Book Review: Beyond the Labyrinth by Gillian Rubinstein

Winner of the 1989 Children's Book of the Year Award for older readers.

I rarely re-read books. I just don't like revisiting the past. But I remember reading this repeatedly during adolescence. And something called me to re-reading it as an adult. I'm glad I did.

Parts of this book were buried deep in my brain. I call on them from time-to-time. But long sections of it were completely alien to me - so much went over my head as a teenager.

And yet... the core messages about sexism, racism, ageism, all helped shape my view of the world. Isn't it curious how a slim novel can completely capture your imagination and stay with you a couple of dozen years after reading it?

The book is superb and perfectly captures teenage frustration. The twist is still a shocking delight. And its message more needed than ever before.

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I downloaded a library copy from The Internet Archive - but I'm sad to report it is full of OCR errors. Sadly, there's no official ebook.