carstensena's review against another edition
3.0
Great setting. I've never read anything like it. But the narrative voice was strangely juvenile for a book about prostitution, murder, and gang warfare. There are some interesting musings on age and trust. And wonderful moments about reading and writing.
greenrain's review against another edition
4.0
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It exceeded expectations with two interesting female leads, high stakes, and some Aussie sparkle dashed about. A bit gory and foul mouthed for a YA novel, but I don't know how you'd make the setting believable without doing that. I also liked the ending, which I won't spoil, but it felt more realistic and fitting than I've found in similar books. Even though it was problematic at times, I'd recommend this novel to anyone interested in 1930's mobsters, depression era Australia, or YA female leads.
tehani's review against another edition
4.0
There is a lot to enjoy about this book, and I particularly like the ghosts, but I felt a little let down overall. For me, the pacing was a bit off, and some of the characterisation wasn't completely consistent in my eyes. In the end though, I simply wondered what the purpose of the story was. Not every novel needs to end happily, not every novel needs to end with a bang, but for me, this one kind of went out with a whimper, and I was a little disappointed in the payoff. I also had a bit of a problem with the emphasis on Kelpie's age (and her lack of knowledge of it for much of the book), especially as the first two instances it's mentioned are at odds with each other, which knocked me out of the reading experience (yes, it's supposed to be a contested issue, but the first time it's mentioned is very difficult to reconcile with the second - doesn't make sense!).
That said, I still gave it four stars, because it is still a highly readable, engaging book. Yes, I can be disappointed on one level and still enjoy the story on another. Kelpie was a really interesting point-of-view character, and her unfolding story drew me in. Probably my favourite character was Jimmy, and I was fascinated by his emerging story as well.
In all, I'd be reluctant to classify it as a YA book, which we're used to seeing from Larbalestier, but it's an interesting insight into the Australian urban issues of the period.
That said, I still gave it four stars, because it is still a highly readable, engaging book. Yes, I can be disappointed on one level and still enjoy the story on another. Kelpie was a really interesting point-of-view character, and her unfolding story drew me in. Probably my favourite character was Jimmy, and I was fascinated by his emerging story as well.
In all, I'd be reluctant to classify it as a YA book, which we're used to seeing from Larbalestier, but it's an interesting insight into the Australian urban issues of the period.
jerseygrrrl's review against another edition
I think this is a good book. It just didn't appeal to me. Maybe not the right thing at the right time.
numbuh212's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jenbsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This was only available from my library as an audiobook ... but I'm so glad I experienced it this way! Set it Sydney, the narrators did use very strong accents to emphasis the location and time. It was very effective and pulled me into this world much more than I feel would have happened if left to my own imagination. I would have loved to have a digital "print" copy I could have peeked at too though.
There were three narrators, two women and one man. Now most books with multiple narrators (in my limited audio experience) assign one narrator to one character/POV. Almost a requirement with alternating male/female POVs, especially if in first person. Here though, it was a 3rd person POV. While the focus of the story would shift, featuring Kelphie's or Dymphna feelings, thoughts, background stories and perspective, I don't know it was necessary to switch out narrators. In fact, I must admit, I didn't even realize there were two different women narrators until the end when the credits came across. And while the male narrator tended to voice when the perspective shifted a bit to some of the male characters, he seemed to read some of the Dymphna chapters too. Some chapters would be labeled Dymphna or Kelpie, featuring their focus, while other chapters had a "title" heading. So while in other audiobooks, a change in voice really added and was necessary, here I felt any one of the narrators could have read the whole thing ... although I didn't mind the switch up either. They were all good.
For the story itself ... really not much time passes from the start to the finish, really, just a day? But there is a lot of backstory/memories added in, and we do get to know these two girls quite well. Normally I'd say I don't like so much skipping around (in time/perspectives/etc) but I just enjoyed this! In addition to the interesting tale of the gang war, both of these girls and see ghosts, adding a bit of the paranormal, although it really doesn't feel like a paranormal tale.
This is marketed as YA. The protagonists are both young women, although Dymphna comes across as much older and Kelpie much younger.. However, there is a lot of proFanity in the book, Dymphna is a "working woman" (and VERY good at it) ... nothing explicit, but quite a bit of talking about sex. Violence too. So ... just something to keep in mind from a parental perspective.
There were three narrators, two women and one man. Now most books with multiple narrators (in my limited audio experience) assign one narrator to one character/POV. Almost a requirement with alternating male/female POVs, especially if in first person. Here though, it was a 3rd person POV. While the focus of the story would shift, featuring Kelphie's or Dymphna feelings, thoughts, background stories and perspective, I don't know it was necessary to switch out narrators. In fact, I must admit, I didn't even realize there were two different women narrators until the end when the credits came across. And while the male narrator tended to voice when the perspective shifted a bit to some of the male characters, he seemed to read some of the Dymphna chapters too. Some chapters would be labeled Dymphna or Kelpie, featuring their focus, while other chapters had a "title" heading. So while in other audiobooks, a change in voice really added and was necessary, here I felt any one of the narrators could have read the whole thing ... although I didn't mind the switch up either. They were all good.
