Shiny

Issue 2

Twelfth Planet Press (2007)
ISSN:
$3
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Reviewed by Rachel Holkner, January 2008

The second issue of Shiny does not have the complete obsession with death that the first issue had, but don't be disappointed - there's one in there.

The editorial, which I think was written by Ben Payne but it is not explicitly stated, has a go at defining YA. It neglects to pose any of the right questions, let alone come up with any answers. It relies on some definitions of adult literature which are laughable (“adults, it must be said, often baulk at strong emotion”) and fails to mention even in passing YAs “coming of age” tradition, the invention and history of the idea of a teenager, the age and sex of protagonists or the one theme that all YA stories have in common - survival. Survival of high school, of finding ones place in society, literal survival (your typical horde of zombies) and surviving simply being a teenager and the realisation that you're a human being. Fortunately the editors know how to choose YA stories, even if they can't define them satisfactorily.

“The Goats are Going Places” by Tina Connolly takes a look at a classic theme of YA - the high school melodrama. It's very American in tone, which I found an odd choice as the editors of Shiny are all Australian, but I suppose it works if you think of Shiny as an online, and therefore notionally without borders, publication. Renee is sent to live with her aunt and attend a new high school in order to straighten out which, by her own definition, she does in record time with confidence and easy decisions. Having not satisfied anyone else, however, she receives a lesson from her aunt, which given the comedic set-up leads to an ending that is less humorous than I would have liked. I could not be sympathetic to Renee, she was too self-involved and objectionable and I didn't care about any of her imaginary problems. Even in a satiric comedy like this I need to care about what's happening. Jarringly there were devices that felt far more suited to a children's story - ZipZap sunglasses, the Pointy Hats department of the BigAssRichName Department Store, and her aunt's giveaway address 1313 Strega Place. Additionally, a plot twist that relies on a teenage girl to not see her reflection for half a day is not terribly believable. I was dissatisfied by this comic story, but it might appeal to self-aware fans of teen soaps.

“Cracks” by Trent Jamieson (the “death story” of the issue) I had to read through twice in order to penetrate a writing style which did not seem to come naturally to the author. From what I understood, Jean is able to communicate with the dead who vie for power in the afterlife. There was very little in the way of plot and the main character's motivation and even actions were lost to me. On a tangent, it's interesting that death is the recurring motif in these YA stories. Teenagers often behave as if immortal, it's people past the “young” adult stage that begin to think on death.

Once again Shiny leaves the best until last. Bren MacDibble's “Blurred Horizons” was my favourite of the issue. In 2032 Tash and her mother manage a service station and take care of a small forest in isolated desert conditions. An unexpected visitor (aren't they always?) asks a difficult favour, and for no apparent reward. Tash is a spunky protagonist and the environmental theme is topical without being heavy. The backstory is left mostly unexplained, a change from the frequent unrelenting infodumps common to speculative fiction.

Issue Two wraps up with some reviews which are a welcome addition. Tansy Rayner Roberts writes with warmth, humour and an enthusiasm that invariably leaves my “to read” list just a little bit longer.

One thing I would like for the Shiny editors to address soon is presentation. I have no complaints about the format - it is always cleanly laid out and easy to read, but at the moment it lacks personality. Aside from the mishmash of fonts and colours that makes up the title, there is nothing to indicate that the magazine is not about financial planning. A cover image - not even necessarily a new one each issue - would help address this even if internal illustrations are beyond the scope of the publication at the moment.

Overall I enjoyed this issue more than the first because of the greater variety in both the writing styles and topics. I look forward to reading Issue Three.

Twelfth Planet Press (2007)
ISSN:
$3
Buy a copy
Return to reviews page
Reviewed by Tehani Wessely, January 2008

In my day job, I am a secondary school teacher librarian. You would think this qualifies me to confidently comment on young adult (YA) speculative fiction. You would think. However, as a person who has devoured books since the age of five, I know better than most exactly how eclectic and wide-ranging the tastes of teens in this arbitrary YA age bracket can be. After all, I liked books intended for adults when I was twelve. I also like books intended for children at age *cough* 32 *cough*. And everything in between. So then, how do I, as a “Grown Up”, judge Shiny, a YA webzine with a target demographic?

