'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Thursday, 1 June 2023

Review: We Could Be Something

We Could BE Something
is really something, A big-hearted and captivating mix of relationship bust-ups, Sydney café culture, coming out, rom-com, dramedy, Yiayias (Greek grandmothers) and an ode to the best of Greek - this book has it all. AND it’s funny. Laugh out loud on the train funny.

Trailing two young men at turning points in their lives, We Could Be Something bears witness to the highs and lows, the angst and the humour of finding – and living into - the authentic self.

Harvey’s a teenager whose dads are splitting up, which conveniently gives him a free pass to leave school in Perth and find a job in Sydney. However this isn’t all beer and skittles - especially considering that he and Ba (one of his dads) are now living above the family café in Darlinghurst, with Greek grandmas who he barely knows.

Sotiris is a young man on the cusp of fame and fortune, having written and published a novel at the tender age of seventeen. With the whole world at his feet, he soon discovers the reality of life after ‘living the dream.’ His world collides with that of a young local bookseller, who provides another layer to the trajectory of his life. 

We read each of these stories - which intersect on a Darlinghurst street - in tandem. Surprises and connections are an integral part of this novel, which is both gustsy and visceral in fresh, powerful ways that knock your socks off (if you’re not wearing boat shoes and rolled up chinos, that is).

There’s language and culture and rainbows and confusion and love to soak up at every page turn. The characters are relatable, authentic, sensitive, observant, flawed, funny, raw, edgy, current, caring and conflicted - brought to life with subtlety, hilarity, awkwardness, vivid encounters and pithy one-liners.

And there’s food. Mouth-watering Greek food.

What’s not to love!

Listed as a YA book for 14 – 18 years olds, this book is actually one for all above 14 years.

It’s fabulous.

Title: We Could Be Something
Author: Will Kostakis
Publisher: Allen & Unwin $19.99
Publication Date: May 2023
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781761180170
For ages: 14 - 18
Type: Young Adult Fiction