Being Jimmy Baxter by Fiona Lloyd
Fiona Lloyd’s debut middle-grade novel Being Jimmy Baxter is a shortlisted book for the Speech Pathology Awards and the CBCA Book of the Year. With a voice that is quirky, engaging and endearing, Jimmy will steal your heart with his shiny approach to life.
A gently funny yet powerful coming-of-age middle grade novel about surviving the odds, unlikely friendships and the magical music of Elvis.
It’s not eggsactly easy being Jimmy Baxter ’cause:
· The real Jimmy’s hiding inside
· Ned Kelly’s giving him the evil eye
· Mum’s stopped going to work and stays in bed
· There’s no eggs in the fridge — or anything else.
AND there’s new jobs, bad-at-school brains and a whole lot of trouble called Duke.
But then . . . there’s Mac.
Beginning with Jimmy and his mum running away from home – mostly from his dad – there are many difficult themes in this book. They are told with warmth and humour and most importantly, with hope. The friendship between Jimmy and the adults around him, including his mum, his teacher, and a man called Mac, show Jimmy’s ability to learn, love, and make decisions about his life.
As he navigates a new town, a new school, and a new name (just the last name, not both, because that would be too confusing), he learns some important things about himself, and the complexity of relationships. After settling in their new house, Jimmy’s mum becomes bedridden with depression. There’s no food and he must make his first hard decision – to steal some. Although he calls this ‘borrowing’, he is filled with guilt. He takes on the job of the carer for his mum, not going to school, instead working at the grocery store to earn money and often, being given food by Mr Ransom, the kind owner.
As Jimmy finds himself further and further entwined in the lies and decisions he’s making, Mac becomes a guide, along with a friend he can lean on. But it’s not just Jimmy who gets something from this relationship, Mac does too, and as the story progresses, you see that just as adults teach children things in life, children often teach adults important lessons too. Jimmy’s uncertainty and grief is written beautifully and when he has to face a terrible event, he turns inside to work out how to handle it and how to tell his mum. He is always trying to seek the shiny moments in life, the small things he can cling onto in the darkness all around him.
Fiona has used many Aussie slang terms and quirks of language which craft Jimmy’s personality and voice. There are a lot of moments where he must make decisions that go against his values, but in the end he comes back to what he knows is right. He always takes action for the right reasons – for love. His relationship with Mac, who introduces him to Elvis, amongst other things, is a running thread in the story, as are eggs, and the idea of ‘finding your shiny.’
Set in the 90’s there’s some nostalgia for adults, as well as some things young readers will want to learn more about. As well as the adult characters, Jimmy finds a new best friend in Debby, who understands him and offers a space where Jimmy can just be himself. With themes of family violence, alcoholism, mental health and grief, this could be an overly heavy book, but it’s not. The humour and lovely voice of Jimmy allow the reader to have moments of delight which balance the difficult parts. Jimmys ‘Brain Notes’ at the end of each chapter show how he is processing the things he is dealing with and how he is learning to cope.
A beautiful book, worthy of its short-listings. Best of luck in the finals, Fiona! Recommended for readers aged 10+.
Helen