Book Review: The Art of Friendship by Lisa Ireland

I bought this book when it first came out which is over a year ago now, I got just over a quarter of the way through but was getting annoyed with one of the main characters and obviously wasn’t in the mood for being annoyed because I put it down with the intention of picking it back up down the track, but it never happened. Luckily my friend has just started a bookclub and she chose The Art of Friendship as the first book our group needed to read, which gave me the opportunity to pick it back up. I started from the beginning as it had been so long between reads. And what a great novel it was, I still didn’t like Libby, the main character who annoyed me the first go-round, but this time I was in the right headspace to be able to deal with that.

This novel really does explore the many aspects of friendship, old friendships, new friendships, long-distance friendships, colleague friendships, friendships you make because you belong to the same group or because your kids go to school together, and the way they survive or don’t survive. It really made me think about the friendships I’ve had over the years and the ones I have now, those that are just a few likes on Facebook and those that interact, those I catch up with or chat to regularly and those that I might only have contact with now and again, but I know they are there for me if I ever need them. Not many of my friendships from childhood or even highschool have survived the test of time, (not past Fb anyway), which is kind of sad in a way but also made me wonder about those past friendships and why they died.

As I said, I didn’t like Libby, one of the two main characters, I found her need to please everyone, to make people think she was something she wasn’t, (to make herself be something she wasn’t), to be very annoying, I’ve never been one to pretend or to ‘keep up with the Jones’, so I always find people like this very false. As the story progressed and you get an idea of why she is how she is, I still didn’t take to her, but despite that, I enjoyed the novel this time around.

Kit, on the other hand I liked a lot, yes she did make some questionable decisions and they both had a hand in making their friendship one that wasn’t wholly based on truth and honesty, but she was still more real and likeable than Libby.

I liked the way Lisa Ireland drew out the secondary characters backstories and how we think we know one thing about them but it turns out to be something completely different, I especially liked that in reference to Libby’s husband.

With Libby’s son, we get to explore, bullying, mental health, and healthy parenting and some of the outcomes are unexpected. Lisa Ireland has done a great job of bringing these important aspects to life and giving you something to think about.

Spousal abuse is yet another theme that comes up in this novel, why and how people let it happen and how they are able to hide it, also, how friends and colleagues miss or justify signs that it is happening. It isn’t a straightforward topic and there isn’t always a way out or a right way of dealing with it.

Lisa explores so many themes in this novel and she does it so well. A really great story that I’m glad I finally got around to finishing.

New Release Book Review: Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard

I’m feeling extremely emotional as I’m writing this review, I’ve just finished Invisible Boys and what an incredible novel it was. From the beginning Charlie, Zeke and Hammer grabbed hold of my heart and wouldn’t let go. I read 70% of this novel in one sitting; I was up until 1.30am and the only reason I put it down was because I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open. I picked it straight up again 5 hours later and was mightily upset that I had to go to work without finishing it. It stayed in my mind all day, I couldn’t wait to get home to finish the journey these 3 guys had taken me on.

I think this is an important novel that everyone should read, gay or straight, old or young. I’m glad Holden Sheppard survived his journey to write this novel, I hope it helps give a voice to those who feel like they don’t have one – the Invisible ones.

This is a coming of age story, a coming-out story, a story of discovering who you are, or at least the start of discovering who you are.

It brings with it so many emotions, good and bad. It made me angry and disappointed at the adults who should have known better, especially the parents who should have supported their children regardless of their sexuality. It made me mad at the kids who were so cruel to Charlie, especially his so-called two best friends and bandmates. It made me hopeful when some of the kids stood up for and by Charlie. It made me sad that one or more of the characters couldn’t accept who he was. But it ended with hope.

I really felt for Charlie who is ‘outed’ by an unhappy and vicious woman, but his outing is the catalyst for everything that happens to Zeke and Hammer and Matt. Whilst Charlie, Zeke, and Hammer held me hostage to their story, it was Matt, in the end, that made me cry.

The parents, school staff and the people in this small town didn’t deserve these young men. They were small-minded, ignorant and bigoted, not all, but most and I will never understand this mentality. I consider myself lucky in that when I was growing up, being gay was never an issue. I don’t remember hearing any derogatory remarks about homosexuality and in this way, I formed no biases in my thinking. I’ve never thought that there was anything wrong or strange in any way about people who are gay and for this I’m thankful as I have some wonderful friends who I may have missed out on and my life would be lacking because of it.

I’ve gone off tangent slightly, but this novel really brings it home how awful and ignorant people can be and how we really need to be open to accepting people for who they are. We also need to educate those who are in need of educating.

A wonderful novel that I recommend to everyone, I can see why this won the Hungerford Award.

Amazon AU Amazon US Amazon UK Fremantle Press Facebook

New Release Book Review: Love and Other Battles by Tess Woods

Tess Woods is not afraid to tackle difficult subjects. Her last book tackled refugees and how they often struggle to fit into our society and how we as a society treat them. This time she tackles several important topics, but I don’t want to give too much away so I’ll try to be vague.

There are three time lines threaded through this novel and three generations, all connected in the present 2017 timeline.

