'He’s back.
The monster.
It’s the middle of the night and I’m awake, because even though I’m seventeen I still haven’t outgrown the childhood monster that haunts you in the dark. I haven’t outgrown it, because when I was a child, the monster was real.
He was my father.
But the thing is, the monster was the person I was closest to in the whole world, closer than I’ve been to anyone since.
That will tell you everything you need to know about me.
And still, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill the monster.
That will tell you even more about me.
'Seventeen-year-old Iliad Piper is named after war and angry at the world. Growing up with a violent father and abused mother, she doesn’t know how to do relationships, family or friends. A love-hate friendship with Max turns into a prank war, and she nearly destroys her first true friendship with misfit Mia. Ily takes off her armour for nobody, until she meets Jared, someone who's as complicated as she is.' (Synopsis)
Teachers' notes from publisher's website.
'The build-up referred to in the title of this novel is that time between 'the dry' in the Northern Territory and the start of 'the wet', roughly September to December. The story is set in Darwin, where the author grew up and the book cover reflects the arterial rivers and creeks, a lightening strike, the isolation of the area and the defiance and stoicism of so many of the top-enders as well as the characters in the story. Parallel to the build-up in the weather, the story is set in the build-up to the Year 12 exams, also a time of great tension and volatility. (Introduction)
'The build-up referred to in the title of this novel is that time between 'the dry' in the Northern Territory and the start of 'the wet', roughly September to December. The story is set in Darwin, where the author grew up and the book cover reflects the arterial rivers and creeks, a lightening strike, the isolation of the area and the defiance and stoicism of so many of the top-enders as well as the characters in the story. Parallel to the build-up in the weather, the story is set in the build-up to the Year 12 exams, also a time of great tension and volatility. (Introduction)
