Last Chance Joey
By (Author) Meredith Resce
Wombat Books
Rhiza Edge
1st October 2025
7th edition
Australia
Young Adult
Fiction
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Nature and animal stories
Childrens / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction
Paperback
248
Width 133mm, Height 203mm
After being expelled, Joey is sent to the country to help an old man. Will it turn his life around or will his past follow him;
Joey is sent to live with his great-aunt in the country where his phone wont work and hell be far away from his mates. But there isnt any choicethis is the third school hes been expelled from for fighting. Which is stupid because he doesnt fight. Its an unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sure, he disrupts every class he attendsa skill hes proud of. Or at least pretends to be proud of. But he has to disrupt them to keep everyone from realising he cant read.
It turns out that Auntie Belle is not so old and not so bad, and when she asks him to help a neighbour, Young Harry, whos recovering from a bad accident, Joey finds a world he can understand. Young Harry is eighty-five years old. He has horses and dogs and a bull, a garden that produces more food than Joey has seen in the city supermarket. He doesnt have a phone eitheror anything else from the 21st century. But even without electricity and the internet, Joey has never felt more at home. He likes the trust Harry has in him, hopes to join the local AFL team and enjoys going for rides with Emily, the girl who looks after Harrys horses. Joey and Young Harry become good mates better than the ones he hung out with on the city streets.
But then the break-ins start. Robbie, jealous of Joeys relationship with Emily, points the finger at Joey and the locals turn against him. And when one of his old city friends is revealed as the culprit, he tries to rope Joey into his break-and-enters. After all, he cant change who he is, can he And the locals will never accept him as one of them. Will they
Last Chance Joey is a coming-of-age story for every kid who struggles to find acceptance and their place in the world. Joey finds not only somewhere that he belongs, but also the courage to stand up for whats important to him and the people he cares about.
South Australian author Meredith Resce has been writing since 1991. Last Chance Joey is Merediths 30th published titleher first targeted young adult novel. Meredith also takes the opportunity to speak to groups on issues relevant to relationships and emotional and spiritual growth.