A River I Must Be by Kate Foster

Title: A River I Must Be

Author: Kate Foster

Genre: Contemporary Verse Novel

Publisher: HarperCollins Australia

Published: 28^th July 2026

Format: Paperback

Pages: 272

Price: $18.99

Synopsis: A compelling and moving verse novel by award-winning author, Kate Foster, who combines her heart-felt writing with an authentic view of autism and the pressure of masking. And the joy of freeing yourself from that.

Like a river,

I must keep flowing,

finding a way through

if I want to survive.

I will adapt

no matter the pain this causes me.

I will paint on a mask

and hide my struggles.

But can I be strong

like a river?

Rebecca Tapia has started at a prestigious new school and is overwhelmed by the rules and expectations. With her mum away and her dad facing challenges of his own, Rebecca’s only way of surviving is to mask her autism.

A compelling and moving verse novel by award-winning author Kate Foster, who combines her heartfelt writing with an authentic view of autism and the daily pressure of masking.

And the joy of freeing yourself from that.

~*~

Rebecca Tapia is starting at a new high school. New people. New classes. New teachers. A new reality with Mum far away whilst she goes through all these changes. Rebecca is autistic, but she’s not getting the support she needs from the staff at school. The one teacher who is meant to provide support and accommodations is refusing to help Rebecca. So, to survive and make it through each day and the upcoming Performance Chapter she’s forced into participating in, Rebecca must mask her autism.

She’s struggling without her friend Clover, and even though Tabitha, Mei and Lian are trying to help her, trying to understand, it’s still hard. Rebecca doesn’t know whether she can open up to anyone, or who she can open up to. But have other people at school felt the way she does, and for whatever reason, never felt safe to be who they really are? It seems so, based on how some of the other students react to Rebecca or interact with her throughout the book.

I felt that the students like Tabitha, Mei and Lian made more of an effort that Mrs Rivers, who always seems to pick Rebecca out for things, and always puts her on the spot under the guise of not giving any student special treatment. And yet, this does nothing to make things equitable. Rebecca’sschooling is no longer accessible, only gymnastics and time with her friends are.

I felt for Rebecca, and I loved seeing a girl with autism represented, because it allows people to see the spectrum of autistic people and the different ways it appears in people. It reiterates that everyone with autism is different, and that if you have met one person with autism, then you have met one person with autism. It’s sensitive and evocative, capturing one experience of being autistic in a world that doesn’t accept any sort of difference a lot of the time, or at least doesn’t accept difference that makes some people feel uncomfortable.

Seeing how Mrs Rivers treated Rebecca was awful, and it shaped the way the verse novel evolved, slowly showing Rebecca’s mask breaking until she couldn’t cope anymore, and all because of things beyond her control. Because she was deemed a problem by one person but that everyone else wanted to at least try and help. Or at least, who didn’t tret Rebecca awfully.

This is Kate Foster’s first verse novel, and it is gorgeous, personal and evocative. She put so much of how masking works, and how girls mask much more into this novel. It is significant in giving these girls a voice, showing them that there will be people who support them throughout their lives, and that their voice can give other people a chance to open up too. That one voice opening up about what they experience in an environment that doesn’t accept them can help others open up and create a community that everyone really needs.

It’s a gorgeous way of telling this story, and vastly different to Kate’s previous work. All of her books feature autistic characters, and each character’s autism is different. Yet telling this story in verse form felt very suitable, because it gave Rebecca’s story the voice and gravitas it needs to have the great impact it had on me and that I hope it has on younger readers who might be able to see themselves in Rebecca or understand what being autistic might be like for their friends. It’s powerful in its quiet way, yet also a loud advocate for autistic people and what they go through each day.

I loved that Rebecca had support throughout this novel, because it meant that she was not alone, even when she felt that she was. Or wasn’t sure where to find support. It’s authentic and raw, filled with the pressures of what masking is like as well as the joy in dropping that mask and being yourself.