The Turnaway Girls - Hayley Chewins

"Delphernia Undersea wants to sing. But everyone on Blightsend knows music belongs to the Masters — and girls with singing throats are swallowed by the sea.

On the strange, stormy island of Blightsend, twelve-year-old Delphernia Undersea has spent her whole life in the cloister of turnaway girls, hidden from sea and sky by a dome of stone and the laws of the island. Outside, the Masters play their music. Inside, the turnaway girls silently make that music into gold. Making shimmer, Mother Nine calls it. But Delphernia can’t make shimmer. She would rather sing than stay silent. When a Master who doesn’t act like a Master comes to the skydoor, it’s a chance for Delphernia to leave the cloister."

A debut that sings! I devoured the book in one sitting. Chewins introduces both an enchantingly inventive idea of girls who weave gold from music, and a stunning lyricism rarely found in Primary School literature. The advanced diction, prose and complexity of the story however makes it suitable for much wider audience.  

Girls who turn away from their reflections as infants are trained as “turnaway girls,” growing up separate from the outside world to learn how to turn music into gold. Boys with a talent for music become music-makers and get to choose a turnaway girl for themselves once they become of age. There is no room for differences or otherness. On top of that, one man is trying to take complete control of the Kingdom for himself and does so in a ruthless manner. There are cautionary tales about one women who was different and didn’t conform, so she was swallowed by the sea; children are warned by this story to make sure to fall in line. 

Not only are the turnaway girls now isolated from the rest of society, but their matron has been taught how to take away all their curiosity as well; who they are as individuals is literally sucked away by a woman following orders so that they can fall into line. 

So you have the main character who is a turnaway girl; she is supposed to be silent, but she loves to sing. She learns through the course of the book that she actaully has the abiliy to sing souls into being, which I just thought was such a beautiful concept. So quietly spiritual. 

I absolutely loved that Chewins added a female Music-Maker who decided she didn’t want to act like a boy anymore. It was such a powerful moment when the main character realized that she wasn’t the only “other” in the universe; there were people like her who didn’t fit this mold that their society had created for themselves. Even just the descriptions of the main character hiding away to sing were so poignant and moving and so relatable; I think we’ve all had those moments where we take time for ourselves just to be ourselves without having to worry about others’ judgments.

This was a surprisingly diverse book, with many POC characters and main character. Thought is was lovely and a great touch, especially considering the themes of the book. 

There were moments of surprising violence within the book, meaning it is not all sweetness and light. I thought the author struck a nice balance. Mother Nine is a great villain that readers will have no problem hating! The Custodien was lacking as a villian however for me. He doesn't do anything particularly awful, we only really know of his awfulness through past events which doesnt really work for me. But I suppose that could be put down to the target audience. 

Overall a really good unique book. There are definitely moment when the target audience became apparent in the lack of in depth character motivation but it was so beautifully written and the concepts where so unique with such a great metaphor for female suppression. Really hats off. 

Age Rating 12+. The abuse of Delpherina by Mother Nine shocked me and is, personally, not appropirate for very young readers.