Lily Harford's Last Request by Joanna Buckley

Lily Harford's Last Request by Joanna Buckley

Published February 2022 Harper Collins

Blurb:

Lily Harford is nearing the end of her once joyful life - and for her, it can't come soon enough. Who will have the courage, kindness and love to grant her last request? A compassionate and heartfelt story for readers of Jodi Picoult, Tricia Stringer and Fiona Lowe.

Lily Harford's last request is a big one...help me to die.  And this is how the book starts, with Lily's death.

From the start, we go all the way back to the beginning, exploring Lily's life until she finally ends up in a nursing home.

Three strong women, play a part in this book, Lily, her daughter Pauline, and the carer from the nursing home, Donna,  whose stories are told in alternate chapters, but come together to form the story of Lily's last months. 

The stories of the different characters are woven together beautifully.   While Lily may be at the end of her life, a life well lived, Pauline and Donna look back on their own lives, and look toward the future, learning from Lily that you are in charge of your life...it is what you choose to make of it, so make it a good one.

Throughout the book, the reader is always aware that one of these characters helped Lily to die...but it's (as you can probably guess) not until the end of the book that find out who.

Em and Me by Beth Morrey

Em and Me by Beth Morrey

Published February 2022 Harper Collins

Blurb:

A mother.

A daughter.

A secret waiting to be discovered.

For too long – since the sudden death of her mother as a teenager, since the birth of her daughter, Em, when she was just seventeen – Delphine has been unable to let go of the past, obsessed with protecting Em and clinging to a secret that could ruin everything. She’s been living life in safe shades of grey.

 The day that Delphine finally stands up for herself is the day that changes everything.

 Delphine begins to remember what it’s like to want more: rediscovering her singing voice, opening herself to friendship, and reviving not only her mother’s roots, but her mother’s memories. As her life begins to fill with colour, can she be brave for herself and for Em? And what would happen if she finally told the truth?

 A big-hearted, hopeful novel about finding second chances – and taking them.

Beth Morrey surprised me with her first book, Saving Missy.

In Saving Missy, I wasn't sure how I would connect with the story of a 79 year old character...but I did.

Beth Morrey has a way with characters, and Em and Me does not disappoint..

This book is about Delphine Jones, a young mother who has made sacrifices with her own life to raise her daughter, who she had as a teenager. Through an array of interesting characters, from all walks of life, Delphine starts to believe that now is the time to follow her own dreams.  Great characters, full of heart, love , friendship, secrets, I highly recommend it

It's the kind of book that makes you think about all of your own dreams, big or small, and seeing Delphine take the risk, might just give the reader the push to do the same.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to review this title

Shelter by Catherine Jinks

 

Shelter by Catherine Jinks

Published January 2021 Text Publishing

Blurb:

A spine-tingling psychological thriller where everything is not as it seems, from one of Australia's best writers of suspense.

Meg lives alone- a little place in the bush outside town. A perfect place to hide. That's one of the reasons she offers to shelter Nerine, who's escaping a violent ex. The other is that Meg knows what it's like to live with an abusive partner. 

Nerine is jumpy and her two little girls are frightened. It tells Meg all she needs to know about where they've come from, and she's not all that surprised when Nerine asks her to get hold of a gun. But she knows it's unnecessary. They're safe now.

 Then she starts to wonder about some little things. A disturbed flyscreen. A tune playing on her windchimes. Has Nerine's ex tracked them down? Has Meg's husband turned up to torment her some more?

By the time she finds out, it'll be too late to do anything but run for her life.

One for the grown ups.

What a read! This is a psychological thriller at its best.

Meg, a woman who has suffered her own fair share of mental abuse from an ex husband, opens her home to a mother, Nerine,  and her her two young children.  They are escaping a violent husband/father, and Meg's place is their first step  to freedom and a new life.  

The story is mainly set in present day, but we have flashbacks to Megs life with her husband, so we can see the abuse she dealt with, that has ultimately led her to where she is now, and the life that she leads.

There is a slow burn in this one, suspense building on every page as Nerine's behaviour becomes more and more erratic, and we begin to realise not is all what it had seemed.

An absolute page turner, and a hard one to put down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Text publishing for giving me the opportunity to review this title.

Being Black 'N Chicken, & Chips by Matt Okine

Being Black 'N Chicken, & Chips by Matt Okine

Published September 24th 2019 Hachette

Blurb:

A heartbreaking and often hilarious story about trying to grow up when everything is falling apart from one of Australia's leading comic talents.
Mike Amon is a regular teenager. All he wants is to fit in. He wants to sit at the cool bench. He wants to be a star athlete. He wants his first kiss.
He also wants his mum to survive.
When his mum is suddenly diagnosed with advanced breast and brain cancer, Mike knows it's a long shot, but if he manages to achieve his dreams, maybe it'll give his mum enough strength to beat an incurable disease.
In the meantime, he has to live with his African dad whom he doesn't really know, a man who has strange foreign ways - and who Mike doesn't really feel comfortable sharing his teenage desires and deepest fears with. He doesn't even want to think about what it might mean if his mum never comes home from the hospital.
Based on his award-winning stand-up show, and the loss of his own mother when he was 12, Matt Okine's coming-of-age novel, Being Black n Chicken and Chips, is a funny, heart-warming, and sometimes surreal look at how young people deal with grief, the loss of loved ones, and becoming an adult - all whilst desperately trying to fit in with the other kids

I found this one really interesting. I am coming from a children's and YA background, and I wanted to see where this book might fit in a High School library, as the protagonist is a 12 year old boy. 

This book is published as, and marketed, as an adult title, but to me it read like a YA.  The only thing that will jump it up the age bracket for me, is the language (swearing), and maybe Mike's preoccupation with his penis :)

It's a coming of age story, a story of first love, schoolyard bullies and a story of the most heartbreaking loss you can imagine at 12.  It has a good blend of humour throughout the story though, and that helps to take the edge of the tragedy that is unfolding for Mike.

The loss of his mother, and the confusion and questions surrounding growing up were honest and believable, if sometimes uncomfortable to read...but that's life, sometimes uncomfortable, especially if you are a 12 year old boy I would imagine.

The 90s setting was fun to revisit, for someone who lived through it, and I don't think it will jar with any readers who may not even remember a corded telephone!  

As someone who sells books to schools, I would have loved this to to be toned down slightly on the language front, and maybe a few less penis scenes....but that's just me being greedy, because I liked this book, and I would love for it to be a story for ages 11+, as well as adults and older teens.

Thanks to Hachette and Net Galley for the opportunity to review.

AusReading Month - Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

The blurb:

In 1900, a class of young women from an exclusive private school go on an excursion to the isolated Hanging Rock, deep in the Australian bush. The excursion ends in tragedy when three girls and a teacher mysteriously vanish after climbing the rock. Only one girl returns, with no memory of what has become of the others ...

Well...  November is nearing its end, and I have yet to publish my posts for AusReading month!  Better late than never, I will get them all in by the end of the month...just by the skin of  my teeth!

This title has been released as an Australian Children’s Classic, but I am not sure I would sell it as a children’s book.  As you can see by the new cover it looks like it’s suitable for younger readers, but I would say it’s more of a teenage/adult title.