The Never Boys

(Paperback)

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Set in the Barossa Valley area of South Australia, THE NEVER BOYS tells the story of Dean Mason, a boy with many secrets. On the run from the law, he gets a job as a rouseabout on a sheep farm, the first of a number of local jobs. He is a talented flamenco guitarist and the Spanish theme runs throughout the tale amidst the heat, olive groves and grapes of the countryside. Dean bunks down in the shearers' quarters, where he finds a series of letters, the first ones written during the Second World War, left by an old guy, Clive, who used to live there and has recently died. Dean eventually discovers that Clive had only pretended to go to war, lifting sections from a pal's letters in order to persuade his girlfriend and family that he was really fighting for his country. A parallel plotline has Dean thinking he is in love with his boss's daughter but she turns out to be a shallow friend and eventually he finds a deeper first love with a girl who shares his passion for music. A compelling story capturing the spirit of Australian outback life while following the fortunes of a boy fighting personal demons. This is the sort of scenario Scott Monk feels at home in, and is strongly remini

Author Bio

Scott Monk was born in Macksville NSW in 1974, grew up in Sydney and now lives in Adelaide. His first book with Random House, BOYZ 'R' US, won the Young Adults category of the 1997 Royal Blind Society's Talking Book Awards and RAW his second novel was also shortlisted for the same awards in 1998. Scott wrote BOYZ 'R' US when he was 19 and it was published by Random House when he was 21. RAW is one of the few young adult novels listed for study for the 2001 HSC in NSW. In 1999, he won South Australia's Young Journalist of the Year Award for his committment to youth affairs. He currently works for The Australian newspaper in Sydney. Scott's loves include Indian food, photography, cricket, chocolate, movies, thunderstorms, frogs, going to the gym and body-boarding.