Graffiti on the Fence

by Elaine Forrestal

Hellz, Tan and Eddie are the local skateboarding trio. Every night after school they hang out together terrorising "the Witch". That's what they call elderly Lallie. They make their own rules and give cheek to anyone who stands in their way. But Lallie gives as good as she gets and when Hellz unexpectedly finds himself in her garden one day, he soon learns that there is more to Lallie than he thought.

134 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Elaine Forrestal is a full-time writer who lives and works in Scarborough, Western Australia. She grew up in the Wheatbelt but now travels all over the world, and has spoken at festivals and presented writing workshops in Australia, Singapore, France, Italy, and Ireland. Elaine has had novels, picture books, magazine articles and short stories published in Australia, the USA and the UK. Her novel, Someone Like Me, which won the CBCA Book of the Year Award, the WAYRBA Hoffman Award and was commended for the NASAN Book and Software Awards in the UK, has been translated into Slovenian and Italian. She has also written for children’s television. Of her 17 published fiction titles, 14 have been shortlisted for, or won, major awards.

Reviews

[Judy Wollin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie, Hellz and Tan ride their skateboards everywhere. Lallie, the witch who lives on the corner, shouts abuse as they ride past. They give her lip. She calls the police. The police visit the children’s families. Trouble escalates. Revenge is on Eddie, Hellz and Tan’s mind.
A theft and an act of kindness are linked but how?
I enjoyed the pace and dilemmas the characters faced.
Recommended for MG 8+

[Claire Belberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well-written story, dated already, about a troubled boy and a feisty old lady. I loved the way Forrestal challenges the stereotypes of the crone - we need more of this. In some ways the young characters are stereotyped but there are some gentle twists on these too. There's something soothing about stories with endings that work out the way you wish life would.

[Georgia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, i didn't really like this book, but it has a good moral to the story so that's why i put it on my list.