Thanks to the Author for this arc to read and review.
When 13 year old Zoe Montgomery goes missing on the night of the fire which claimed her parents' Thanks to the Author for this arc to read and review.
When 13 year old Zoe Montgomery goes missing on the night of the fire which claimed her parents' lives as well as destroying "Montagreen", their rural family home, the whole town is shocked. Search parties are organized and the whole town is involved in trying to find the missing Zoe, including her teenage sweetheart and soul mate, Jordan, who will spend many years wondering what really happened, and all the while still searching for her. Jordan was there on the night of the fire and witnessed some things he still can't understand. He will pay a big price for being there on that fateful night. Zoe will also pay a big price, though she won't realize just how big until many years later..because her memory froze on that night and she can recall nothing of her life before then. The life she has lived in the meantime however, is a very cruel and different one to the one she lived at Montagreen with her family, and when she overhears a conversation between her Aunt and her [Aunt's] de facto many years later, her suspicions are aroused. She then secretly embarks on a mission to discover her truth.
This is a great story with lots of intrigue and innuendo making it a real page turner, and I wanted more!
I enjoyed this book very much and found it had plenty of pace and enough intrigue to keep me turning pages. It is a good story which is laid out in a natural unfolding pattern with well rounded characters, and I believe I could have liked it a lot more still, but for some 'minor' niggles which is what led to me giving it a four star rating instead of more.
There were times when I did feel the story seemed a little rushed, where I would have preferred a bit more information, or follow through to help complete a picture. So it felt at times that there were some loose ends here and there...for eg: I kept expecting to meet the Patterson's as they were integral to the evolution of Zoe's story, also Zoe getting a new car was a big thing because of her reasons, but it then went unnoticed, or when Zoe would go missing, where did she go? What was she doing? .... The 'sticky beak' in me wanted to know these details, even if the other characters weren't meant to be privy. Although not major issues these things made the story feel a little clipped in places and left me wanting, and wondering. Was too much edited out?
I know from reading this book that Suzanne Brandon is a good writer, I just felt that for some reason she was a bit restrained here and as much as I loved the story, I felt there was room to really build it into something even better...but that's just my opinion...I wanted her to let go of the reins and kick that horse! Having said that, I wouldn't hesitate to read more of her books, and already have the next one, "Outback Fever" lined up. I look forward to reading it soon.
It is late 1940's and early '50's in Sydney and ships are arriving in port laden with new immigrants to Australia. The waEmpire Day by Diane Armstrong
It is late 1940's and early '50's in Sydney and ships are arriving in port laden with new immigrants to Australia. The war in Europe is over and, many displaced persons, from a wide range of ethnic groups including.....Polish, Latvian, Hungarian and Ukrainian, are being relocated to Australia. The residents of Wattle street in Bondi are curious but wary of the new immigrant neighbors arriving in their street, not entirely trusting these people from foreign lands who cannot speak english and are apparently not interested in mixing in. It seems that the feelings are mutual as the newcomers are not entirely trusting of the Australians with their different religions, funny talk and too relaxed attitude to life...and their strange rituals like the Bonfires of Cracker Night to celebrate Empire Day...each culture not understanding the other. The immigrants come bearing deep scars from atrocities experienced during the war and are even wary of each other as their hopes of starting a new life are quashed by crippling fears that some war criminals have slipped through the nets and are now also living amongst them. The Australians, though not having experienced that side of the war, are struggling to keep their heads above water as the effects of the war have also taken a heavy toll. Mother's are struggling to make ends meet to feed children who's fathers' have not returned from the war. Deserted wives try to get part time work to raise their children. Jobs are few and pay very little.
The story focuses on the residents of Wattle street, in Bondi, a beach suburb of Sydney, and is told mostly from the pov of the Polish immigrants and also the Australian residents and how they interacted, or tried to interact. Like wary animals circling one another on first encounter, they regard each other with guarded curiosity, all the while feigning indifference, never really sure of what might be expected of themselves.
Some really important observations are made regarding the overall disposition of the people and their attitudes towards each other's difficulties and differences...not just their political and religious differences, but also their cultural disparities. How they gradually learn to assimilate and value what each has to offer the other. The people are shown in all of their emotional challenges through love, loss, heartache, illness, fear, loneliness, pain and joy, its all here.
The state of the health system of the time and how it was managed was shown for its lack of empathy for long term patients such as polio sufferers and other such debilitating conditions of the day. Just one more potential horror that families were faced with...thanks to modern medicine Polio is no longer the threat it was then.
The author has done a great job in showing us just how far our society has come in such a short time, and raises some very enlightening points of view about cultural differences and how our inherent fears can cause tensions.
I did enjoy this book, though at times it felt a bit fragmented into many mini stories, or side stories within stories and although still fascinating to read about, it kind of loses its sense of focus...rather like someone relating individual stories from memory. Although they do start to come together towards the end. I tossed between 3.5 and 4*s for this as, although I did enjoy it, the writing seemed to lack emotion. So that I didn't really feel anything for the characters, even though their stories were deserving of compassion. I should have felt more.
It certainly is enlightening though, and showed life through many eyes, and how the effects of the war had impacted on all kinds of people with different religious and cultural ideals, including the Australians and how they were affected by the sudden influx of immigrants at a time when they were struggling with the effects on the local economy, particularly in Sydney. 4ȴ...more
Loved, loved, loved it!! I have been hanging out to read this 3rd book in the Convict Girls series, and I was not d The Silk Thief by Deborah Challinor
Loved, loved, loved it!! I have been hanging out to read this 3rd book in the Convict Girls series, and I was not disappointed.
Deborah Challinor has delivered another riveting read which seamlessly follows on from her previous two in this series. This is my favourite genre, and Deborah Challinor is at the top of my list for favourite authors in this genre. It is clear to the reader that she has done her homework and it pays off. She has proven to be a master story teller of historical fiction.
These books just go from strength to strength, cleverly building on an already solid foundation yet still managing to inject surprise and further intrigue with every chapter.
The story follows on from the previous book/s seemingly without interruption, and the reader is quite quickly embroiled once again in the lives and issues of these *girls as, daily, they face their demons. *see previous book reviews for fuller description. I love the characters in this series, they are so very well developed and grow accordingly with the passage of time. This makes them feel so real, its like I know them and care about their wellbeing, so that I look forward to each new book with much anticipation. I was so sorry to come to the end of this latest book, but was excited to find that there will be a 4th book in the series... I can't wait to get my hands on that one!
A haunting and beautifully related tale about growth and growing up, in all its guises.
A tale concerning a beauti When the Night Comes by Favel Parrett
A haunting and beautifully related tale about growth and growing up, in all its guises.
A tale concerning a beautiful red Danish ship named "Nella Dan" which sails between Hobart and Antarctica, a Danish sailor who works aboard her, a young girl, her brother and their mother. The tale is gently and quietly related through various stages of growth from a child's perspective and also the perspectives of significant adults. It's about cause and effect, and the impact of big and small incidents in the lives of those people, how those incidents affect and influence their personal and emotional development.
The voice of this story is a noticeably quiet and compelling one, its almost like a whisper in your ear...or like thoughts as in a daydream, a sort of fugue, like staring off into space while it is being quietly narrated to you. I felt as though I were listening to it rather than reading words on a page.
Favel Parrett has done a beautiful job of capturing the nuance which is inherent in the personalities of her characters, and through her words, has played it for us to hear. This story insinuates itself onto you and makes you ask questions, it makes you hungry for more information. It delivers.
Jülie ☼♄ �
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