I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book as my First Impression was that it was one for the boys - suitable for fans of Westerns.
The story is set in the 1850s Australia, during the Gold Rush near Melbourne. Toby and Paddy O'Rouke witness the death of their parents by bushrangers and are then cheated out of their homestead. They join up with an English family newly arrived in the country and struggle to find that elusive gold nugget which will enable them to win back their cattle ranch.
This is an Australian family saga typical of Bryce Courtney, whose books I enjoy. It conveys the lawlessness and violence of the time but also the loyalty and love.
This book well deserved to be published.
My only criticism would be the physical feel of the book. The cover showing an sunset in the Outback is beautiful but is very flimsy and the pages are so thin that you can read the text on the other side which I found a bit off-putting. There are also no distinct chapters so I just kept reading until I got to the end of the book!
The story is set in the 1850s Australia, during the Gold Rush near Melbourne. Toby and Paddy O'Rouke witness the death of their parents by bushrangers and are then cheated out of their homestead. They join up with an English family newly arrived in the country and struggle to find that elusive gold nugget which will enable them to win back their cattle ranch.
This is an Australian family saga typical of Bryce Courtney, whose books I enjoy. It conveys the lawlessness and violence of the time but also the loyalty and love.
This book well deserved to be published.
My only criticism would be the physical feel of the book. The cover showing an sunset in the Outback is beautiful but is very flimsy and the pages are so thin that you can read the text on the other side which I found a bit off-putting. There are also no distinct chapters so I just kept reading until I got to the end of the book!