About the Book: Silence tore them apart. Can the truth bring them back together? In 1960s Glasgow, anti-nuclear activists Judith and Jimmy fall in love. But their future hopes are dashed when their protestors’ squat is raided and many, including Jimmy, are sent to prison. Pregnant and with no word from Jimmy, Judith is forced … Continue reading Book Review: When I First Held You by Anstey Harris
Thought Provoking Reads
Book Review: Psalms for the End of the World by Cole Haddon
About the Book: It's 1962 and physics student Grace Pulansky believes she has met the man of her dreams, Robert Jones, while serving up slices of pecan pie at the local diner. But then the FBI shows up, with their fedoras and off-the-rack business suits, and accuses him of being a bomb-planting mass-murderer. Finding herself … Continue reading Book Review: Psalms for the End of the World by Cole Haddon
Book Review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
About the Book: From the multi-million copy bestselling author of Flight Behaviour and The Poisonwood Bible comes this heart-rending instant classic. Demon Copperhead: a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Demon befriends us … Continue reading Book Review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Book Review: Blue Hour by Sarah Schmidt
About the Book: 1936: At nineteen, Kitty was ready to leave behind the stifling control of her parents and all those constantly telling her how to live her life. Work at the Wintonvale Repatriation Hospital was her escape and a chance to be someone else.Then she met soldier George Turner - and she heard her mother's … Continue reading Book Review: Blue Hour by Sarah Schmidt
Book Review: There’s Been a Little Incident by Alice Ryan
About the Book: A witty and warm debut novel from a young Irish writer. A story of family, grief, and the ways we come together when all seems lost. Molly Black has disappeared. She's been flighty since her parents died, but this time – or so says her hastily written note – she's gone for … Continue reading Book Review: There’s Been a Little Incident by Alice Ryan
Book Review: Not Now, Not Ever by Julia Gillard
About the Book: Ten years on from the speech that stopped us all in our tracks – Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech. Where were you then? And where are we now? On 9 October 2012, Prime Minister Julia Gillard stood up and proceeded to make all present in Parliament House that day pay attention – and … Continue reading Book Review: Not Now, Not Ever by Julia Gillard
Book Review: Horse by Geraldine Brooks
About the Book: A discarded painting in a roadside clean-up, forgotten bones in a research archive, and Lexington, the greatest racehorse in US history. From these strands of fact, Geraldine Brooks weaves a sweeping story of spirit, obsession and injustice across American history. Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a … Continue reading Book Review: Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Book Review: These Days by Lucy Caldwell
About the Book: April, 1941. Belfast has escaped the worst of the war - so far. Over the next two months, it's going to be destroyed from above, so that people will say, in horror, My God, Belfast is finished. Many won't make it through, and no one who does will remain unchanged. Following the … Continue reading Book Review: These Days by Lucy Caldwell
Book Review: The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland
About the Book: The last time Esther Wilding's beloved older sister Aura was seen, she was walking along the shore towards the sea. In the wake of Aura's disappearance, Esther's family struggles to live with their loss. To seek the truth about her sister's death, Esther reluctantly travels from lutruwita, Tasmania to Copenhagen, and then … Continue reading Book Review: The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland
Book Review: The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre by Natasha Lester
About the Book: Lavish and compelling, this is the story of a young woman trying to forget her devastating part in the war. 1943. After spearheading several successful advertising campaigns in New York, PR wizard Alix St Pierre comes to the attention of the US government and finds herself recruited into a fledgling intelligence organisation. Enlisted as … Continue reading Book Review: The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre by Natasha Lester