Kate Norbury Kate Norbury i(A147752 works by)
Gender: Female
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Works By

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1 Representations of Trauma and Recovery in Contemporary North American and Australian Teen Fiction Kate Norbury , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Bookbird , January vol. 50 no. 1 2012; (p. 31-41) 'Several recent examples of teen trauma fiction from North America and Australia depict teen protagonists enduring a range of symptoms as a consequence of trauma experienced earlier in their lives. Each protagonist is represented as experiencing his or her own individual trauma, but they share a similar range of symptoms, such as disturbed sleep patterns, a lack of control over their lives, shattered social relationships, indirection and, at times, a seemingly inexplicable inability to act. The past is represented as intruding on the present either in the form of "ghosts" and memories, or in the form of "memory traces." Total psychological recovery is presented as being impossible, although all four protagonists are in a better mental state at the close of each novel than they were at the beginning. The protagonist is assisted by someone outside the family, who guides them towards recovery and enables them to strengthen his or her sense of self.' (Author's abstract, 31)
1 'On Some Precipice in a Dream' : Representations of Guilt in Contemporary Young Adult Gay and Lesbian Fiction Kate Norbury , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: International Research in Children's Literature , December vol. 5 no. 2 2012; (p. 184-194)

'This article explores the representation of guilt in six recent young adult novels, in which it is suggested that teen protagonists still experience guilt in relation to their emerging non-normative sexual identities. The experience of guilt may take several different forms, but all dealt with here are characterised by guilt without agency – that is, the protagonist has not deliberately said or done anything to cause harm to another. In a first pair of novels, guilt is depicted as a consequence of internalised homophobia, with which protagonists must at least partly identify. In a second group, protagonists seem to experience a form of separation guilt from an early age because they fail to conform to the norms of the family. Certain events external to the teen protagonist, and for which they cannot be held responsible, then trigger serious depressive episodes, which jeopardise the protagonist's positive identity development. Finally, characters are depicted as experiencing a form of survivor guilt. A gay protagonist survives the events of 9/11 but endures a breakdown, and, in a second novel, a lesbian protagonist narrates her coming to terms with the death of her best friend.' (Publication abstract)
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