First Person Shooter, by Cameron Raynes

Bikies, bullying, drugs and dysfunction – all are just as rife in a small regional town as in the city, but with fewer resources devoted to dealing with such problems and fewer places to hide from them. Fifteen-year-old Jayden lost his mum when he was three and his dad is recovering from a serious car accident. He stutters badly and is addicted to the video game Call of Duty. At school he is a weirdo, but not a loner as he has found his tribe, and then there is Shannon – his neighbour and best friend, who could be more. Shannon has her own demons. Her dad died before she was born and her mum is nearing the end of a prison sentence for shooting dead her violent stepfather. Both kids enjoy target practice with their rifles, but avoid shooting live targets, even pest animals like foxes. Raynes evokes an all-too believable country town with issues. The tension builds as the day of Shannon’s mum’s release approaches and the small town and its surrounding farming families brace for repercussions. Jayden’s limits are tested as he learns to rise above his disability and break free of others’ expectations of him.