CJ, a Seventeen year old high-school student is dealing with and going through so many things, my heart was in my throat for the first half of this novel whenever I came to her chapters. This novel took me a lot longer to read than it normally would, not because it wasn’t good, it was fabulous, but because CJ’s plight triggered my anxiety and I had to put the book down everytime I read her part of the story. This says much about Tess’s ability to write characters that are completely relatable. The fact I could put myself in CJ’s story so completely despite having passed that point over 20 years ago is impressive. I was also able to completely relate to CJ’s mum Jamie and her struggle despite not having children of my own and Jamie’s mum, Jess’s dilemmas also, despite never having had a love like hers or never having had to deal with the turmoil and decisions she is being forced to deal with. Three generations and I could put myself in each of their shoes.

Today’s youth have an even tougher time than when I went through school. I dealt with much of what CJ deals with, but at least I didn’t have to deal with the added threat and fallout of social media and smart phones. They may have their benefits, but they most certainly have their downfalls, and the issues our children deal with need to be bought into the forefront of society’s minds and youth of both sexes need to be educated in how to behave, how to treat people and how to deal with these issues when they do arise.

Jess’s timeline starts in the time of the Vietnam War, I’ve recently read a couple of novels set during this time, which I think added an extra layer to this timeline for me. Reading about Jess and Frank and their dreams, beliefs and differences and the reality of the Vietnam war, was one of my favourite dynamics in this novel.

Jamie’s story, starting in 2000 wasn’t as involved as the other two time lines, but had a huge bearing on CJ’s story and on who Jamie is in 2017.

I loved this novel, once I passed the worst of what CJ was going through, I couldn’t put the book down until I’d finished. I thoroughly enjoyed all three timeline stories and loved the way they entwined together to form the bigger picture. This is a heartwarming and thought-provoking novel, that will take you on a journey of emotions, it’s a story of love, family, secrets and so much more, dealing with many issues that need to have people thinking and talking.

Book Review: The Lost Boy by Rachael Wright

Wow, what an emotional journey I’ve just been on, especially during the second half of the novel. There were many times throughout I had tears threaten, but also moments of joy.

The story starts with a tragedy and a secret uncovered, both which completely throw Jack’s emotions into chaos. What a journey of growth and learning Jack and myself were taken on, from the moment Jack runs away from home.

Along Jack’s journey to find out who he is and where he fits in in his life, he meets some fabulous supporting characters. Each one has a story to tell and a part to play in helping Jack discover what he is searching for. This is a truly Australian story from the outback countryside to the straight talking characters. This story has a realness, an honesty and a harshness that match the bush, but also a beauty that is sometimes hidden.

This novel covers so many important issues, suicide, bullying, sexuality, alcohol, mental illness, responsibility and more, and to cover these in one novel and to do it so well is impressive.

I completely wasn’t expecting one of the relationships that formed between Jack and one of the characters, but wow it was beautiful in so many ways.

This is a story that will stay with me for a long time. It is one that I think I will want to pick up and read again.

Thanks to Rachael Wright for providing me with a digital copy for me to read and review honestly.

Book Review: The Orchardist’s Daughter by Karen Viggers

Thanks to Beauty and Lace Bookclub and Allen & Unwin for a copy in return for an honest review.

Whilst I really enjoyed this story, it wasn’t what I was expecting, I’m not sure what I was expecting exactly, but it wasn’t the story I got.

This was a story about belonging and finding out where you fit in the world, it was a story about bullying, childhood bullying and adult bullying including physical and mental abuse from family. It was a story about our fragile and beautiful environment, flora and fauna.

It was a powerful story, Karen Viggers shows her love for the environment throughout, making us aware of the many impacts we are having upon this fragile ecosystem.

Through Miki’s love of the Tasmanian Devil, she has befriended at the tip and through Leon and scientist Dale we learn about the tumours that are wiping out the devil population and what scientists are trying to do to combat this disease.

Logging, especially of old-growth forests has always been something that has baffled me and this is another subject tackled in this novel. Our governments have much to answer for in the destruction of our forests, forests we can never replace. The Wedge-tailed Eagle is another being that is impacted by the destruction of the forests. It isn’t just one species of anything that is impacted, everything is connected and everything is impacted when we destroy any part of the environment.

The three main characters in this novel are all struggling to find their place. Miki has been isolated all her life, first by her parents and then by her brother Kurt. This aspect of the story really affected me for some reason. I found it hard to understand how her family could do this to her and how Miki, up until now, had gone along with the limits placed upon her, it made me angry and uncomfortable. What Kurt did was nothing short of abuse and abuse in any form should not be tolerated, the people in the town, by ignoring what was going on, were essentially condoning this behaviour. This wasn’t the only behaviour and abuse the town continually ignored, condoning domestic abuse and bullying at every turn. We need to start speaking up for those who can’t.

Newcomer Leon’s presence in the town is the catalyst for many changes, including people opening their eyes to their behaviour. Leon was a lovely and genuine character who I was rooting for throughout. His neighbour, a young boy called Max is struggling with a dysfunctional family, an abusive father, and a school bully, Leon becomes his saviour, someone he can count on and trust.

As these three people impact each other and start to learn about who they are, what they want out of life and what they deserve, changes are on the way and secrets will be uncovered.I think for me, I would have liked a bit more of an emotional connection between the characters, I felt that though they were connected on some level, the lack of emotional connection didn’t draw me into the story as I would have liked.

A well written story, that explores important issues.