'Every now and then you pick up a novel and you know you've found something wonderful - a glorious voice, a character you adore. Helena Fox's novel delivers. It is exquisite. Read it.' Cath Crowley
WINNER OF THE VICTORIAN PREMIER'S AWARD PRIZE FOR WRITING FOR YOUNG ADULTS 2020
WINNER OF THE PRIME MINISTER'S LITERARY AWARD FOR YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE 2020
Biz knows how to float. She has her people, posse, her mum and the twins. She has Grace. And she has her dad, who tells her about the little kid she was, and who shouldn't be here but is. So Biz doesn't tell anyone anything. Not about her dark, runaway thoughts, not about kissing Grace or noticing Jasper, the new boy. And she doesn't tell anyone about her dad. Because her dad died when she was seven. And Biz knows how to float, right there on the surface - normal okay regular fine.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY YOUNG ADULT BOOK AWARD 2019
SHORTLISTED FOR THE NSW PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS ETHEL TURNER PRIZE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE 2020
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CBCA BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR OLDER READERS 2020
LONGLISTED FOR ABIA BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR OLDER CHILDREN 2020
LONGLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR YOUNG ADULT FICTION 2020
PRAISE FOR HOW IT FEELS TO FLOAT
'Fox's prose is lyrical and profoundly affecting, providing a nuanced account of the hereditary effects of trauma.' Kirkus Reviews, Best YA Books of 2019
'A profoundly moving story about grief, loss, and love that will take your breath away. Helena Fox is a writer to be reckoned with.' Kathleen Glasgow
'This book will explode you into atoms, put you back together, and return the new shape of you to earth. Alive with sensation and rich in thought and feeling, How It Feels to Float intensively explores what it's like to be here now.' Margo Lanagan
'Mesmerizing and timely.' Bustle
'Impossibly beautiful.' Kerry Kletter Helena Fox lives in the seaside city of Wollongong, Australia, with her endlessly creative and kind family. She mentors and runs writing workshops for young people, and is a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College in the U.S. Helena has travelled and lived all around the world, but of all her adventures, working with young people and helping them find and express their voice has brought her the greatest joy. How It Feels to Float is her debut novel. A stunning, profound, deeply hopeful story about love, loss and living with mental illness, from an exceptional new voice in YA.
