Holding Back

This book was written to represent homeschoolers and the lesser known sport of campdrafting, as well as to encourage teenagers who feel insecure socially that it is worth making the effort to break out of their comfort zone. It provides an authentic look at a homeschooled male teen who needs to learn to challenge himself, in sports, in life, and in his social skills. 

Nick is a fifteen-year-old boy whose best friend is his little sister, and who tends to be a bit of a loner. While Nick is the older brother Nick finds that his little sister does better in the sport of campdrafting than he does. He tends to get nervous, makes hasty decisions and stuffs up. He feels awkward around the other competitors. But Nick decides to join a local swim squad, he wants to challenge himself to make some friends. Along the way he discovers he's a competitive breastroker, and works out how to fit in with a mixed group of teens, growing more independent in the process. The other 4 teens have a variety of personalities - a super friendly guy, super self-confident guy, and two girls, one who becomes very interested in campdrafting and later asks Nick for riding lessons. He becomes good friends with one of the guys and goes to his place to ride motorbikes. The new mates come to see him compete at a campdraft. He is more relaxed with the other competitors this time and is more successful in the competition.

This book is unlike most others on the market, and will appeal because of its unique nature. Many teens may have wondered about homeschooling. Campdrafting is a unique Australian sport that many may not have heard of. Actual homeschoolers (over 40 000 in Australia) will feel validated to see themselves represented positively in literature.

About the Author

Frances Prentice is a mother of six, including one stillborn, who lives with her husband and two youngest children on a cattle property in rural Queensland. She juggles her writing with home schooling, tutoring and running a home school co-op. She loves creating stories with young people and is planning to self-publish works she has co-written with young authors. She has a passion for helping people with reading and writing difficulties so they can experience the joy she has had in literature. She is an avid reader of middle-grade and young adult fiction, who first dreamt of being an author at the age of eight. She always thought she would be middle-aged when she began this career, once she had some life experience. Frances has been shortlisted twice in Furious Fiction by Australian Writers Centre in 2023. Her short story Uplifted was included in the anthology The Opposite of Disappearing (2021) and I am Vine in Audrey Puzzle Magazine (2020). Her ballad, Love at First Sigh was included in the anthology Tell 'em They're Dreaming (2020). Always, Your Sister is her first middle-grade novel, releasing in 2025.