Bring it Back by Deborah Kelly

Title: Bring it Back

Author: Deborah Kelly

Genre: Contemporary

Publisher: Wombat Rhiza

Published: 1^st May 2026

Format: Paperback

Pages: 100

Price: $14.99

Synopsis: It’s the last term of primary school and Liam is bored with the same faces, places and lunches even basketball.

When a new student named Clint arrives, things become much more interesting. Soon, Liam is taking risks and bending the rules and even has a haircut just like Clint. Liam’s mates are acting weird, though. And Mum keeps asking if he’s OK. His teacher even has ‘a word’ with him. Liam wishes they would leave him alone and let him grow up. He’s going to high school next year!

But when Liam finds himself in serious trouble, he realises how far he’s drifted from the things and the people he loves. But just like a game of basketball that’s heading south, can he bring it back?

~*~

The end of year six can be tough. You’re at the end of primary school; you’re growing up and you’re ready to go to high school. Liam is in year six, and loves playing basketball with his friends. Except, in the last term of year six, he’s tired of the same people, the same lunches…the same everything.

When Clint arrives, Mr Roberts asks Liam to show him around…except, things don’t go all that well. Clint is questionable, pushing Liam to take risks, which all leads to people asking if he’s okay, and to Liam, treating him like a child. It’s only when Liam gets in serious trouble that he realises what has happened and how much he has let Clint influence him.

It’s a big job repairing things, but it makes Liam realise that he hasn’t really grown up at eleven or twelve. He’s got a long way to go. After all, nobody is perfect and in many ways, everyone learns at every stage of our lives. We’re always encountering new things and meeting new people. It’s all about how we use what we do know to handle it as well.

This tween coming-of-age story captures the complexities of finishing one area of schooling and moving into another. It navigates new friendships and old friendships and what happens when we make choices that do not fit our personality.

I felt for Liam, caught between what he wanted and what was right, and how he had been raised. His constant unease and sense of what was right compared to how he was acting was a great way to show conflict.

This internal conflict can make things very interesting. What matters is how it is done, and when, because that can inform the story and the outcome of the story. It touches on how, in this instance, boys are affected by peer pressure and a desire to fit in with the cool kids. Even when it means breaking the rules.

Bring it Back is part of the Wombat Shorts tween fiction series. These are short novellas, which have minimal words, maximum impact. The stories are short but powerful, and this one is no exception. It has something that lots of readers can relate to, and that will hopefully help readers who need shorter books about things they are interested in get into reading.

It captures an aspect of the tween experience that will help younger readers see themselves and their experiences in the book. It’s written well and succinctly, which makes the story have such a big impact. Another great Wombat Rhiza book.