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Eggshell

By Olivia De Zilva
0.0 (0 reviews)
Brief Description
Set in 2000s Adelaide, Eggshell tells the story of Kira, a sarcastic, cynical teenager living in a council flat with her Cantonese grandmother (Apoh) and her rebellious older cousin, Jake. This novella starts and ends with Kira's experience of Year 12 where she is caught between... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Set in 2000s Adelaide, Eggshell tells the story of Kira, a sarcastic, cynical teenager living in a council flat with her Cantonese grandmother (Apoh) and her rebellious older cousin, Jake. This novella starts and ends with Kira's experience of Year 12 where she is caught between two worlds: being a subservient Cantonese granddaughter and a Big Brother-watching, boy-crazy Australian schoolgirl.

Eggshell is a young-adult novella dealing with themes of identity, racism, romance, sexuality, and adolescence.

'As a Chinese Australian who lived through the early 2000s, this stunning novella gave me cultural whiplash, taking me straight back to my salad days of early internet, teen fashion mags, Charlie perfume in the girl's locker rooms and rites of passages with privileged Western students! I laughed out loud at the biting humour, I wept for these flesh and bone characters and I nodded along to our shared Asian experience until my neck hurt. Olivia is an exciting new powerhouse and I will be following her career keenly.' — Shirley Marr

'Delightfully raucous and rich in detail, Eggshell is packed with all the cringe, colour, heartache, and hilarity of high school. De Zilva has created a cast of memorable characters that you'll fall in love with, groan at, despair for, and ultimately cheer on with both fists raised.' — Erin Gough

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780987447944

Publisher: Spineless Wonders

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 November 2025

Country: Australia

Imprint: Spineless Wonders

Illustration: Illustrations

DIMENSIONS

Width: 103.0mm

Height: 233.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 190

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Olivia De Zilva

About the Author

Olivia De Zilva is a writer based on Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide. She has been awarded prizes including the AAWP Novella Prize, Deakin University Non-Fiction Prize, the Kat Muscat Fellowship and the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. Olivia holds a Master of Philosophy from the University of Queensland; her thesis explored the representation of Asian-diasporic identity in contemporary Australian publishing. Her memoir, Plastic Budgie is published by Pink Shorts Press.

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