'I'm always sceptical when I see a YA book billed as "in the tradition of The Catcher in the Rye". However, Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You comes agreeably close ... No wonder this novel was a Publisher's Weekly and Kirkus Reviews Best YA book of 2007. It has my vote, too.'

Elli Housden (Courier Mail)

'Brilliant.'

(Sunday Mail Brisbane)

'It's subtle, thoughtful, skillfully written and character driven … This book is highly recommended for analytical readers, as well as those struggling to find their place in the world.'

Angie Schiavone (Sydney Morning Herald)

‘Not since The Catcher in the Rye has a novel captured the deep and almost physical ache of adolescent existential sadness as trenchantly as the perfectly titled Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You.’

James Howe, author of The Misfits

‘Deliciously vital right from the start … It is a bravura performance, and … a stunning little book.’

New York Review of Books

‘Cameron's power is his ability to distill a particular world and social experience with great specificity while still allowing the reader to access the deep well of our shared humanity.’

(Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

‘A critically acclaimed author of adult fiction, Cameron makes a singularly auspicious entry into the world of YA with this beautifully conceived and written coming of age novel that is, at turns, funny, sad, tender, and sophisticated … In the process he dramatizes the ambivalences and uncertainties of adolescence in ways that both teen and adult readers will savor and remember.’

(Booklist (starred review))

‘It’s terrific, piercing and funny … He will make a large portion of his audience, especially those who look for relief in books, feel excitingly understood. And he has a rarer ability: he will make many of them itch to write.’

David Lipsky (New York Times)

'Peter Cameron writes beautifully and his characters – even those that are deeply flawed – are intelligent and engaging. This is one of those rare highbrow real literary young adult novels and I recommend it to all. It’s not chick lit; there is no Edward Cullen found within its pages but it’s definitely worth your money and your time. Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You is one of those universal novels that will appeal to both male and female readers everywhere. Cameron is a supremely talented author and he will have you thinking about the deeper roots of humanity without even realising it.'

(www.YAReads.com)

Four stars.

(Good Reading)

'Someday This Pain will be Useful to You' is a shrewd, funny and sophisticated novel which will make readers question and validate their lives and feelings.'

Kellie Arbuckle (Notebook)