Cora, Seen and Heard by Zanni Louise

Title: Cora, Seen and Heard

Author: Zanni Louise

Genre: Contemporary

Publisher: Walker Books

Published: 1^st May 2024

Format: Paperback

Pages: 304

Price: $17.99

Synopsis: Cora Lane gets tongue-tied, is often ignored and would rather hide in the library than step onto a stage. However, when her parents decide to renovate an old theatre in small-town Tasmania, Cora realises this is the perfect opportunity for her to reinvent her personality. Enter Cora 2.0, stage left.

When Cora quickly slips back into her old ways and has once again made friends with the librarian rather than kids her own age, she feels lost. Frustrated she’s not the person she wants to be, she shares her deepest feelings with her imaginary pen pal. The last thing she’d expect is for her letters to go missing. And now, the real Cora Lane is about to go public, but is she ready?

~*~

Cora Lane is shy, and she prefers the library to being on stage – she’s very much unlike the rest of her family. Her pop has died recently, and to top it off, her parents have decided to uproot their lives, and move to Tasmania so they can renovate an old theatre in a small town – Caroline Creek. Here, Cora hopes to reinvent herself, to become a new Cora. Yet, she’s slipping into her old ways: making friends with the librarian, embarrassed by her mum, who is constantly asking whether Cora has started her period, and she just feels lost. She doesn’t feel at ease with kids her own age, and senses she’s coming between established friendship groups. Oh, and then there’s Maud, an old woman who wants to run Cora and her family out of town, and away from the theatre.

And with her sister always out with a new friend, and her parents arguing, Cora feels alone – so when she discovers a letter from Clair de Lune – a singer who once lived in Caroline Creek and performed at Cora’s theatre, she begins a pen pal relationship with someone who doesn’t exist – someone whose letter to Bug she found in a book. But then, the letters go missing amidst a renovation disaster just as Cora is starting to fit in with her friends – and now they’re public. Is Cora ready for the world to see who she really is?

Zanni Louise’s latest middle grade book focuses on the confusing feelings young people have at the age of about twelve, when primary school is finishing, when they’re hitting puberty and girls are going through lots of emotional changes and conflicts with friends and family, and where big changes can mean great upheaval – and not just a physical move or change. Through Cora, Zanni has created a story that older middle grade readers will be able to see themselves in – they’ll feel Cora’s uncertainty, and there will be those who relate to her and understand her desire to be someone else. She’s the kind of character that readers will be cheering for. Her feelings throughout the book as she navigates a new life, her changing family, new friendships and being seen in some ways. I found the way Cora felt when she was caught between Elle and the twins, Gem and Trudy to be a significant aspect of this novel – as it highlighted that friendships are fraught, and that jealousy is real – that misunderstandings are always going to happen.

Imagine living in a theatre! It’s different, creative and unusual. And full of secrets for Cora to discover. Zanni has a knack for imagining unusual places to live in her books, and I think this makes them stand out, and gives her characters something unique that ensures they’re not dull – though her characters are never dull, and I have loved Cora and Queenie. She captures the joy, fun, and worries of living in a run-down theatre that needs work, and the ups and downs of what it means, as well as the familial conflicts that emerge – something that I think all readers of any age will be able to relate to. I adored Cora – she was like me at that age a bit, and I think she is someone that many kids will relate to.

Misunderstandings were a theme in the novel as Cora thought things that were happening were worse than they actually were, that her privacy had been invaded by those she thought she could trust, and my heart went out to her here. I wanted to help her, and could see she had to go through so she could accept what had happened in her life, and learn that not everyone is perfect. She had to learn that people she sees as perfect, like Elle and Arlo, and wishing her parents were infallible was an impossibility. This story is as much about acceptance of the flaws in others as it is about flaws in ourselves, and the coming together of communities to celebrate the past and future. To bring life into a place that means so much historically, like the theatre. Zanni works magic when she brings communities to life, and this is another fantastic novel and story from her that is relevant and timeless, that brings old and new together, and shows that there are many ways of being yourself, a powerful and authentic message that everyone needs to hear sometimes. This is a special book that celebrates the arts, and something we all need to have in our lives.