Well, I can start by stating (with my non-day-job hat on, as an editor of short fiction), that the stories published in Shiny are of a very high quality. The three authors showcased in Shiny Issue Two are all class writers, that is certain. And this issue presents three very different works. Tina Connolly goes with a lighthearted magical romp with a fairly moral message in the opening story “The Goats are Going Places”. Trent Jamieson on the other hand takes us on a journey into death, with “Cracks”, while Bren MacDibble walks a time travelling semi-environmental road in “Blurred Horizons”. All three are solid stories, but are they good YA reads?

In “The Goats are Going Places”, Connolly gives us a Mean Girls style story, and throws in just a touch of magic to amp it up. While I found it slightly predictable, I believe your average YA (female) reader would enjoy the story and the style, and certainly find somewhat of themselves somewhere in the piece, ala Queen Bees and Wannabes. I don't think the moral is over-the-top preachy, but the intent is clear, especially from an adult perspective.

“Cracks” is a very different scenario. The story is strong, and the message is subtly woven within the darkness of the piece. Perhaps my main concern with this story is the “voice” of the narrator, protagonist Jean. She comes across not as an adolescent (which she is), but almost as an elderly woman. Now, there are two reasons this might be intentional on the author's part. Firstly, he may be inferring that her “gift” has aged her in so many ways that she has become old far before her time - this is plausible. Also plausible is the suggestion that her gift is tantamount to possession by the dead, and given that the dead surrounding her are aged, she has inherited their manner. However, the explanation offered by the story, and the one that most YA readers will likely acknowledge, is that it is simply her nature, and that she was born that way. This didn't really work for me as a reader, but having said that, it is actually quite a minor flaw in the scope of the tale, and is something that eases as the story progresses.

“Blurred Horizons” was probably the piece of the three that stood out as hitting the target demographic squarely on the head, almost to the point of caricature. Teenage protagonist, fighting for independence and a cause she believes in, dealing with parent/s, overcoming adversity, and all on a fairly grand scale. Tash is working with her mother to keep their business, and the forest their father crazily put all their money into saving, alive. It seems as if she is going to lose her fight to stay near the forest, when one day she encounters a boy stuck in a tree (a flaw with the story - while it appears that the boy is close to her age of 16, it's not quite clear exactly why he, at his age, was given the task he had), a victim of misplaced time travel. Tash then has to complete the job the time traveller was attempting to do, and save the world. I found this story a little over the top in dialogue pun and characterization, but that is me, as an adult reader. To a YA audience, I think this style would appeal greatly.

So, can I, as an adult, judge a YA webzine? Well, to some extent I can - I can judge story quality, characterization and plot. I have a fair idea of what the YA audience likes to read, and what will suck them in. At the same time, I understand that to pigeon-hole a reader as YA, or indeed, to do the same to a story, is a narrow approach - it may be convenient to booksellers and librarians, but it does little justice to the readers themselves. Many young adult readers do like similar types of stories/themes/ideas in their reading. But many readers in the young adult age range also read completely outside the YA square, foraging wide and far for fuel to feed their reading habits (I know, I was one of them). In addition, many adult readers enjoy YA works for many reasons: they might be looking for a quick read; an escape back to youth; a good story not encased in massive tomes of overloaded description or convoluted plot - just sheer, shiny story and concise character. So maybe I can make some judgments on the quality of the writing, or the originality of the plot or the style of the piece, but I can't say without question that a YA reader would or would not enjoy Shiny Two. What I can say is that anyone who reads it - tween, teen or adult - will find three well-executed stories offering to grab the imagination of the reader and drag them along for the ride.