A Walk in the Dark by Jane Godwin

Title: A Walk in the Dark

Author: Jane Godwin

Genre: Contemporary

Publisher: Lothian/Hachette Australia

Published: 31^st August 2022

Format: Paperback

Pages: 245

Price: $16.99

Synopsis: A gripping and suspenseful rite-of-passage novel about five teenagers and one night that will change them all, from award-winning author Jane Godwin.

‘It’s just a walk in the dark. What is there to worry about?’

That’s what the head teacher, Johan, says. And so, the Year Nines from Otway Community School set out on an overnight hike, with no adults.

But doesn’t Johan know that a storm is coming?

When five teenagers head into the forest that late afternoon, none of them is aware what the night will bring. Each will have to draw on their particular strengths to survive. Each will have to face the unknown, battling the elements, events beyond their control, and their own demons. It’s a night that will change everything.

Set in the rainforest of Victoria’s Otway Ranges, A Walk in the Dark is about friendship, trust, identity and family, consent, and boundaries, wrapped in a compulsively readable, suspense-filled adventure.

Five head into the forest, but will all five make it out?

~*~

At Otway Community School, things are done a little differently, and the year nines are being sent out on an overnight hike – with no adults, and the threat of a storm. But Johan and Sammi keep telling them it will all be okay, and they all set off in groups of five. Fred is new to Otway Community School, after having trouble at his previous schools following his parents’ divorce and a tumultuous family life where he feels like he’s not wanted anywhere, Chrystal is on exchange from America, and seems to be reluctant to make the effort to fit in, or to even try and make the exchange work, which frustrates her host, Elle. Elle is hoping to settle down after spending her life moving around, and Laila and Ash are trying to hold everyone together. Each has their own strengths, but they can’t use them alone – they have to find a way to work together, and trust each other. And they also navigate the rocky road of friendship, family, identity, consent, and boundaries – and what this means to each of them individually and collectively. They all go into the forest, but will they all make it out?

I’ve read two of Jane Godwin’s books before – As Happy As Here, and When Rain Turns To Snow – and have found that each one is unique, exploring different aspects of identity and diversity and early teenage life, whilst touching on similar themes of friendship. This one has a faster pace than the previous two, as it takes place over a single night, so things felt like they happened rapidly, ad I could feel all the frustrations of Elle and Fred especially, because they seemed to be the two that I felt were the most driven by their emotions, whilst Laila and Ash tried to keep everyone one calm and Chrystal – well, it took a while to get a read on Chrystal, and at times, I did sympathise with Elle in getting frustrated, especially after Elle went out of her way and tried. Each has their own reasons for being the way they are, and I think this worked well. It allowed each character’s personality to shine through and be what was the most important aspect of who they were. At the beginning, I could see why Elle got so annoyed with Chrystal because it was as though Chrystal ignored everyone and was rude, and I wasn’t that impressed with Fred at first, but slowly, we came to understand these two characters and why they acted as they did – what had made them become the people they were in the novel, and I think this worked well for their character growth.

At the same time, there is a missing five-year-old that Ash and Fred encounter on the bus – Tessa. Little hints about her are dropped throughout, and as a reader there was a constant state of anxiety about her. Where was she? Was she okay? What happened to her? It was the crux of this little plot that drove something in one person’s story and personal growth. Ultimately, each character grew and developed over the novel, and I think that it was all the more powerful with its focus on friendship for this age group, and in fact, any reader who picks up this novel. Because it reminds us that friendship at any age is one of the strongest, most powerful bonds. It is often our first bond outside of family. I loved this novel, because I loved the bonds of friendship, and whilst it is unsettling at times, it is meant to be. It’s not scary, but it does present us as readers with a scenario that can be uncomfortable and boundary pushing in a myriad of ways.

As always, Jane Godwin’s novels have a bit of everything from tension to unease, to sadness, and an uplifting and hopeful feeling that everything will be okay in the end – that our characters will, once we close the final pages, go on to have a good friendship and tight bonds, and hopefully, remain lifelong friends. This beautifully quiet little book will be well-received by Jane Godwin readers and those seeking something a little bit different from the popular fantasy and crime fare – something that reflects their world, and something that is utterly relatable within its themes to so any whilst allowing us to see how different experiences affect people, and what it means when they finally find someone who makes an effort to help them.