Review & Giveaway: Exit .45 by Ben Sanders

 

Title: Exit .45 {Marshall Grade #3}

Author: Ben Sanders

Published: 5th January 2022, Allen & Unwin

Status: Read January 2022 courtesy Allen & Unwin

++++++++

 

My Thoughts:

 

Exit .45 by Ben Sanders is a gritty crime procedural featuring former undercover police officer turned private investigator, Marshall Grade. Though it’s the third instalment in a series, following American Blood and Marshall’s Law, it reads well as a stand alone.

Marshall is sitting with a former NYPD colleague, Ray Vialoux, in a restaurant when a masked man fires a shotgun through the window, and Ray, who’d arranged the meeting to ask Marshall for help with mob gambling debts, is killed. There’s no doubt it’s a hit, but debts rarely result in murder, after all, a dead man can’t pay. Needing to understand why, Marshall ignores the warnings of the official investigating officer, Nevins, to back off, and decides to track the shooter down.

Sanders leads his protagonist into New York City’s underworld amongst mafia thugs, drug traffickers and hired killers. Marshall knows he can force answers that the police can’t and he’s not afraid of insisting, even though that means he becomes a target himself. I thought the main plot worked well as Marshall tries to figure out what Roy did to end up a target, and here’s plenty of tense action as Marshall is beaten, abducted and shot at, and gives as good as he gets.

Marshall is mostly what you expect, tough and resourceful, but he experiences PTSD from his two years undercover that manifests as compulsive behaviours. He left the NYPD under a cloud, accused of stealing a quarter of a million dollars after the shooting that ended the operation, though he denies it to anyone that asks. There’s a touch of romance for Marshall in Exit .45 with an ex-colleague of Roy’s, who joins him on his quest, and a small complication with Roy’s widow.

A well crafted crime novel that unfolds at a good pace, Exit .45 is an entertaining and absorbing read.

++++++

Available from Allen & Unwin RRP AUD$29.99

Or from your preferred retailer via

Booko I Book Depository I Booktopia I Amazon

+++

GIVEAWAY

Courtesy of Allen & Unwin

I have 1 print edition of

Exit .45 by Ben Sanders

to giveaway to

one lucky Australian resident.

Please leave a comment on this post and then

Closed

Congratulations Michelle G

*PLEASE NOTE: Only Australian residents are eligible to enter*

Entries close 15th February 2022

The giveaway will be random drawing on 15th February 2022 and the winner will be notified by email within 48 hours

 

Use the icons below to share to social media

 

Giveaway: Nancy Business by R.W.R. McDonald

Read my review of Nancy Business HERE

GIVEAWAY

Courtesy Allen & Unwin

I have 2 print editions of

Nancy Business by R.W.R. McDonald

to giveaway to

two lucky Australian residents.

Please leave a comment on this post and then

Closed

Congrats to Georgie S and Janet R

*PLEASE NOTE: Only Australian residents are eligible to enter*

Entries close 25th June 2021

The giveaway will be random drawing on 26th June and the winner will be notified by email within 48 hours

Use the icons below to share to social media

Review & Giveaway: Grace Under Pressure by Tori Haschka

 

Title: Grace Under Pressure

Author: Tori Haschka

Published: 3rd March 2021, Simon & Schuster Australia

Status: Read March 2021 courtesy Simon & Schuster

++++++

My Thoughts:

Grace Under Pressure is a witty, wise and warm debut novel from Tori Haschka about motherhood, marriage, friendship, and modern life.

With the world’s worst, or perhaps best, timing the lives of three friends, Grace, Petra and Shelly all implode on practically the same day. Seeking solace and support, the women, with five (and a bit) young children between them, decide to create their own ‘mummune’ – sharing Grace’s Northern Beaches home, the bills, childcare, cooking, and all the other ‘life admin’ tasks mothers manage daily. The arrangement seems like it could be the perfect answer to the pressures the three are under, but perfection is a fragile thing.

Many mothers will find their experiences reflected in the protagonists of Grace Under Pressure, as I did, whether it’s the attempt to juggle work/life balance, to overcome sleep deprivation, to cope with post-natal anxiety, or the pressure to do everything right, particularly under the critical gaze of peers and social media. In theory the idea of a ‘mummune’ seems excellent, there is truth to the old adage, ‘it takes a village’, and Grace, Petra and Shelly, with a little advice from neighbour Christine, find a rhythm that benefits all of them, but maintaining it proves a little trickier than they expect.

When we are introduced to Grace, the central character, she appears to have it all – a beautiful beachside home, a handsome globe-trotting husband, two cherubic children, and a successful career as the author of four popular wholefood cookbooks – she lives a life carefully curated for Instagram. But when she unexpectedly falls pregnant with her third child, the facade begins to falter, and the pressure to maintain it threatens to break her. I felt desperately sorry for Grace who is so caught up in who she thinks she should be, that she’s lost who she is. Haschka does a great job of portraying Grace’s external, and internal struggles to meet the mythic standard that motherhood, in fact womanhood, is expected to achieve.

Of course the other two ‘mummune’ members, Petra and Shelly, share similar anxieties, though are far less consumed by them. Petra, Grace’s best friend since college, is too furious at her husband for not only gambling away their life savings but also for hitting her when she confronted him with the truth, and too focused on forging a life of her own to worry much about what anyone thinks. It was Shelly I probably had the most affinity for, not only because we share a name, but my eldest daughter was also born after a long labour (and then an emergency caesarean) and she too was not a ‘sleeper’, though unlike Shelly, I thankfully had a husband who could occasionally gave me a break. In terms of parenting philosophy however, I had/have much more in common with Grace’s neighbour, Christine. While she had twins, I had 3 children in 3 years (plus an elder child), so pragmatism was more important to me than perfectionism when they were all younger.

This is a strong debut from Haschka who captures the madness of modern motherhood. Well written, with relatable characters, and plenty of moments that made me laugh, cringe, and sigh in recognition, I really enjoyed reading Grace Under Pressure.

++++++

Available from Simon & Schuster Australia

Or from your preferred retailer via Booko I Book Depository I Booktopia I Amazon

GIVEAWAY

Courtesy Simon & Schuster Australia

I have 1 print edition of

Grace Under Pressure by Tori Haschka

to giveaway to one lucky Australian resident.

Please leave a comment on this post and

CLOSED

Congratulations Katherine

*PLEASE NOTE: Only Australian residents are eligible to enter*

Entries close 27th March 2021

The giveaway will be determined by a random drawing on March 28th and the winner will be notified by email within 48 hours

Giveaway & Excerpt: Trust by Chris Hammer

I’m delighted to share with you an excerpt of Trust from bestselling Australian author Chris Hammer, courtesy Allen & Unwin.

The third book to feature journalist Martin Scarsden following on from Scrublands and Silver, I posted a review last week, describing Trust as gripping, dynamic, and thrilling.

Read the prologue below, and then scroll down to enter to win a copy of Trust.

If the file does not scroll please click here to read the Prologue

Click to access trust-by-chris-hammer-chapter-sampler-october-2020.pdf

GIVEAWAY

Courtesy Allen & Unwin

I have one copy of

Trust by Chris Hammer

to giveaway to one lucky Australian resident.

ENTRY CLOSED

Congratulations M Tyack

*PLEASE NOTE: Only Australian residents are eligible to enter*

Entries close November 8th, 2020

The giveaway will be random drawing on November 9th and the winner will be notified by email within 48 hours

**********

Review: Trust by Chris Hammer

 

Title: Trust

Author: Chris Hammer

Published October 2020, Allen & Unwin

Status: Read October 2020 courtesy Allen & Unwin

++++++

My Thoughts:

“It’s the past, coming after her, propelled by karma.”

Trust is the third impressive crime fiction novel from Chris Hammer to feature Australian journalist Martin Scarsden, following on from Scrublands, and Silver.

It’s a period of Mandalay’s undisclosed past that catapults her and Martin into this clever and compelling thriller. With the action moving from Port Silver to Sydney, Hammer weaves together multiple threads in Trust that begins with a body found in the foundations of a Sydney apartment block, and leads to the unmasking of a stunning conspiracy among some of the city’s elite involving theft, corruption, blackmail and multiple murders. The plot is fast moving and suspenseful, the lives of both Mandy and Martin are repeatedly threatened as they unravel the complex mystery.

The narrative alternates between Mandy and Martin as Mandy tries to fix her past mistakes, and Martin investigates the murder of his mentor, retired Herald editor, Max. It’s no real surprise that their agenda’s eventually overlap, giving the couple the opportunity to work together, underscoring Hammer’s main theme – trust. There is growth for both of these characters in this novel which I appreciated, Mandy becomes more substantial, Martin less consumed by his journalistic ambition.

Familiar characters from Hammer’s previous novels make an appearance including Detective Inspector Morris Montifore, Detective Claus Vandenbruk, a couple of Martin’s newspaper colleagues, and Mandy’s lawyer, Winifred. I’m curious about Hammer’s penchant for using unusual names, in Trust he gives us characters called Tarquin, Zelda, Clarity, and Titus.

Trust unfolds over a period of a week, with subtle references to the NSW bushfires, the pandemic and the economic recession suggesting the events of the takes place in the winter of 2020. Hammer’s descriptions of Sydney are vivid and familiar, from the gritty inner city streets to the enclaves of the wealthy.

Gripping, dynamic and thrilling, Trust can be read as a stand-alone, but the experience is enhanced by familiarity with Scrublands and Silver, and I highly recommend all three.

++++++

Available from Allen & Unwin RRP AUD$32.99

Or from your preferred retailer via Booko I Book Depository I Booktopia

Check out other participants in the Trust tour, and return to Book’d Out on October 29th for an exclusive chapter sample and your chance to win a copy!

Book’d Out is 10!

Today marks ten years since I launched Book’d Out.

(And I nearly forgot)

In that time I have:

* Published nearly 3.000 posts

* Of which roughly 2.800 are book reviews

* Had over half a million visitors

* From whom I have received around 24,000 comments

* And gained thousands and thousands of awesome blog followers

Thank you!

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate each and every person who stops by, reads a post, leaves a comment, shared a post, or decides to subscribe to my blog.

Your support has been integral to my daily happiness.

Thank you also to all of the authors and publishers who have generously ensured I have never run out of books to read.

I wish I could reward each and every one of you, alas I can only offer you the chance to

WIN a book of your choice to the value of $20 AUD from BookDepository.com *where shipping/delivery is available

To be entered in the random draw:

Leave a comment on this post

and then

CLOSED

Entries close September 8th 2020

Congratulations Mary P

Just for fun HERE is my first post

and

HERE is my first posted review

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundaySalon #SundayPost

The It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? meme is hosted at BookDate

I’m also linking to The Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer

And the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

xxxxxxxxxxx

Life…

The week was going so well, and then my son got sick…runny nose, sore throat, cough…eek! Even though the chance of it being Covid was incredibly slim – we live in a region which has had no active cases since May- the Department of Education now requires that students who display cold/flu symptoms must be kept home, and then must be tested for Covid before returning to school, so he went for a test on Friday afternoon. Thankfully on Saturday afternoon we received a NEGATIVE result, because by then I came down with it. So I’ve spent the weekend on the couch, my husband had to do the grocery shopping and the other kids did the cooking because they don’t want me to infect them. Which is fair enough because my second daughter is in the middle of her HSC Trial exams – which are worth 50% of her final grade for her last (senior) year.

 

——————————————-

 

What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

 

True Story by Kate Reed Petty

The Less Dead by Denise Mina

Public Enemies by Mark Dapin

The Sister’s Gift by Barbara Hannay

 

———————————————

New Posts…

 

Review: The McCalister Legacy by Nicole Hurley-Moore

Review: True Story by Kate Reed Petty

Review: The Less Dead by Denise Mina

Review: Public Enemies by Barbara Hannay

Review & Giveaway: The Sister’s Gift by Barbara Hannay

 

*** Make sure you ENTER to WIN a copy of The Sister’s Gift by Barbara Hannay

(Sorry, Australian residents only) ***

 

———————————————

 

What I’m Reading This Week…

 

How far would you go to save your marriage?

Lou and Josh have been together for 14 years. They share two kids, a mortgage, careers and plenty of history. Now, after a particularly fraught Christmas, Lou is ready to ask herself: is this marriage worth hanging on to?

Every month for a year, Lou sets a different test for their relationship – from daily sex to brutal honesty – to help her decide if she should stay or go. Secrets are exposed, old wounds reopened and a true-to-life suburban love story unfolds.

I Give My Marriage a Year paints a sharply accurate, often hilarious picture of a modern Australian marriage. Lou and Josh are a couple on the edge, and their efforts to bring their relationship back from the brink will resonate with anyone who has ever asked themselves: is this enough?

Whose side will you take? Who deserves a second chance? And will Josh and Lou stay together or split for good?

xxxxxxxxxxx

 

After a puzzling death in the wild bushlands of Australia, detective Dana Russo has just hours to interrogate the prime suspect – a silent, inscrutable man found at the scene of the crime, who disappeared without trace 15 years earlier.

But where has he been? Why won’t he talk? And exactly how dangerous is he? Without conclusive evidence to prove his guilt, Dana faces a desperate race against time to persuade him to speak. But as each interview spirals with fevered intensity, Dana must reckon with her own traumatic past to reveal the shocking truth .

 

xxxxxxxxxx

 

Identical twins only look the same …

Beautiful twin sisters Iris and Summer are startlingly alike, but beyond what the eye can see lies a darkness that sets them apart. Cynical and insecure, Iris has long been envious of open-hearted Summer’s seemingly never-ending good fortune, including her perfect husband, Adam.

Called to Thailand to help sail the family yacht to the Seychelles, Iris nurtures her own secret hopes for what might happen on the journey. But when she unexpectedly finds herself alone in the middle of the Indian Ocean, everything changes.

Now is her chance to take what she’s always wanted – the idyllic life she’s always coveted. But just how far will she go to get the life she’s dreamed about? And how will she make sure no one discovers the truth?

Written with the chilling suspense of The Girl on the Train and Before I Go to Sleep, The Girl in the Mirror is an addictive thriller about greed, lust, secrets and deadly lies.

 

xxxxxxxxxx

 

After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall is now a household name—and the last hope for thousands of people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The small town of Neapolis is being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. The town’s golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping a high school student, the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season Three a success, Rachel throws herself into interviewing and investigating—but the mysterious letters keep showing up in unexpected places. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insists she was murdered—and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody seems to want to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?

xxxxxxxxxxx

 

Featuring 80 brand-new recipes and twelve weeks of meal plans, this easy-to-follow, comprehensive lifestyle solution can help you not only to reach your weight-loss goals, but also to maximise the diet’s benefits for improved metabolic health and blood glucose control, and effective type 2 diabetes prevention and management.

Based on research from around the world, as well as original CSIRO research, the low-carb diet and exercise plan has proved successful in managing preventable and lifestyle-related metabolic diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. The diet lowers the proportion of carbohydrate relative to protein and unsaturated ‘healthy’ fat, and encourages participants to follow a regular exercise routine.

———————————————

Thanks for stopping by!

Review and Giveaway: The Sister’s Gift by Barbara Hannay

 

Title: The Sister’s Gift

Author: Barbara Hannay

Published: August 4th 2020, Michael Joseph

Status: Read August 2020 courtesy PenguinRandomHouse Australia

++++++

Two sisters, one baby and the best of intentions…

As a vibrant, young woman with a lifetime of possibilities ahead of her, Freya grants her sister, Pearl, the ultimate gift of motherhood. However, this comes at a hefty price – an unexpected rift in her family and the loss of the man she loves.

Decades later, Freya is divorced, childless and homeless, at rock bottom after losing everything she’s worked for. When her estranged niece, Billie, offers sanctuary, managing the family restaurant on beautiful Magnetic Island, Freya can hardly refuse.

Billie has never understood the tension between her mother and her aunt and now, with a newly broken heart, she is nursing a family secret of her own. All three women come together under the tropical Queensland skies, but can they let go of past regrets, or will old tensions tear them further apart?

By the bestselling author of Meet Me in Venice, this is a moving and inspiring novel in a stunning setting about choices and consequences and the redemptive power of love.

++++++

My Thoughts:

 

After losing her husband, her career, and her home, an offer from Freya’s niece, Billie, to manage the family bistro on Magnetic Island while her parents, Pearl and Troy, are travelling, is a gift she can’t afford to refuse. Billie, recently returned from several years overseas and recovering from heartbreak, is happy when Freya accepts, even if her mother seems inexplicably wary of the two spending so much time together.

Unfolding from the perspectives of Freya and Billie, The Sister’s Gift by Barbara Hannay is a story of motherhood, secrets, and second chances.

At the heart of this novel is the secrecy surrounding the surrogacy arrangement shared by Freya and Pearl. Hannay’s portrayal of their complicated relationship is thoughtful and nuanced. The experience drove a wedge between the sisters, largely due to Pearl’s fears and insecurities about motherhood tangled with the remnants of sibling rivalry. Freya has never regretted her decision, though it came at a personal cost, but she has been disappointed by the distance between herself and her sister, and tried her best to maintain a relationship, at a distance, with Billie.

Freya’s return to Magnetic Island is inadvertently a catalyst for Billie learning the secret of her birth, but it also offers Freya a surprising opportunity for a second chance when her ex-fiancé, with whom she ended things in order to become Pearl’s surrogate, arrives at the island for the winter months. I sympathised easily with Freya and was pleased by the closeness she established with Billie, and the romance that developed between Freya and her old beau.

Billie has never understood the tension between her mother and aunt, but has always largely dismissed it as being due to her mother’s high-strung, anxious personality. It’s one of the reasons Billie keeps secrets from Pearl, though she can’t hide this latest one for long. Though somewhat impulsive and directionless, I liked Billie well enough, and thought her emotions related to events were portrayed authentically. What surprised me was the haste of her romantic relationship arc, I didn’t mind that Hannay developed one, but I didn’t think the timeline was believable given the circumstances.

In the end it’s the reveal of a secret Pearl is keeping from both Billie and Freya that leads to the sisters mending their rift. Though the plot points of the story are fairly predictable, they still offer emotional impact, with both heartwarming and poignant moments.

The Sister’s Gift is an engaging and pleasant read, and those who enjoy family drama with a happy ending will surely find it gratifying.

**********

GIVEAWAY

Courtesy of PenguinRandomHouse Australia,

I have 1 print edition of

The Sister’s Gift by Barbara Hannay

to giveaway to one lucky Australian resident.

Please leave a comment on this post and

Now Closed

*Congratulations Stell*

*PLEASE NOTE: Only Australian residents are eligible to enter*

Entries close September 1st, 2020

The giveaway will be random drawing on September 2nd and the winner will be notified by email within 48 hours

**********

Available to purchase from PenguinRandomHouse Australia

Or your preferred retailer via Booko I Book Depository

 

Visit other participants in the Sister’s Gift tour

Review & Giveaway: Where The Light Enters by Sara Donati

 

Title: Where The Light Enters (The Waverly Place Series #2)

Author: Sara Donati

Published: September 17th 2019, Bantam

Status: Read September 2019, courtesy PenguinRandomHouse Au

From the international bestselling author of The Gilded Hour comes Sara Donati’s enthralling epic about two trailblazing female doctors in nineteenth-century New York

Obstetrician Dr. Sophie Savard returns home to the achingly familiar rhythms of Manhattan in the early spring of 1884 to rebuild her life after the death of her husband. With the help of Dr. Anna Savard, her dearest friend, cousin, and fellow physician she plans to continue her work aiding the disadvantaged women society would rather forget.

As Sophie sets out to construct a new life for herself, Anna’s husband, Detective-Sergeant Jack Mezzanotte calls on them both to consult on two new cases: the wife of a prominent banker has disappeared into thin air, and the corpse of a young woman is found with baffling wounds that suggest a killer is on the loose. In New York it seems that the advancement of women has brought out the worst in some men. Unable to ignore the plight of New York’s less fortunate, these intrepid cousins draw on all resources to protect their patients.

++++++

My Thoughts:

Where The Light Enters by Sara Donati is an engrossing, complex story of historical fiction, a superb sequel to The Gilded Hour.

Though Where The Light Enters could be read as a stand-alone, I personally wouldn’t recommend it. The tale begins a few months after the end of The Gilded Hour with an exchange of letters, newspaper articles, and other correspondence between Sophie in Switzerland and her extended family, just before Cap’s death. It is Spring when she returns home to New York City, and once again the reader is drawn into the personal and professional lives of Drs. Anna and Sophie Savard, and a growing ensemble cast.

Donati combines heartfelt family drama and an intriguing mystery within a richly detailed historical setting.

I was delighted to return to Waverly Place, and reacquaint myself with the residents of ‘Roses’ and ‘Weeds’. The Drs. Savard remain strong, independent, compassionate women supported by a caring extended family of relatives and friends. Anna and her husband Jack are challenged by the loss of their charges, though kept busy be their respective positions. Sophie, while still in mourning, is making plans to establish a scholarship program, having moved into Stuyvesant Square, (later christened ‘Doves’ and ‘Lark’ by Lia). A handful of new characters are introduced as Sophie takes on staff, while others introduced previously take on a larger role.

I was very relieved that there was finally a resolution to the fascinating mystery involving the sensational murders of nine women that began in The Gilded Hour. Nicholas Lambert identifies another shocking murder he believes is related in Where The Light Enters which allows Jack and Oscar to reopen the case and follow up on new leads. I had correctly surmised the identities of the guilty parties (mostly), but when revealed, the motivation was more distressing than I expected.

With authentic and compelling detail Donati illustrates the physical and social dichotomy of New York City in the 1800’s. She highlights the hypocrisy of religious and moral fervour, the inequalities supported by law, the racism that results in warring immigrants, and the vibrancy of a busy city constantly reinventing itself., where apartment buildings with marble floors and crystal sconces, overlook crowded, vermin infested tenements.

Beautifully written, with absorbing storylines and richly drawn characters, this series is proving to be worth the investment. There are minor threads left unresolved in Where The Light Enters that no doubt will be explored in the next instalment of the Waverly Place series, which I’m very much looking forward to.

 

Available from PenguinRandomHouse

++++++

GIVEAWAY

Courtesy of PenguinRandomHouse Australia,

I have 1 print edition of

Where The Light Enters by Sara Donati

to giveaway to one lucky Australian resident.

Please leave a comment on this post and

CLOSED

Congratulations Katy E!

*PLEASE NOTE: Only Australian residents are eligible to enter*

Entries close October 5th, 2019

The giveaway will be random drawing on October 6th and the winner will be notified by email within 48 hours

 

#WhereTheLightEntersTour

(Click to visit the tour participants)

See my thoughts on The Gilded Hour (The Waverly Place Series #1) by Sara Donati 

Review and Giveaway: All That Impossible Space by Anna Morgan

 

 

Title: All That Impossible Space

Author: Anna Morgan Twitter I Instagram I Goodreads

Published: June 25th 2019, Lothian Children’s Books

Status: Read June 2019, courtesy Hachette AU

Blurb:

Amelia Westlake meets My Favorite Murder in this debut from a terrific new voice in Australian YA. Combines a realistic story about high school drama and toxic friendship with true crime – the endlessly fascinating Somerton Man or Taman Shud mystery.

