Author(s): Philippa Werry

NZ Senior Fiction

When I set off in my brand-new uniform, I imagined everyone thinking: “There goes Tilly Thomas with her smart-girl scholarship.” Or maybe: “There goes Tilly Thomas with her poor-person’s scholarship because her family can’t afford the fees, and she has holes in her shoes.” Or: “There goes Tilly Thomas, she’s not as smart as she thinks she is.” Tilly Thomas dreams of doing something remarkable. Her big sister, Beaty, became the town’s first telegram girl during the grim years of World War One, and now Tilly wants to make her mark too. January 1920 heralds the start of a new decade, promising fresh opportunities for girls like Tilly. But her dreams seem impossible to reach, outweighed by all the things that girls can’t or aren’t supposed to do. The war is over, but its shadow still darkens the town. Returned servicemen struggle to fit back into their old lives. Some have shell shock while others are crippled or blinded. Tilly must work out what it means to grow up in a world shattered by war and a pandemic, in a society where opportunities for women are still hard-won. And, like any 14-year-old, she faces uncertainty and confusion about what sort of person she wants to be, how to get there, and how to believe in herself.