** spoiler alert ** 
 I feel like I've heard overwhelmingly positive things about 'Clancy of the Undertow' so I am sad to say that I am incredibly underwhelmed and disappointed by this book. I so desperately wanted to love it and it sounded so very promising on the surface; a young adult coming-of-age contemporary featuring a queer, biracial, Indigenous main character set against a backdrop of working class rural Australia. So what exactly went wrong? 
 Unfortunately there was just nothing particularly compelling about this narrative. It felt bland and tired and completely uninspiring. However, to be fair, the author does do a good job of capturing the quintessential vibe of growing up in country Australia and the hostile landscape created by narrow-minded attitudes and small town politics. There is something very relatable about the main characters voice, her disenfranchisement and struggle with identity and acceptance, her very real sense of alienation and isolation as well as her frustration with a society that is quick to pass judgement and ostracise those who are different. While there is not much in the way of a plot, this is a novel driven by the characters and the ideas it explores. And the author does touch upon some really important and universal concepts - including sexuality, self-discovery, family dynamics, racism and prejudice, bullying, friendship, acceptance and economic disadvantage - that will undoubtedly appeal to anyone who has ever felt like the underdog. 
 However, considering the themes this novel was attempting to explore I have to admit to being a little frustrated by how poorly the author unpacked some very problematic content. I was genuinely surprised by the amount of casual, unchallenged racism that was present in this book - from references to 'driving like an Asian' after parking crookedly to referring to the main Indigenous character as having 'dirty' coloured skin - as well as the unconscious aphobia and sheer amount of ableist language that was used throughout the novel. While this type of language is admittedly authentic Aussie slang it would have been nice to see the ableism challenged in text at least once and it really lessened my overall enjoyment of the story. Authenticity does not make it right to talk like this and it's important to consider the way in which we use language and how it can potentially harm others. 
 I was also genuinely appalled by the amount of homophobia and queerphobia - some of which was internalised - that was present and at times bordered on incredibly vicious and hurtful. I would urge caution to readers who think they could be harmed by this because there are some incredibly painful moments, most notably in which the main character is targeted by homophobic slurs and hostile, weaponised language that leads to her experiencing suicidal ideation. I personally found this extremely hard to read and felt it desperately needed to be unpacked more sensitively. This is not a cute F/F contemporary romance, so please do not go in expecting any sort of happy ending. I honestly do not feel that this particular author had the necessary understanding or awareness to handle such concepts and experiences appropriately. 
 TW: homophobia/queerphobia, racism, suicidal ideation, aphobia, ableism.