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Summary
“Ian Sullivan, a studious and dutiful thirteen-year-old, finds solace and escape from the baking heat of the Australian outback by immersing himself in classic works of fiction. At first, he thinks he has found a kindred spirit when Anthony Messina, the son of the new town butcher, joins St. Kieran’s for the start of the 1963 school year. And as a bonus, Anthony’s sister Sophia seems to like him as well. While the little Queensland town of Verity Creek embraces the new butcher, Ian gradually realizes that something is very wrong in the Messina home. Normally Ian would turn to his parents for guidance, but he feels directly responsible for two tragedies that may tear his family apart. He is certain his parents want to deal with him as little as possible. Ian is closest to his older sister Mary, but she is over four hundred miles away. Mary sings the praises of the nuns at her boarding school in Townsville so when Ian realizes that Sophia is in real danger, he convinces her that they need to escape and find sanctuary at St. Brigid’s. In the year when his life turns upside down, Ian learns that figuring out what’s true and then doing what’s right are the hardest things about growing up”. – Goodreads
My Thoughts
I’m not a big fan of coming of age novels, however I do read them from time to time. This book certainly did surprise me, with its honest portrait of life in outback Australia in the 1960s, and with it’s engaging characters.
I completely related to the characters, especially Ian who had a great love of literature, and also a strong friendship with Anthony. Ian finds himself in the centre of a mystery that could turn into a tragedy. When I realised there was a challenge like this for Ian, I was completely hooked until the end. The authors descriptions of the rural setting brought back many memories to me, of growing up in a small rural town, in the 1960s far from a major city.
I listened to the audio book version of Verity Creek, with the narration by the author. Audiobooks can live or die by their narration, and I always seem to be drawn to those that are narrated by the author, as there usually seems to me to be an extra sense of authenticity to the story. This audiobook runs for just over nine hours.
I have recommended this book to my bookish friends, and I am now recommending it here, as an engrossing and suspenseful mystery, and an intense but enjoyable coming of age novel. I’m sure this novel would also appeal to readers outside Australia, as there was a true sense of Australia, which came through the story line and shone through in the characters.
Please note: My thanks go to Brian Byrne for sending me this audio book for an independant review.
Verity Creek can be purchased here: https://open.spotify.com/show/07rvCaZ2Iu2vo3gYP6irnU
More about Verity Creek and the author: https://www.brianbyrneauthor.com/
Star Rating
Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unputdownable. Would read it again.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic read. Not to be missed
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyable. Would recommend it.
⭐️⭐️ Wouldn’t read it again.
⭐️ Don’t recommend this book at all.
The book mentioned in this post is of my own choice and has not been sent to me to review. My opinions are my own and I receive no renumeration at all for them.
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