For the story itself ... really not much time passes from the start to the finish, really, just a day? But there is a lot of backstory/memories added in, and we do get to know these two girls quite well. Normally I'd say I don't like so much skipping around (in time/perspectives/etc) but I just enjoyed this! In addition to the interesting tale of the gang war, both of these girls and see ghosts, adding a bit of the paranormal, although it really doesn't feel like a paranormal tale.
This is marketed as YA. The protagonists are both young women, although Dymphna comes across as much older and Kelpie much younger.. However, there is a lot of proFanity in the book, Dymphna is a "working woman" (and VERY good at it) ... nothing explicit, but quite a bit of talking about sex. Violence too. So ... just something to keep in mind from a parental perspective.
rsarnelli's review
DNF at page 200-ish
I didn’t finish this book, but not because it’s terrible or anything. I just had a really hard time getting into it, and whenever I put it down, I never felt a burning desire to pick it back up. So, since I have hundreds of books I’d like to read, I’m not going to waste my time pushing through something that isn’t working for me. That doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else; it’s just not my cup of tea, apparently.
Some notes: The writing felt kind of stilted, and I didn’t particularly care about the characters after a while. I wasn’t a fan of the narrative style either. I thought Kelpie’s and Dymphna’s chapters were interesting, but I didn’t like the “inserts” between chapters. Some of them do offer interesting background on the setting and other characters, but I didn’t particularly like the way it was presented and I felt that it disrupted the narrative. I was also kind of confused as to why the paranormal aspect was included in the story, since it really didn’t seem to have any significant effect on the plot. However, it’s obvious that this book is well-researched, and the setting and time period make it pretty unique - you don’t see much set in 1930’s Sydney in YA.
I didn’t finish this book, but not because it’s terrible or anything. I just had a really hard time getting into it, and whenever I put it down, I never felt a burning desire to pick it back up. So, since I have hundreds of books I’d like to read, I’m not going to waste my time pushing through something that isn’t working for me. That doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else; it’s just not my cup of tea, apparently.
Some notes: The writing felt kind of stilted, and I didn’t particularly care about the characters after a while. I wasn’t a fan of the narrative style either. I thought Kelpie’s and Dymphna’s chapters were interesting, but I didn’t like the “inserts” between chapters. Some of them do offer interesting background on the setting and other characters, but I didn’t particularly like the way it was presented and I felt that it disrupted the narrative. I was also kind of confused as to why the paranormal aspect was included in the story, since it really didn’t seem to have any significant effect on the plot. However, it’s obvious that this book is well-researched, and the setting and time period make it pretty unique - you don’t see much set in 1930’s Sydney in YA.
hmonkeyreads's review
1.0
Not a fan. Didn’t care about the characters, found the dialog repetitive and annoying and the part about ghosts truly served no purpose.
Extra big creep factor that one of the main characters “Glory’s best girl” is a seasoned prostitute with a city wide reputation and seemingly huge list of dead lovers and it’s revealed that she’s only 16......which is just gross in about 1000 ways. The main talking ghost is her dead boyfriend...who is 36.
From an old subscription box
Extra big creep factor that one of the main characters “Glory’s best girl” is a seasoned prostitute with a city wide reputation and seemingly huge list of dead lovers and it’s revealed that she’s only 16......which is just gross in about 1000 ways. The main talking ghost is her dead boyfriend...who is 36.
From an old subscription box
thomcat's review against another edition
3.0
Two strong female characters, much of the story told through flashbacks, and ghosts as characters. On the downside, feels long for a tale of one day - the reader could spend more hours reading than actually experienced by the protagonists.
This was set in a bloody era of history, and pulls no punches - the second scene has a LOT of blood. The characters feel very fleshed out, with motivations and interests - even some ghosts. Walking tours of this neighborhood tie in nicely with the novel.
In addition to the story seeming too long, the ending is abrupt and not exactly satisfying. I liked the ghosts (and their rules), and the author used them to tell some of the story and give reason for a "feral" kid to have learned her letters. I wouldn't consider this a "ghost story" though - the supernatural act as more of a chorus than characters. This book is marketed as "young adult", but the themes are probably more to the older side.
Liked it, but didn't love it.
This was set in a bloody era of history, and pulls no punches - the second scene has a LOT of blood. The characters feel very fleshed out, with motivations and interests - even some ghosts. Walking tours of this neighborhood tie in nicely with the novel.
In addition to the story seeming too long, the ending is abrupt and not exactly satisfying. I liked the ghosts (and their rules), and the author used them to tell some of the story and give reason for a "feral" kid to have learned her letters. I wouldn't consider this a "ghost story" though - the supernatural act as more of a chorus than characters. This book is marketed as "young adult", but the themes are probably more to the older side.
Liked it, but didn't love it.