When Rain Turns to Snow by Jane Godwin

Lissa is home on her own after school one afternoon when a stranger turns up on the doorstep carrying a baby. Reed is on the run - surely people are looking for him? He's trying to find out who he really is and thinks Lissa's mum might have some answers. But how could he be connected to Lissa's family - and why has he been left in charge of a baby? A baby who is sick, and getting sicker ... Reed's appearance stirs up untold histories in Lissa's family, and suddenly she is having to make sense of her past in a way she would never have imagined.

It is so difficult to review a book when you have such mixed feelings about it! I was a bit disappointed to be honest. This book was an easy read as it only took me a few hours to finish. The storyline was inventive and had the potential to be interesting, however I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. I found the dialogue a bit forced, and in my opinion, at times the narration was 'trying way to hard' to sound like a young teenager. The character's reactions to certain events were also a bit unrealistic. I think that I would have enjoyed the story more if there was more raw emotion, as I really wanted to feel something! BUT I did enjoy this book! There was lots of different things going on, and I was super invested in some of the character's storylines. This book made me smile! And it also made me think about lots of different social issues. I would have loved for the story to go more into depth about mental health, and cyber bullying - those themes were definitely present in the book, but if the author delved further down that realm, it would have added another layer to the story.

I recommend this book to people for young teenagers and pre-teens looking for an easy read, as I feel I might have enjoyed the book more if I read it a few years ago!

Thank you Hachette for giving me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Comments

How to Grow a Family Tree by Eliza Henry-Jones

Stella may only be seventeen, but having read every self-help book she can find means she knows a thing or two about helping people. She sure wasn't expecting to be the one in need of help, though. Thanks to her father's gambling addiction, Stella and her family now find themselves living at Fairyland Caravan Park. And hiding this truth from her friends is hard enough without dealing with another secret. Stella's birth mother has sent her a letter. As Stella deals with the chaos of her family, she must also confront the secrets and past of her 'other' family. But Stella is stronger than she realises. This book was absolutely brilliant. It is possibly one of my favourite YA novels ever!! I absolutely adored the characters, and I LOVED the story. The book has so many beautiful messages, and everyone would benefit from reading this book. The book shows that sometimes things that are covered in gold, are crumbling on the inside, and that sometimes you can find be...

The Schoolmaster's Daughter by Jackie French

January 1901 Sharks circle the stranded ship as Hannah and her family head to a new home in the newly formed nation of Australia. Hannah's father has a new post as the schoolmaster in a larger school in northern NSW, where the school's wealthy patron, a sugar planter called Mr Harris, will give the family a life of comfort and the best society. But secrets lurk in this subtropical paradise. From the moment Hannah's mother rebels against her husband's refusal to let Jamie, the Pacific Islander boy who rescues them from their shipwreck, into his school, the facade crumbles. Mr Harris's fortune is built on slavery and the whip. And the new Federal government's first law demands that all Pacific islanders - even those born in Australia - be deported. If Mr Harris learns of the secret school that Hannah's mother is running, it will mean ruin, violence, and possibly even death. Hannah and Jamie must fight for Jamie's right to stay in the land he loves, and fo...

The Silk House by Kayte Nunn

Australian history teacher Thea Rust arrives at an exclusive boarding school in the British countryside only to find that she is to look after the first intake of girls in its 150-year history. She is to stay with them in Silk House, a building with a long and troubled past, where the shadows hide more mysteries than she could ever imagine. In the late 1700s, Rowan Caswell leaves her village to work in the home of an English silk merchant. She is thrust into a new and dangerous world where her talent for herbs and healing soon attracts attention. In London, Mary-Louise Stephenson lives amid the clatter of the weaving trade and dreams of becoming a silk designer, a job that is the domain of men. Arriving in the market town of Oxleigh, she brings with her a length of fabric woven with a pattern of deadly plants that will have far-reaching consequences for all who dwell in the silk house. The Silk House was such a gorgeous story, and ...

The Book Mermaids

Search This Blog