y separately published work icon Night Train single work   novel   young adult  
Issue Details: First known date: 1998... 1998 Night Train
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Only Luke can hear the night train. Threatened at school, pressured by his parents, paralysed by anxiety about his final exams, Luke begins to doubt himself. Is the night train real, or is it only in his mind? If it's real then he's all right; then, no matter what, he can start all over again.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 1998 .
      Extent: 172p.
      ISBN: 0140387722
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Henry Holt ,
      2000 .
      Extent: 199p.
      ISBN: 0805061517

Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.

Works about this Work

The Family and Adolescent Wellbeing : Alternative Models of Adolescent Growth in the Novels of Judith Clarke Adrielle Britten , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: International Research in Children's Literature , December vol. 7 no. 2 2014; (p. 165-179)
'YA fiction is largely about adolescent maturation – or flourishing – and in Western narratives this is imagined through narratives of growth. Within the institution of the family, growth is typically imagined in YA fiction in terms of adolescent rebellion, and in this frame the institutions that surround adolescents – schools, families, communities – tend to be depicted as repressive. This article explores an alternative view of the institution of the family offered in Judith Clarke's novels. In One Whole and Perfect Day, for example, adolescents flourish when in families that value mutual care above conformity to normative views of what a family should be; in Night Train, adolescents fail to flourish when sufficient (or 'good enough') family caring is not available to them. This article draws on research in cognitive narratology and the interdisciplinary field of wellbeing studies to suggest that Clarke's novels model a kind of caring – 'good enough' caring – which entails a nuanced view of successful maturation that carefully holds in balance both the fragility of the individual and an optimistic view of caring for others. Such balance is essential for the flourishing of adolescents and, indeed, of people of all ages.Keywords. blending, cognitive narratology, emotion, flourishing, Judith Clarke'
Abjection in Contemporary Australian Young Adult Fiction Kim Wilson , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 11 no. 3 2001; (p. 24-31)

Wilson argues that '...[A]n understanding of abjection is crucial to perceiving both the implied and explicit limitations placed upon the human construction of agency and the effect it has on the construction of teenagers within story discourses' (24). Wilson critiques three novels, Night Train (Judith Clarke), Touching Earth Lightly (Margo Lanagan) and Peeling the Onion (Wendy Orr) alongside the concept of abjection, which is 'intimately associated with the repulsive, despicable and loathsome aspects of human nature and society ' (24). Wilson points out how most young adult novels are concerned with narratives of maturation and the construction of (adult) subjectivity and as such abjection 'is a constant threat to subjective development' through its ability to disturb ordered systems, which includes one's identity (24). According to Wilson,the novels demonstrate an 'ubiquitous concern...with issues of subjectivity and maturation' in fiction for young adult readers and essentially support the view that 'the identity of the subject engulfed by abjection will ultimately be erased' (29-30).

Untitled Joel Schoemaker , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: School Library Journal : For Children's, Young Adult and School Librarians , May vol. 46 no. 5 2000; (p. 170)

— Review of Night Train Judith Clarke , 1998 single work novel
Untitled Judith Clarke , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: School Library Journal : For Children's, Young Adult and School Librarians , May vol. 46 no. 5 2000; (p. 170)

— Review of Night Train Judith Clarke , 1998 single work novel
Know the Author : Judith Clarke Margot Hillel , 1999 single work column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 14 no. 1 1999; (p. 14-16)
Untitled Anne Hanzl , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , August vol. 42 no. 3 1998; (p. 38)

— Review of Night Train Judith Clarke , 1998 single work novel
Untitled Jane Connolly , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 13 no. 2 1998; (p. 36-37)

— Review of Night Train Judith Clarke , 1998 single work novel
Switching Viewpoints Ruth Starke , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 199 1998; (p. 55-56)

— Review of Border Line Dianne Wolfer , 1998 single work novel ; Night Train Judith Clarke , 1998 single work novel
Ignore the Label : These Novels Tackle the Generic and the Challenging Jenny Pausacker , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 13 June 1998; (p. 9)

— Review of The Tiger Sophie Masson , 1998 single work novel ; A Place Like This Steven Herrick , 1998 single work novel ; Night Train Judith Clarke , 1998 single work novel
Tale of a Pure-Hearted 'Loser' Katharine England , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 9 May 1998; (p. 20)

— Review of Night Train Judith Clarke , 1998 single work novel
The Children's Book Council of Australia Annual Awards 1999 1999 single work criticism
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , August vol. 43 no. 3 1999; (p. 3-12)
Know the Author : Judith Clarke Margot Hillel , 1999 single work column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 14 no. 1 1999; (p. 14-16)
Short-Listing of First Book Relief to Author Stephen Matthews , 1999 single work biography
— Appears in: The Canberra Times Sunday Times , 27 June 1999; (p. 18)
Abjection in Contemporary Australian Young Adult Fiction Kim Wilson , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 11 no. 3 2001; (p. 24-31)

Wilson argues that '...[A]n understanding of abjection is crucial to perceiving both the implied and explicit limitations placed upon the human construction of agency and the effect it has on the construction of teenagers within story discourses' (24). Wilson critiques three novels, Night Train (Judith Clarke), Touching Earth Lightly (Margo Lanagan) and Peeling the Onion (Wendy Orr) alongside the concept of abjection, which is 'intimately associated with the repulsive, despicable and loathsome aspects of human nature and society ' (24). Wilson points out how most young adult novels are concerned with narratives of maturation and the construction of (adult) subjectivity and as such abjection 'is a constant threat to subjective development' through its ability to disturb ordered systems, which includes one's identity (24). According to Wilson,the novels demonstrate an 'ubiquitous concern...with issues of subjectivity and maturation' in fiction for young adult readers and essentially support the view that 'the identity of the subject engulfed by abjection will ultimately be erased' (29-30).

The Family and Adolescent Wellbeing : Alternative Models of Adolescent Growth in the Novels of Judith Clarke Adrielle Britten , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: International Research in Children's Literature , December vol. 7 no. 2 2014; (p. 165-179)
'YA fiction is largely about adolescent maturation – or flourishing – and in Western narratives this is imagined through narratives of growth. Within the institution of the family, growth is typically imagined in YA fiction in terms of adolescent rebellion, and in this frame the institutions that surround adolescents – schools, families, communities – tend to be depicted as repressive. This article explores an alternative view of the institution of the family offered in Judith Clarke's novels. In One Whole and Perfect Day, for example, adolescents flourish when in families that value mutual care above conformity to normative views of what a family should be; in Night Train, adolescents fail to flourish when sufficient (or 'good enough') family caring is not available to them. This article draws on research in cognitive narratology and the interdisciplinary field of wellbeing studies to suggest that Clarke's novels model a kind of caring – 'good enough' caring – which entails a nuanced view of successful maturation that carefully holds in balance both the fragility of the individual and an optimistic view of caring for others. Such balance is essential for the flourishing of adolescents and, indeed, of people of all ages.Keywords. blending, cognitive narratology, emotion, flourishing, Judith Clarke'
Last amended 15 Dec 2014 16:44:46
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