Very Impressive For Your Age

Eleanor Kirk

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English

Allen & Unwin
01 September 2025

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What happens when overnight the Next Big Thing becomes a nobody?

Twenty-six-year-old Evelyn is well on her way to becoming an international opera star. . . until one night, mid-performance, when she inexplicably loses her voice. With no cure in sight, she's forced to put her dreams on pause, flying back to her hometown to wait out her recovery.

Stuck in limbo, Evelyn balances her time attending overpriced doctors' appointments and accidentally-on-purpose running into her ex on the street outside his apartment. Then she discovers that her old high school is hiring a debating coach (no experience needed!) and realises this might just be her ticket back to relevance.

While re-entering the gates of her alma mater is a welcome reminder of the glory days, being faced with a bunch of starry-eyed teenagers,who haven't had their dreams blown to pieces yet,makes clear just how thin the line can be between drive and delusion---forcing Evelyn to consider whether she could ever be truly satisfied living a life away from the spotlight.

A deeply funny novel about chasing your dreams and losing your ambition, Very Impressive For Your Age explores the mid-twenties crisis that occurs when you learn that who you always wanted to be when you grew up isn't quite what you imagined.

'A painfully relatable story of youth and ambition, told with humour and heart. A must-read for all former 'gifted' children and recovering theatre kids alike.' Chloe Elisabeth Wilson, author of Rytual

'Evelyn might have lost her voice but Eleanor Kirk has certainly found hers! Kirk's voice is warm and witty and sings off the page.' Emma Darragh, author of Thanks for Having Me

By: Eleanor Kirk
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
Weight: 442g
ISBN: 9781761472558
ISBN 10: 1761472550
Pages: 416
Publication Date: 01 September 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Eleanor Kirk is an author and screenwriter living and working on Gadigal/Wangal land. Her fiction has appeared in publications such as New Australian Fiction, the international literary journal adda, and the Hope Prize anthology Tomorrow There Will Be Sun. Her non-fiction has appeared in a range of newspapers, including the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. As a screenwriter, she has been involved with the development of a number of Australian television shows. Very Impressive For Your Age is her first novel.