JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

The Aunts’ House by Elizabeth Stead

Sydney, 1942

Recently orphaned, Angel Martin moves into ab oarding house populated by an assortment of eccentric and colourful characters. She’s befriended by the gregarious Winifred Varnham – a vision in exotic fabrics – and the numerically gifted Barnaby Grange. But not everyone is kind and her scrimping landlady, Missus Potts, is only the beginning of Angel’s troubles.

Angel refuses to accept her fate and focusses her affections on her two maiden aunts. Despite their resistance, she is determined to forge a sense of belonging. Her visits to the aunts’ house on the Bay soon expand her world in ways she couldn’t have imagined.

Elizabeth Stead brings her classic subversive wit and personal insight to this nostalgic portrait of wartime Sydney. In Angel Martin, she has created a singular and irrepressible character. A true original.

Literary fiction novel The Aunt’s House is a quirky, charming tale of family, legacy and identity. Sydney author Elizabeth Stead brings warmth and wit to the novel, and a three-dimensional protagonist who readers have no choice but to adore.

The novel is set in 1942, and eleven-year-old Angel Martin is an orphan and the newest addition to a boarding house run by Missus Potts. Her father died many years earlier, and her mother has just passed away whilst living in a sanatorium. Angel is unwanted by her paternal aunts because they believe her mother was responsible for their brother’s death years earlier.

The novel was a bit of a slow start for me, the direction of the story a little unclear and my faith in the story wavering. But, over time, I grew to love little Angel and her resilient personality. The book is written from Angel’s perspective, but in third person, and so we learn to love her voice. It’s a bit stream of conscious, but also really hopeful and glass-half-full. She’s quite a quirky, strange girl and so her narration reflects that throughout the book.

There are moments of humour peppered throughout the story, amidst moments of darkness. A few of the men in the boarding house either try, or succeed, to sexually abuse Angel. She doesn’t seem to dwell on the assault much and pushes it out of her mind, and perhaps this is her method of avoiding and ignoring what happened so that she doesn’t have to confront the events.

“Angel liked to think B and K truly loved each other — she wanted them to love each other and she wanted them to be married and have lots of babies. But perhaps the whole thing might have been just a dream and nothing happened at all. It might just have been hearts on fire at first sight between stops.”

Mental illness is a strong theme throughout the book. Angel’s mother was living in a sanatorium when she died, and a lot of people in Angel’s life think she’s inherited her mother’s mental instability. Angel does what she wants, when she wants, and people find her tough and hard to manage.

Another strong theme is family and companionship. Angel forms friendships with numerous people in town and their bonds strengthen over the course of the novel. In the boarding house, she strikes up a friendship with the insightful Barnaby Grange, and the interesting and eccentric Winifred Warnham. She also regularly takes the tram to see her Aunts, who do not want her in their home. But Angel is determined and loveable, and soon, a connection is formed.

“She tried to remember what her father looked like before the accident but her remembrance was more a smell. Not a tram smell. Sunday was a tram smell, the electric smell of wood and rails and hot cables. No, the smell of her father she remembered was motorcycle racing fuel and the sight of it in leaked black patches on the backyard grass.”

The Aunt’s House is about the complexities of humans, and the importance of not passing judgment onto others. The characters in the book are all very unique, but they’re a clever and fun bunch of characters and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about them all.

I’d recommend this to readers of adult fiction and lovers of literary works. This is incredibly character-driven, and so perfect for fans of complex and dimensional fiction.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Aunts’ House
Elizabeth Stead
April 2019
UQP Publishers

River Stone by Rachel Hennessy

Pandora, of the River People, wants more than her village can provide. When disaster comes to her people, Pan has the opportunity to become their saviour and escape her inevitable pairing with life-long friend Matthew. She wants to make her own choices. Deep in her soul, she believes there is something more out there, beyond the boundaries, especially since she encountered the hunter of the Mountain People.

A story of confused love, difficult friendships and clumsy attempts at heroism, Pan’s fight for her village will bring her into contact with a whole new world, where the truth about the past will have terrifying reverberations for her people’s future survival.

River Stone is the first book in a new dystopian YA series from Australian author Rachel Hennessy. The story is about survival and bravery, but it’s also about family, legacy and expectation.

At first, I thought The River People were a cult. The village is small, ruled by a male elder, and teenagers are told who they are to be paired with. They don’t get to choose who to have children with, and who or what they want isn’t really taken into consideration.

It all seemed very cultish, and I guess it kind of is, but in a dystopian setting. Most of the world was wiped out after a mysterious virus started infecting people, and The River People are just doing their best to survive and continue procreating so that they don’t die off. In the blurb, it says “when disaster comes to her people”, and I half expected that to be a mass suicide like you see in cults, but I was just overthinking it. Pandora’s people are struck down with the mysterious virus and it’s up to Pandora and her friends to travel into the city and find the cure.

