Author(s): Denise Young

Fiction

Ten-year-old Chook knows something is wrong when his father, Kev, bundles him into the car in the middle of the night, leaving their friend Max white-faced, silent and covered in blood. As the two head for Broken Hill, in the hope of hiding out with one of Kev's old girlfriends, the fierce bond between father and son is tested by Chook's memories of previous hasty exits. But the good times recede fast as they face life on the run. After finding refuge in an old mosque, Kev heads off for supplies. He returns after a disastrous night in town and finds his son in the company of a young woman who has come to the mosque to pray. From here a bad situation suddenly gets a whole lot worse. Last Ride is the fast-paced and profoundly moving story of a man who has lived defiantly outside the laws of society, the tough choices his son is forced to make, and the power and price of love.