Van Diemen at 17 by Jeania Kimbrough

Van Diemen at 17

Format:	Paperback
Pages:	326
Published:	December 11, 2010
ISBN:	978-0615387178

My Book Review Rating:

Synopsis

Every January and August, tens of thousands of teenagers from around the world go on foreign exchanges.

The experience can be one of the most positive and beneficial aspects of young adult studies. The ability to learn from and appreciate differences in other cultures is something that can make us all better global citizens. The added benefits of language acquisition, knowledge of different countries and customs, personal growth and self-reliance often help exchange students become more successful in future life endeavors.

However, being an exchange student is almost never as easy or wonderful as it sounds. Homesickness, experimentation with cultural norms contradictory to one’s own, and integrating into different social environments can feel daunting at times and affects all participants at various levels.

Van Diemen at 17 walks the line between positive and negative aspects of the experience through the eyes of Kara Jagger, a seventeen year old American chosen to study in Tasmania for a year. Set in mid-nineteen eighties Australia, the novel is essentially the story of a girl who is not completely honest about or secure in who she is. Is she the perfect exchange student? No. But her story sounds like real life, the way that imperfect but well meaning people often get stuck in unexpected, messy situations.

Why did you decide to read this book?

The author asked if I would like to review an advanced copy of this book and I happily agreed.

My book review

In Van Diemen Australia, thousands of miles away from her home in America, 17 year-old exchange student Kara is struggling with personal issues that threaten to have her sent home prematurely.

Just as she starts to feel hopelessly lonely and disillusioned with her adventure she meets Ben Carston, the counsellor who is supposed to offer support to get her back on track.

Before too long this troubled exchange student and her knight-in-shining-armour counsellor are compelled to admit their true feelings for each other and embark on a secret relationship that could cut her adventure short, and risk his position on the programme.

In Van Diemen at 17 Jeania Kimbrough takes the reader on a journey far from home and explores themes of loneliness, eating disorders, love and teenage angst. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and struggled to put it down. A great YA read that I heartily recommend.

Jeania Kimbrough holds graduate degrees in both Communication and Information Studies from Rutgers University and Teaching English as a Second Language from Northern Arizona University. Her bachelor’s degree is in English, with a minor in Spanish, and is reflective of the passion she has always had for literature and language. Although she’s lived and traveled in over twenty different countries, home has always been the Desert Southwest. She likes to think she was born in the middle of a dried out ocean, and has been thirsty ever since.

You can find out more about Jeania over at her blog.