Reviewed by Pauline Roberts, (NZ Writers Website, July 2001) 
 

Trish Scahill, take a bow. Writing since she was two years old, this young writer has the presence of a warrior. Her poems, with their strong elements of  rhyme and rhythm, teach us the dance of adolescence. Coloured by a cocktail of hormones pulsing through their veins, it is a dance of many different moods and beats. Fraught with physical changes, a deep and wide kaleidoscope of emotions,  a teenager's world is often difficult to make sense of. And there is no one that understands that world and is more qualified to write about it, than a teenager herself.
 

Trish Scahill's poetry has the simple rhythm and naivety of youth, with the underlying depth of an emerging adult. Straight up and humorous, with evolving insight, these poems speak the language of youth. Words we need to  hear. Trish's poems are a window into the complex mind of a teenager living in  the 21st century. Her compassion, pain, courage and indelible strength, inspire the reader to a broader perception of adolescent life. As a parent, this poetry  reveals knowledge, to another teenager, validation, and to society at large, a  very strong message - LISTEN. 

The digital imagery of the cover design is a  reflection in itself of the whirlpool of a teenage odyssey. The text is enhanced with drawings by Trish's uncle, William Gee (himself only 19 years old). Written in five parts, with titles such as 'growing pains' and 'insane society', the poems are intensely individual and subjective. Trish writes of herself, "Being a writer is my dream, just the thought of holding a book in my hands I have published makes me excited."

Bravo Trish, I look forward to volume two.
 

(c) Pauline Roberts, NZ Writers Website.  All Rights Reserved.