The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart by Samera Kamaleddine

Title: The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart

Author: Samera Kamaleddine

Genre: Family stories

Publisher: HarperCollins Australia

Published: 3^rd of May 2023

Format: Paperback

Pages: 288

Price: $17.99

Synopsis: Friendship, family and feelings collide in this sparkling middle-grade debut from Matilda Prize winner, Samera Kamaleddine.

Evie Hart likes rules. A lot. But as she embarks on her very last year of primary school, it feels like all the rules around her are being broken.

When Evie’s class starts learning about the Earth’s place in the universe, it makes Evie think about her own place in the world and where she belongs. Which has her more worried than ever.

When your mum writes a horoscope page for a living, it’s hard not to think about what the future holds. Especially when she and the only dad Evie has ever known are acting like they’re on different planets.

But the more Evie learns about the sky and the stars, the more she learns that changes in the world can’t always be controlled. And maybe that’s not a bad thing.

From the inaugural winner of the Matilda Prize comes a tender and moving story about one girl’s journey to find her place in the world.

~*~

Evie likes to live her life by the rules she has learnt in school and at home – no eating in the classroom unless it is raining, no talking in class without putting your hand up first, and always follow the same routines, and everything will be okay, and won’t change. Until her stepdad announces he has to go to Dubbo for a year to help build a bridge, and Evie feels like she is losing the only dad she has ever known – an anchor in her life during her final year of primary school where all the rules feel like they are being disrupted and Evie feels alone. And as her class begins learning about Earth and the solar system, she starts noticing that Lee and her mum are distant at times, and her little sister doesn’t seem to be affected by the change that is coming – and as Evie observes, is that not against the rules? Yet as Evie learns about the universe, she learns that rules are not always going to be the same, and nor is life. So she has to come to terms with the changes in her life, as well as the changes she sees in her classmates. Evie needs to learn that rules change, that people change, and that circumstances change, as well as relationships as she embarks on her final year of primary school.

The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart is one of those books that has a cosy and comforting feeling about the words and characters because it lets readers know that they are not alone with their feelings Evie internalises a lot, like many people do, and she is dealing with issues that everyone deals with at some stage in their life – a change in family or home life, a change in friendship, moving onto the next stage, such as high school, or university, or a new job. To me, it is a book that anyone aged eight and over will enjoy and find something to connect with. Like Evie, I find the presence of rules comforting – to throw them out the window would leave us in complete chaos if we let everyone just do as they like. And some rules are necessary – having to put your hand up in class can teach you how to be patient and to wait your turn, and some rules, like wearing helmets when riding a bike can keep you safe. But then as Evie learns, there are some rules that don’t always work out. Like the rule that families should always stick together, or that dogs shouldn’t chew whatever they want to chew. Sometimes, families have to break up – even if it is temporarily and when there are ways to stay connected. Sometimes, families break up for other reasons that make no sense, or to keep people safe. And dogs don’t follow rules – they follow their noses and the mischief that the noses get them into. Evie slowly learnt and accepted that she couldn’t apply rules to everything, and that even safety rules don’t stop people from getting hurt – but they might help to prevent them from too many bad injuries.

The contrast of the steadfast rules Evie lives by and what she learns about the unpredictability of the universe and space worked well, because it mirrored the time we all spent in lockdowns and restrictions in a way – the rules we had to follow, that many people tried to follow but that so many people broke – that was something we couldn’t control. Just like Evie can’t control everyone around her, but it takes her a while to accept this. I think Evie’s growth across the novel was important, because she had to work out what she could control, what she couldn’t control, the changes she had to face with home and at school, and she worked out that you can also find friendship and connections in places you never thought about. The story worked well because it allowed Evie to be herself, and to reflect on how she was feeling at different stages throughout the novel. Even though this book is for children, I think older readers will relate to Evie and her anxieties and uncertainties, because they are feelings that we all have and things that we all face at every age.

Evie’s story is touching, cosy, and emotional – seeing the world through her eyes – her diverse and interesting world is beautiful, and I felt her conflict with Nicole and Demi-Louise, and her lovely friendship with Farrah, and the way she hid her anxiety and worries, because she wasn’t sure how to talk about them – like many people, she hid them within herself and her worry box. I felt this was a powerful way to write about these feelings, as I know there are times that as an adult I can’t put things into words, and I liked the way Evie’s anxiety was also characterised by a twisty stomach ache – that was a great visual and sensation for readers as it gives them something to grasp and hold onto as they get to know Evie, Lee, Sadie, Mum and her horoscopes, and everything else. It is a special book and it has something in it for every reader, and that is what makes it special. There will be something about Evie and her friends and family we can all connect with, and that is always what makes me fall in love with a book – and I adored Evie. She’s a character that will be special to a lot of people, one of those characters that readers take into their hearts as a book that stays with you forever.