Love letter to Melina Marchetta

Dear Melina Marchetta

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Your girls and women: Francesca, Justine, Taylor, Hannah, Evanjalin, Phaedra, Lirah, Quintana. Your boys and men: Will, Thomas, Jimmy, Lucian, Gargarin, Froi.

They are flawed, but they persevere. They hope and dream despite horrendous challenges, and they grow. They develop backbones, morality, depth, and compassion . . . authentically. I remember reading The Piper's Son and feeling so proud of Frankie that she never gave up on Tom. Where did that feeling of pride come from? I had no hand in Frankie's creation. It's a novel, for goodness sake! And yet, there it was: because she feels so real, my heart was filled to bursting with affection and gratification that Frankie grew into such a loyal, loving and wise young woman.

Your novels stand testament to the ability of people to grow, heal and improve themselves, and make a difference in their worlds. Frankie finds her peeps and figures out that you save yourself. Those peeps? A necessary part of it; she couldn't have done it without Justine, Tara, Will, Thomas and Jimmy, but neither her mom nor her friends could do it for her. Your characters move beyond their tragic pasts to meet the future head-on.

Isaboe and Quintana do what must be done to save their people, despite pain, heartache and love. They do not give up; they do not accommodate; they act. Despite his curmudgeonly demeanor, Gargarin is never able to let go of hope. He designs irrigation canals for a king he despises and a people who have turned their backs on him. He despairs, but makes himself "lean to the side of wonder," day in day out.

I love your worlds: from contemporary Australia, both urban and rural, to fantasy island. I see the outback, the mountains, the gravina. I love that we can't lump the bad guys together. Yes, there are truly heinous individuals, but no nationality or ethnic group is all good or bad. In Finnikin of the Rock, we are shown the horrors of war, and we accept that Charynites are the enemy. But then in Froi of the Exiles, we meet some of the good people of Charyn and suddenly good and evil are not so simple. We are set up to hate the Townies and the Cadets in Jellicoe Road and slowly realize, with Taylor, that the whole war is a game, and that Chaz and Jonah are really great guys.

I love that you write realistic fiction based on what you know, whether your characters live with cellphones and Facebook or in some fantasy world. In the Lumetare Chronicles, I was reminded of the Khmer Rouge, Darfur, and Syria in 2013. I love that you remind us that "we have met the enemy and he is us": flawed, complex, amazing human beings worthy of love and compassion, in spite of everything.