THE GOOD DAUGHTER

Friends aren't always friendly and family isn't always nice. This fifteen-year-old girl knows who she is. But is she Sammie or Sabiha? Bosnian or Australian? Muslim, or? And why is her mother so hard to deal with? Her Bosnian family migrated in the 1970s but she was born in Australia and feels like a local. She has to put up with her mother's erratic behaviour, her mother's new boyfriend, her live-in grandfather and his chess buddy, not to mention her arrogant cousin Adnan. They all want to marry her off, have her become a strict Muslim and speak Bosnian.

Her friend Dina is Bosnian too, but she's got a different take on her identity. Sabiha is ready for anything. She's bullied by girls and fights back; she's confused about boyfriends and messes up. But two boys, Brian and Jesse, become the allies of this fierce and funny girl, in the battle to survive her family feuds and her social life.

Sabiha's first kiss, her hilarious conversations about virginity, homosexuality and her religion, amidst the constant dramas of teenage friendship, are bound to touch any reader who will end up cheering for Sabiha.

Amra Pajalic has a wonderful ear for idiomatic dialogue and the dramatic moment, as she takes us into Sabiha's spirited family and confronts real issues in teenagers' lives. Born in 1977, The Good Daughter is Pajalic's first novel. She lives in Melbourne with her family and she is a young writer with a big future.