image of person or book cover 2734762245042691979.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon How It Feels to Float single work   novel   young adult  
Issue Details: First known date: 2019... 2019 How It Feels to Float
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Biz knows how to float. She has her people, her posse, her mom and the twins. She has Grace. And she has her dad, who tells her about the little kid she was, who loves her so hard, and who shouldn’t be here but is. So Biz doesn’t tell anyone anything. Not about her dark, runaway thoughts, not about kissing Grace or noticing Jasper, the new boy. And she doesn’t tell anyone about her dad. Because her dad died when she was seven. And Biz knows how to float, right there on the surface–normal okay regular fine.

'But after what happens on the beach–first in the ocean, and then in the sand–the tethers that hold Biz steady come undone. Dad disappears and, with him, all comfort. It might be easier, better, sweeter to float all the way away? Or maybe stay a little longer, find her father, bring him back to her. Or maybe–maybe maybe maybe–there’s a third way Biz just can’t see yet.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Teaching Resources

Teaching Resources

This work has teaching resources.

Teachers' notes via publisher's website.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Pan Macmillan Australia , 2019 .
      image of person or book cover 2734762245042691979.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 1v.p.
      Reprinted: 5 May 2020
      Note/s:
      • Published 23 April 2019.

      ISBN: 9781760783303, 9780525554356 (ebook), 9780525554295 (hbk), 9780525554363
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Dial Books for Young Readers ,
      2019 .
      image of person or book cover 2642983908815570836.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 370p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 7th May 2019
      ISBN: 9781984814692
Alternative title: Steeds verder weg
Language: Dutch
    • Amsterdam,
      c
      Netherlands,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Van Goor ,
      2019 .
      image of person or book cover 4633119932835301842.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 310p.p.
      ISBN: 9789000368723, 9000368723, 9789000368754, 9000368758

Other Formats

  • Sound recording.
  • Dyslexic edition.

Works about this Work

Reading and Viewing Deborah McPherson , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 55 no. 2 2020; (p. 58-63)

— Review of The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling Wai Chim , 2019 single work novel ; How It Feels to Float Helena Fox , 2019 single work novel ; The Coconut Children Vivian Pham , 2017 single work novel ; The Yield Tara June Winch , 2019 single work novel ; Fire Front : First Nations Poetry and Power Today 2020 anthology poetry essay ; A Ghost In My Suitcase Gabrielle Wang , 2009 single work children's fiction
Crawling with Stories : Four New Young Adult Novels Emily Gallagher , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June - July no. 412 2019; (p. 38-39)

— Review of Highway Bodies Alison Evans , 2019 single work novel ; The Honeyman and the Hunter Neil Grant , 2019 single work novel ; Four Dead Queens Astrid Scholte , 2019 single work novel ; How It Feels to Float Helena Fox , 2019 single work novel

'On 20 August 2018 the ABC aired a ‘special literary edition’ of Q&A during the Melbourne Writers Festival. It had a stellar line-up: John Marsden, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Sofie Laguna, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, and Trent Dalton. Viewers must have been optimistic. Were Q&A’s producers indulging in a long hour of lively literary debate? Unfortunately, they were not. But even though politics overshadowed much of the discussion that evening, the panellists made a considerable effort to draw on their expertise as writers rather than as political commentators when answering questions from the audience.' (Introduction)

Helena Fox : How It Feels to Float Kirsten Krauth , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 27 April - 3 May 2019;

— Review of How It Feels to Float Helena Fox , 2019 single work novel

'In P. J. Harvey’s lyrical masterpiece, “We Float”, the act of floating is languorous, a way of drifting in the moment, taking “life as it comes”. In Helena Fox’s debut novel, floating becomes more of a necessity: it might feel “incandescent”, but it’s a cloak that protects the 17-year-old narrator, Biz, from dark forces that shadow her family life and sabotage her pact with reality.'  (Introduction)

How It Feels to Write : Helena Fox on ‘How It Feels to Float’ Bec Kavanagh (interviewer), 2019 single work interview
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , March vol. 98 no. 1 2019; (p. 14-15)

'Helena Fox’s YA debut How it Feels to Float (Pan, May) is a ‘perfect, surreal exploration of mental illness and grief’, writes reviewer Bec Kavanagh. She spoke to the author.' 

Helena Fox : How It Feels to Float Kirsten Krauth , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 27 April - 3 May 2019;

— Review of How It Feels to Float Helena Fox , 2019 single work novel

'In P. J. Harvey’s lyrical masterpiece, “We Float”, the act of floating is languorous, a way of drifting in the moment, taking “life as it comes”. In Helena Fox’s debut novel, floating becomes more of a necessity: it might feel “incandescent”, but it’s a cloak that protects the 17-year-old narrator, Biz, from dark forces that shadow her family life and sabotage her pact with reality.'  (Introduction)

Crawling with Stories : Four New Young Adult Novels Emily Gallagher , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June - July no. 412 2019; (p. 38-39)

— Review of Highway Bodies Alison Evans , 2019 single work novel ; The Honeyman and the Hunter Neil Grant , 2019 single work novel ; Four Dead Queens Astrid Scholte , 2019 single work novel ; How It Feels to Float Helena Fox , 2019 single work novel

'On 20 August 2018 the ABC aired a ‘special literary edition’ of Q&A during the Melbourne Writers Festival. It had a stellar line-up: John Marsden, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Sofie Laguna, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, and Trent Dalton. Viewers must have been optimistic. Were Q&A’s producers indulging in a long hour of lively literary debate? Unfortunately, they were not. But even though politics overshadowed much of the discussion that evening, the panellists made a considerable effort to draw on their expertise as writers rather than as political commentators when answering questions from the audience.' (Introduction)

Reading and Viewing Deborah McPherson , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 55 no. 2 2020; (p. 58-63)

— Review of The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling Wai Chim , 2019 single work novel ; How It Feels to Float Helena Fox , 2019 single work novel ; The Coconut Children Vivian Pham , 2017 single work novel ; The Yield Tara June Winch , 2019 single work novel ; Fire Front : First Nations Poetry and Power Today 2020 anthology poetry essay ; A Ghost In My Suitcase Gabrielle Wang , 2009 single work children's fiction
How It Feels to Write : Helena Fox on ‘How It Feels to Float’ Bec Kavanagh (interviewer), 2019 single work interview
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , March vol. 98 no. 1 2019; (p. 14-15)

'Helena Fox’s YA debut How it Feels to Float (Pan, May) is a ‘perfect, surreal exploration of mental illness and grief’, writes reviewer Bec Kavanagh. She spoke to the author.' 

Last amended 10 Dec 2020 10:23:04
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