Roseghetto

May 23, 2023
Kirsty Jagger’s debut novel Roseghetto is a raw coming-of-age story set in 1990s suburban Sydney. We follow the protagonist Shayla through childhood and adolescence and hold her hand through sexual abuse, hunger, parental neglect, an eating disorder, and many other challenges. She’s likeable and relatable—she goes to school, has friends, reads, eats pizza Shapes—and we’re on her side, even if no one else is. Shayla’s mother is a woman with little autonomy over their lives; her stepfather loathes her, and her grandparents don’t know how much their granddaughter is suffering. Shayla is drowning in abuse and a lack of support, and as she becomes a teenager, she begins to lose control. Thankfully we know that Shayla grows into a self-determined woman, as the book begins with her as an adult, now a journalist revisiting old ghosts and reflecting on her past. However, this offers little respite from the unrelenting misery of most of this book. As a reader, it’s hard to take 400 pages of a girl’s losing fight to exist in the world. It’s a challenging read, but this story offers commentary on working-class Australia, the complexities of girlhood and finding solace in hard times. Notably, Jagger's compelling writing won the inaugural Heyman Mentorship Award, which honours writers from socially or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Roseghetto is a well-written book that’s simultaneously tender and intense. It’s for readers who enjoyed Shadowboxing by Tony Birch and Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart.