Book Club - Liz Allen’s In Bloom
From Final Draft - Great Conversations by 2SER 107.3FM
April 5, 2026 · 4 min
About this episode
The episode features a discussion with Dr Liz Allan about her debut novel 'In Bloom', exploring themes of friendship, music, and the impact of sexual assault in a coming-of-age story.
Dr Liz Allan is an Australian writer and teacher living in the United Kingdom. Her debut novel is IN BLOOM. Content note for references of sexual assault… In coastal Australian towns around the country tourists come and go every summer, often oblivious to the locals and their lives outside their two week picture perfect holidays. The Bastards disagree with this halcyon view of their home town. Vincent is a place to escape and winning the Battle of the Bands is the way to do it. They were on track to do it too, until their lead singer Lily quit the band and accuses their music teacher of sexual assault. The Bastards know it can’t be true though. They’ve got a list of suspects a mile long. Their main job is to narrow down which of the likely culprits really did it. As summer holidays end and the Battle of the Bands approaches The Bastards will sacrifice everything; school, family, friendships to find the truth. They know this is their big shot and nothing can stop them taking it. You think you know the story of The Bastards. I did. Moreover you hope you know the story of The Bastards because if you’re wrong the alternative is almost too horrible to contemplate. Liz Allen’s In Bloom…
People in this episode
Guest: Dr Liz Allan
Topics covered
- coming of age
- sexual assault
- music
- friendship
- truth-seeking
Keywords
- In Bloom
- Liz Allan
- coming of age
- Battle of the Bands
- sexual assault
- Australian literature
- friendship
- truth
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: IN BLOOM
Places: Australia, Vincent, coastal Australian towns
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