A review by emilyjhirst
Songlines by Carolyn Denman
5.0
The book begins by setting the scene in a rural part of Australia. Lainie and Noah, her best friend, are cramming for their upcoming exams. They are hoping to get good grades to get into a university in either Melbourne or Sydney. They have been best friends since childhood as the farms they live on are next door to each other. Lainie was brought up by her Aunt Lily as her parents died when she was younger. Henry, an Aboriginal elder, looks after their farm for them.
At school, Lainie is always tormented by Bane (actual name Ben), he is given this nickname because he is the bane of her life. He is bad tempered and violent. She does not know why he annoys her or torments her, he seems to dislike her a lot. She does her best to ignore him as she wants to focus on her exams. Although, is this relationship between the two really as it seems?
Alongside worrying for the exams, a mining company want to dig for gas on Lainie and Aunt Lily's farm but Aunt Lily is not happy with this news. Their fam land contains the Aboriginal caves which are sacred and needs to be protected. This is where Henry comes in, the protector, but when he explains this to Lainie she does not believe him. Lainie is not who she thought she was, at the most difficult and confusing time of her life, everything she thought she knew is changing.
The book has loads of cliffhangers, I was constantly thinking about the book. Nothing would have prepared me for the ending, I am so excited to read the next book. I was not expecting any of the twists and turns of the book, they made it enjoyable to read.
I loved how this book started off by setting the scene, it made reading about the powers and area so much easier. The book is very well written with Australian terminology being added in, for example the animals and places. It reminds me where the book is set because sometimes it can be difficult to remember where the book is set. The book includes a biblical theme to it which was interesting as I have never read a book that includes this topic before. The terminology used is not at all confusing and it is well explained. The writing style of the book was amazing, it was so easy to read.
The characters were so loveable, and the character development as individuals and also the development of the relationships between the characters is incredible. Some of the reactions to the information characters are told seems a bit good to be true, but it shows true friendship. I am looking forward to continue on with the rest of this series. Thank you to Odyssey Books for sending me this book, amazing author, 5/5 stars.
At school, Lainie is always tormented by Bane (actual name Ben), he is given this nickname because he is the bane of her life. He is bad tempered and violent. She does not know why he annoys her or torments her, he seems to dislike her a lot. She does her best to ignore him as she wants to focus on her exams. Although, is this relationship between the two really as it seems?
Alongside worrying for the exams, a mining company want to dig for gas on Lainie and Aunt Lily's farm but Aunt Lily is not happy with this news. Their fam land contains the Aboriginal caves which are sacred and needs to be protected. This is where Henry comes in, the protector, but when he explains this to Lainie she does not believe him. Lainie is not who she thought she was, at the most difficult and confusing time of her life, everything she thought she knew is changing.
The book has loads of cliffhangers, I was constantly thinking about the book. Nothing would have prepared me for the ending, I am so excited to read the next book. I was not expecting any of the twists and turns of the book, they made it enjoyable to read.
I loved how this book started off by setting the scene, it made reading about the powers and area so much easier. The book is very well written with Australian terminology being added in, for example the animals and places. It reminds me where the book is set because sometimes it can be difficult to remember where the book is set. The book includes a biblical theme to it which was interesting as I have never read a book that includes this topic before. The terminology used is not at all confusing and it is well explained. The writing style of the book was amazing, it was so easy to read.
The characters were so loveable, and the character development as individuals and also the development of the relationships between the characters is incredible. Some of the reactions to the information characters are told seems a bit good to be true, but it shows true friendship. I am looking forward to continue on with the rest of this series. Thank you to Odyssey Books for sending me this book, amazing author, 5/5 stars.