cake for her birthday to bring to class. She's hoping it might help her make some friends. She just didn't expect it to be Christie. When Christie is ditched by her friends, the two girls strike an unlikely friendship. Christy lets her guard down, sharing things about her weird upbringing with her Grandpa.

But Christy realises that they're worlds apart. Can she ever shake off her Grandpa's strange habits? And will the two girls ever have more in common than just their name?

Oliver Phommavanh is a young Thai-Australian writer for children. He has featured on panels at the Sydney Writers' Festival among many other appearances at festival and writing event as well as in blogs. He has worked as a primary school teacher but now spends his time writing and sharing his writing passion with kids and engaging them with humour. He's also a stand-up comedian and has appeared on national TV and radio as well as a number of well-known comedy venues such as the Comedy Store in Sydney. His first book, Thai-riffic!, was published in June 2010 to critical acclaim, followed by Con-nerd in 2011.