Cora Seen and Heard by Zanni Louise

"Do you ever feel like you're living inside a shell? Something hard and impenetrable? You think it's transparent - that people can see you. Then you realise they can't. No one can see you. The real you."

I read this book in one sitting and for an hour or two I was right inside Cora's head listening to her worries and the way she tries to navigate relationships with her peers and her family.

Readers who have had previous experience with books like this - realistic middle grade fiction - are sure to work out the major plot point long before the main character but that just adds to your reading enjoyment as you keep turning the pages desperate for Cora to 'see the obvious' about the old lady who lives just down the road from her new home and also understand why Elle has secrets. 

Just after grandad dies, Cora, her sister Bekah, along with mum Wendy and Dad Hank, have moved from Queensland to a small town in Tasmania. Dad has a talent for renovation, but this project could test him. They have bought an old, run down, disused theatre. In past years this was an important place in the town because it is where the famous jazz singer Clair de Lune once performed. 

Cora finds school difficult - she is always on the outside and she finds it very hard to make friends. Moving to a new school and new town Cora is determined to reinvent herself - moving from Cora 1.0 to Cora 2.0. She does have some ideas about how to do this but once again so many things go wrong. Luckily the kids in her new class, especially Elle, do know how to make a new friend and before long Cora finds herself part of a small team who are chosen to take on a community project. 

Cora 1.0 survived in her previous school by hiding out in the library. When things go wrong in the new school she finds the library again but then the Teacher-Librarian tells her the library is going to be changed into a classroom and there will be no Teacher-Librarian employed next year. Cora knows this has to be her community project. As an aside it is interesting to see which library books are mentioned in this story - Goosebumps; Heartstopper (Young Adult graphic novel); and Okay for Now by Gary D Schmidt. There are also lots of popular culture references to current musicians and bands and television shows such as The Voice. 

Here is some life advice from Cora:

• The louder your voice, the stronger you become.
• Flick your hair confidently as you follow your bestie onto the bus.
• Be amazing. You've got this.
• Find a cause.

Publisher blurb: Cora Lane gets tongue-tied, is often ignored and would rather hide in the library than step onto a stage. However, when her parents decide to renovate an old theatre in small-town Tasmania, Cora realises this is the perfect opportunity for her to reinvent her personality. Enter Cora 2.0, stage left.

When Cora quickly slips back into her old ways and has once again made friends with the librarian. rather than kids her own age, she feels lost. Frustrated she’s not the person she wants to be, she shares her deepest feelings with her imaginary pen pal. The last thing she’d expect is for her letters to go missing. And now, the real Cora Lane is about to go public, but is she ready?

This is one of those books that I have found difficult to pin down in terms of a suggested reader. Soiler alert - Cora does get her first period so that means I would say this book is for 11+. Her sister decides she is bisexual and forms a new relationship with her girlfriend. That means I would say this book is a Young Adult title. It also feels at times there is just one issue to many for the characters to grapple with - Elle has dyslexia; grandma is an alcoholic; and mum is trying to cope with the raw grief of losing her father and helping her elderly mother who now lives over 2000km away. 

The publisher offers this advice: This novel contains references to alcoholism, sexuality, puberty, abuse.

Here is a set of detailed Teacher Notes from the publisher Walker Books Australia. 

Each of these reviews has more plot details:

Brilliant in every way, Zanni Louise has created another amazing novel with a chain of personal stories and happenings about reinvention, loneliness, friendship, and family being the twine that binds things together. Kids' Book Review

Zanni Louise’s latest middle grade book focuses on the confusing feelings young people have at the age of about twelve, when primary school is finishing, when they’re hitting puberty and girls are going through lots of emotional changes and conflicts with friends and family, and where big changes can mean great upheaval – and not just a physical move or change. ... This story is as much about acceptance of the flaws in others as it is about flaws in ourselves, and the coming together of communities to celebrate the past and future. The Book Muse

What a very lovely and warm journey of self-discovery it is, and I am supremely sure that young readers will embrace this one ... Just So Stories

It was rather difficult writing the synopsis of Cora Seen and Heard as it has so many themes, all of which are explored with sensitivity, insight, and cleverly crafted writing. Reading Time

Here is another Australian book with the title Clair de Lune.  You are sure to know the famous music by Debussy but that is not especially relevant to this book because this character Clare de Lune is a jazz singer. I previously talked about another book by Zanni Louise - Queenie in seven moves. 

Companion books:

The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart

Ode to a Nobody