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Posts Tagged ‘family’

Dead Dog in the Still of the Night by Archimede Fusillo

Posted in reviews, tagged , , , , , , on February 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Dead Dog in the Still of the NightDead Dog in the Still of the Night by Archimede Fusillo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an easy read but it wasn’t the type of book that had me flipping through the pages, hanging onto every word and holding my breath to find out what was going to happen next.
Primo is a teenage boy, who makes some bad decisions but I did feel empathy for him and what he was working through with his family. As the story went on, the more you got to understand his family and why he does some of the things he does. He has an awesome best mate and tolerant girlfriend and the ending is very satisfactory.
A very Australian, Melbourne suburbs setting was the background to a good, solid story.

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Head of the River by Pip Harry

Posted in reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Head of the RiverHead of the River by Pip Harry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Who would have thought a book about rowing could have grabbed me like this one did!! I loved the alternating chapters between sister and brother Leni and Cristian, it was extra interesting to hear from both of them. They were both under so much pressure to win, even though I don’t think their parents were purposefully trying to put pressure on them, i felt that both parents wanted the best for Leni and Cristian and wanted them to be happy, but they didn’t actually stop to find out what it was that would make Leni and Cristian happy.
The way that the book started out, you know that something bad has happened to someone and throughout the story, I was trying to put the pieces together to work out who it was, and when it happened, it wasn’t shocking but it hit hard.
Overall, this was a story about family and friends, what you do for other people and what you do when you are trying to find yourself. A good, hopeful story tinged with sadness.

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Tigers on the Beach by Doug MacLeod

Posted in reviews, tagged , , , , , , on February 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Tigers on the BeachTigers on the Beach by Doug MacLeod
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An easy read, filled with stories about brothers, parents, first love, jokes and the death of a grand parent. Adam is thirteen years old and I think, for me, this age is a bit too young to really capture my interest.
Although this book was dealing with grief and heartbreak and family tensions, I didn’t find that it went deep enough to hook me and maybe that wasn’t the intention but I do like my family/grief/heartbreak books to make me cry.

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Zenna Dare by Roseanna Hawke

Posted in reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Zenna DareZenna Dare by Rosanne Hawke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a great read that kept me interested with every page. Alternating between Jenefer in present day Kapunda, South Australia and her ancestor Gweniver in 1850’s Cornwall/South Australia, it was like reading through layers of a story, slowly unravelling the mystery that appears to have been a family secret.
Jenefer was a nice character who seemed to mature throughout the story and I loved how she jumped right into the job of researching her family history, using the internet as well as local library and State Library to get as much information as she could to find answers. There were a few times I really wanted to jump to the end to find out what the big secret actually was, the suspense was written well.
Caleb was a fantastic addition to the story with his relaxed and honest attitude as well as bringing with him, his connection to indigenous stories, the land, stolen generation and his experiences with reconciliation. It added a different element to the story and gave me more to think about.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and thought it made researching family history somewhat exciting (something that I wouldn’t have thought previously!)

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Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Posted in reviews, tagged , , on January 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Fixing DelilahFixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow, what a great story. Sarah Ockler certainly has a way of writing that draws me right in. I read this book in one sitting and that was mainly because I got so involved in the story and it was so easy to read and before I knew it I had finished and a few hours had passed. This is a story about relationships, mother, daughter, sister, friend and it is also about family, about people and how they cope with the things that happen. There were also three separate times where i found myself with tears falling down my cheeks, my heart a giant lump in my throat but for anyone who likes a bit of swoon *raises hand* there are some awesome kissing scenes!! Delilah is a nice girl who seems to be making her way through life without really knowing who she is and it was good to get to know her and watch her relationship with her mother, with her aunty, with her new friend Emily and with ‘the boy’, Patrick. Patrick was adorable and has jumped onto my list of book boy crushes. Caring, funny, gentle, nice, a little bit sexy and…. He plays guitar and sings… What is not too like! A nice, easy read, that might break your heart in a few places but it will also put it back together with the kind of ending that I like!

Here is a passage that I really liked, the scene is Patrick performing with his guitar for Delilah for the first time.

‘And oh my God. Patrick can sing. I don’t mean la-la-la sing. I mean, sing sing. Goose bumps, holding-our-breath, lumps-in-our-throats, tears-in-our-eyes, all-we-need-is-love kind of sing.

He belts it straight out, his voice like milk and honey and everything rich and warm and good. I want to drink it. To take off my clothes and slip into his music like a hot bubble bath..’

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