Deliveries usually come in a van. Deliveries are often heavy boxes or oddly shaped padded bags. Deliveries do not come late on a school night. They don’t come in a speeding car. And they don’t cry.

When Poppy Campbell’s dad opens the front door to find a small, very distressed child clinging to a green blanket, the family try their hardest to do the right thing. They make the little girl comfortable, call the police, and look after her while the authorities search for her family. Why has this happened? The cops are called in, nappies bought, old toys dug out, and friendships made.

 

Deb Fitzpatrick lives and works in Fremantle. A freelance editor and writer, her manuscript Starfish was shortlisted for the 2007 TAG Hungerford Award. She wrote 90 packets of instant noodles while living in a shack in the cloud forest of Costa Rica. She has a Master of Arts (Creative Writing) from UWA.

 

"Loyalty is the theme of this excellent first novel, which delicately treads the minefield of adolescence gone wrong. Deb Fitzpatrick skilfully renders the ripple effect when a 15-year-old gets into the wrong company and enjoys it . . . It is, more importantly, freighted with fine writing and insights into human nature." —Weekend Australian

"Quiet, refined, and captivating, The Break explores the emotional fissures that open up inside and between people, and, ultimately, how those rifts are healed." —Australian Book Review

"This is definitely a good read, offering powerful lessons of resilience and self-reliance that will engage the type of audience who would most benefit from the more reflective aspects of the novel." —Scan

"This is a beautiful story about realising that not everyone is as lucky as some." —Lamont Books

"This is a light, easy read from accomplished Australian writer Deb Fitzpatrick, who handles an unusual subject with humour and insight." —Books+Publishing