by Debra Oswald
Discussion Points
In Getting Air there is a constant tension between the so-called ‘youth’ and the town’s authorities. What could both parties do to understand each other better? What are your suggestions for what kind of facilities and activities councils and communities could provide for teenagers?
Look at the concept of the ‘fair go’ in Australian culture and in the book. Do Corey and his family get a fair go in the book?
Corey says: ‘But she can’t help who her family is. You can’t hold that against someone’ (Click here).
Compare how Corey and Lauren are treated by adults and by their peers (including Zac). How does their background affect the way they are perceived? Are the perceptions justified?
Discuss some of the powerful symbols Debra employs in the novel, including:
– The model skatepark, which represents a real skatepark. Corey carries it around everywhere – what meaning does it have for him? What meaning does it have for Zac after Corey’s death?
– The idea of getting a real skatepark is symbolic too: for the teenagers it would mean that the council and older generation respect and understand them. Compare this with what the council and townspeople think a skatepark would result in (for example, increased crime).
Why did Debra Oswald choose to narrate the story using Zac as the first-person narrator? How would the book have differed if it was written from, say, Lauren’s point-of-view?
Why is the skating term ‘getting air’ used for the book’s title?
It is quite unusual to have the pivotal event in the middle of the book, rather than towards the end. Why did Debra deliberately choose to place the tragedy right in the centre of the book? Did Corey’s sudden death come as a shock to you? The shock of Corey’s murder could, for instance, be compared to how a community might feel after learning of a senseless murder or suicide.
Is there a culture of skateboarding? See Debra’s comments above about the ‘happy anarchy’ of a skatepark. Is this your experience of skating? What does skateboarding culture have in common with values considered Australian (such as the ‘fair go’, as considered above)?
Could this story have happened in the same way if it was set in a larger town or a city?
More discussion points are available in the full Getting Air Reading Guide, on the Random House Australia website:
www.randomhouse.com.au/readingguides
