A Common Hour, by Sita Walker

Who would be a teacher? Set in a Queensland state high school, the action is packed into the lunch hour - broken into 15 minute segments that are divided into flashbacks of years and decades that delve into the background and motivation of the story’s many and varied characters. These include popular English teacher Paul ‘Bushy’ Bush, his senior students, fellow teachers and the school Head, Freedom Cook. The forest adjoining the school, where much of the lunchtime activity takes place, is almost a character itself. A student with an old grudge uses social media to trigger a crisis that will cause profound change in many lives, especially Bushy’s. Will students and teachers turn and pile on or rally around? Mental health, bullying, burnout, family violence, thwarted relationships, intergenerational trauma and young love – it’s all dealt with over that crowded hour. The time jumps can get a bit much, necessary as they are to uncover the truth of complex relationships. Despite its dark themes a vein of humour underpins this often difficult tale, boosted by a sense of quiet faith in the essential goodness of people and a hope that this can overcome the darkness.