Spacey & Go-Anna
About
Spacey, with Go-Anna by his side, sets off in a beaten-up van and armed with a borrowed surfboard, chasing freedom along Australia's sunburnt coast-where strangers become kin and the ocean feels like home.
Go-Anna's fierce independence collides with Spacey's escape from suburbia, sparking a bond forged through humour, trauma, and salty resilience. Together, they hitch rides, dodge disasters, and confront ghosts of their past-on beaches, in festival haze, and through unexpected acts of kindness. From dodgy roadkill stew to illegal van mix-ups, every twist tests their grit and deepens their connection.
This raw, rollicking coming-of-age tale surfs the edge of rebellion and belonging in the unruly surf-and-soul landscape of 1980s Australia. Packed with laugh-out-loud moments and gut-punch truths, Spacey & Go-Anna is a wild ride about chosen family, Indigenous pride, and a love brave enough to fall face-first into the break.
Infused with lived experiences, salty resilience, and humour, Spacey & Go-Anna is a must-read for those who seek heart and the kind of friendship that can save a life.
Praise for this book
I loved reading this book! It has the laugh-out-loud humour, vivid Aussie larrikin characters, and action-packed pace of a Robert G. Barrett novel. But it also offers something deeper and unique—a reverence for nature, insights on building community, and an excellent insider's guide to the surf. Greg authentically captures the larger-than-life scale of '80s Aussie surfing culture and its personalities, weaving it into an absorbing tale that is both riotous and sensitive. Thoroughly recommend!
Working on Spacey & Go-Anna was a rare delight—equal parts salty whimsy and emotional grit. From the first draft, I knew this story had something special: a voice that dared to be playful, philosophical, and deeply human all at once.
At its heart, this is a tale of two misfits—Spacey, a dreamer with a knack for 'metaphysical' detours, and Go-Anna, a fiercely grounded teen with a heart that could bend the laws of reality. Their unlikely friendship unfolds across a landscape that’s part suburban Australia, part road-trip chaos, and entirely original.
What drew me in as an editor was the book’s tonal agility. It dances between absurdist humour and aching vulnerability, never losing sight of its emotional core. The author’s instinct for rhythm and character voice made my job less about correction and more about amplification—tuning the frequency so readers could feel the pulse beneath the prose.
We worked hard to preserve the story’s eccentricity while ensuring narrative clarity. That meant refining the emotional beats, tightening the pacing, and safeguarding the thematic threads—identity, belonging, and the strange beauty of being out of step with the world.
If you’re looking for a book that’s genre-defiant, emotionally resonant, and just a little bit weird in the best possible way, Spacey & Go-Anna delivers. It’s a story that invites you to question the status quo, laugh at the void, and maybe—just maybe—follow your dreams.
I just finished reading Spacey and Go-Anna by Greg Howell. What a fantastic read it was.
Once again, it shows that the best learning comes from real-life experience, and our two young heroes have proven this point. How does someone survive being kicked out by their dad, becoming homeless at a young age, and relying on their wits? Let Spacey show you, with the help of Go-Anna; without her, it might have been chaos. Not to forget all the other larrikin characters. Surf culture at its best.
It reminded me of my own story of buying a used panel van and circumnavigating Australia a couple of times, coming out a new person. I can wholeheartedly recommend Spacey and Go-Anna.
A great read!
I loved Greg’s book. From the innocent frustrations of Spacey's adolescence, including some interesting ties to our old school days cleverly intertwined. To finding his own path and reaching for the stars, while chasing sun and the surf, with his best mate Go-Anna. With no car, no money (well, not a lot), and a semblance of a plan, he learned about real family and experienced all of what the 80’s surf and alternative lifestyles offered. The further you read, the more you realise it’s about the journey and not the destination.