15-year-old Lara Laylor feels like supporting character in her own life. She’s Ashley’s best friend, she’s Hannah’s sister-she’s never just Lara.

When new history teacher Mr. Grant gives her an unusual assignment: investigating the mystery of the Somerton Man. Found dead in on an Adelaide beach in 1948, a half-smoked cigarette still in his mouth and the labels cut out of his clothes, the Somerton Man has intrigued people for years. Was he a spy? A criminal? Year 10 has plenty of mysteries of its own: boys, drama queen friends, and enigmatic new students. When they seem just as unsolvable as a 60-year-old cold case, Lara finds herself spending more and more time on the assignment. But Mr Grant himself may be the biggest mystery of all…

Interspersed with fictionalised snapshots of the Somerton Man investigation, ALL THAT IMPOSSIBLE SPACE is a coming of age novel exploring toxic friendships and the balance of power between teacher and student, perfect for fans of Cath Crowley and Fiona Wood.

++++++

My Thoughts:

 

Anna Morgan’s contemporary young adult novel, All That Impossible Space, is an engaging debut exploring the themes of identity, friendship, family, and coming-of-age, framed by the enigmatic mystery of Somerton Man.

I was vaguely aware of the Somerton Man case before reading All That Impossible Space, and it was one of the main reasons that I was persuaded to read the novel. Given the current popularity of true crime, evidenced by podcasts such as My Favorite Murder (which I personally enjoy), and the plethora of documentaries on streaming services such as Netflix, it’s a savvy inclusion from the author. The Somerton Man case cleverly reflects Lara’s search for her own identity, as someone other than Hannah’s sister, and Ashley’s best friend. This in part explains her attachment to Mr Grant, who as a new teacher has no knowledge of Hannah’s accomplishments, and acknowledges Lara as an individual, rather than part of ‘AshleyandLara’.

I appreciated Morgan’s realistic portrayal of her characters. My teenagers are all of a similar age and I feel Lara, Ashley, Kate and Jos demonstrated appropriate attitudes and behaviours for their age group, which isn’t always the case in young adult fiction.

There would be few among us who wouldn’t be familiar with a ‘friend’ like Ashley, and Morgan skilfully portrays the codependent dynamic of their toxic relationship. I really liked that the author showed how difficult it was for Lara to extricate herself from the situation, struggling with her sense of loyalty to Ashley, and not wanting to hurt her feelings. The author underscores how destructive the friendship is by contrasting it with Lara’s interactions with Kate, the new girl, and Jos, the love interest.

Lara’s issues with her family are relatively benign for the genre, but I liked that Morgan showed that family problems don’t have to be dramatic (eg abuse, drugs, neglect etc) to have an effect on a teen’s sense of self. Lara’s parents are loving but have in a way lost sight of her, focused on her sister’s drama, even in Hannah’s absence. It’s clear Lara misses her sister, who is travelling on a gap year, but is also hurt by Hannah’s lack of communication.

I enjoyed All That Impossible Space, particularly the thoughtful examination of teen friendships and the intriguing study of Somerton Man (be prepared to fall down that rabbithole when you are done reading).

“Tamám Shud”

++++++

Available from Hachette in Paperback and Ebook

Or from your preferred retailer via Booko , or internationally from Book Depository

++++++

GIVEAWAY

Courtesy of Hachette Austalia , I have

1 print edition of

All That Impossible Space by Anna Morgan

to giveaway to one lucky Australian resident.

Please leave a comment on this post and then

Closed

Congratulations Claire Louisa 

*PLEASE NOTE: Only Australian residents are eligible to enter*

Entries close July 5th, 2019

The giveaway will be random drawing on July 6th, 2019 and the winner will be notified by email within 48 hours