“Caro chews on a large piece of meat. He and Bayat have prepared a piece of the cougar on a long, whittled spear which they’ve placed over there pit, held up by two forked branches driven into the ground. They have turned it sporadically over the course of the afternoon and then carved slices off it.”

Young readers will be drawn to Pandora’s resilience, determination and strength. She’s worried for her parents, but she’s also worried for her village. She doesn’t want to let anyone down and she certainly doesn’t want to fail on this mission.

Pandora has to navigate this new world if she’s going to succeed. But she also has to navigate a love triangle, and the group of friends she’s traveling with. Tensions rise and friendships are damaged.

“At the very least, the training had ensured I could just keep up with Bayat and as we sped along the path to the caves, I realised my muscles were stronger than they’d ever been.”

As an adult, I picked up on a few things about the plot that I thought could’ve used some work. Firstly, there’s a lot of travel involved in this book, which is something most commonly seen in the second book of a series. Travel is very important in fantasy or dystopian fiction, but it can also be a little boring. I certainly felt like the travelling in River Stone could’ve been condensed, or sped up.

Secondly, I found it awfully convenient how easy it was for Pandora and her friends to gain the Mountain People’s trust. Things seemed quite….easy for the team. They’re trained in both information and combat, and they’re given pretty much everything they need to succeed in their mission. It seemed a little unrealistic.

But, I’m an adult. Whilst I certainly think teenagers are at risk of getting bored of the travelling, I don’t think Pandora’s quick connection with the Mountain People will deter young readers.

River Stone entertained and intrigued me enough to want to read the sequel. The premise is refreshingly unique, and whilst the plot is a little slow at times, and the pacing lagging, I think teen readers will be enthralled by the story. I recommend this for readers aged 11-15.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

River Stone
Rachel Hennessy
May 2019
Midnight Sun Publishing

Gaslighting by Dr Stephanie Sarkis

Mental health expert Dr Stephanie Sarkis sheds light on ‘gaslighting’ – the manipulative technique used by sociopaths, narcissists, and others, offering practical strategies to cope and break free.

Gaslighting. What it is, how you can spot it – and how you can break free.

He’s the charmer – the witty, confident, but overly controlling date. She’s the woman on your team who always manages to take credit for your good work. He’s the neighbour who swears you’ve been putting your rubbish into his bins, or the politician who can never admit to a mistake. Gaslighters are master controllers and manipulators, often challenging your very sense of reality. Whether it’s a spouse, parent, co-worker, or friend, gaslighters distort the truth – by lying, withholding, triangulation, and more – making their victims question their own reality and sanity. Dr Stephanie Sarkis delves into this hidden manipulation technique, covering gaslighting in every life scenario, sharing:

Why gaslighters seem so ‘normal’ at first
Warning signs and examples
Gaslighter ‘red flags’ on a first date
Practical strategies for coping
How to co-parent with a gaslighter
How to protect yourself from a gaslighter at work
How to walk away and rebuild your life

With clear-eyed wisdom and empathy, Dr Sarkis not only helps you determine if you are being victimized by a gaslighter – she gives you the tools to break free and heal.

Gaslighting is mental manipulation that causes a person to doubt themselves and their actions — it can occur within many different types of relationships. Sometimes it’s within a romantic relationship, sometimes it’s between siblings, or parents and children, and sometimes it’s between colleagues.

Mental health expert Dr Stephanie Sarkis has worked with countless victims of gaslighting over her long career — she’s witnessed the effect that gas lighting can have on victims, and how difficult it can be for someone to escape or extricate themselves from their situation.

“Before you even get involved with a gaslighter, there are usually a number of signs you can learn to spot. In fact, signs present in the early stages of dating gaslights will often tell you everything you need to know about how sticking with the will be detrimental to your well-being.”

This is an incredibly detailed, exhaustive guide to the various types of gaslighters and how you can avoid them. I was surprised to learn that one of the most common forms of gas lighting is parent to child, and often that child grows up to be a gaslighter themselves because they’ve learnt (either knowingly or unknowingly) the art of gaslighting from their parent.

Stephanie Sarkis lists a lot of warning signs about gaslighters, but also helps us understand why gaslighters act the way they do — what it is they want and what they hope to get out of a situation. As a result, it’s a lot easier to understand how to remove yourself from their grasp.

Gaslighters distort the truth, and they’re often very good at it.

One of my favourite parts of the book was reading the testimonies on the sides of each page, the confessions from real-life victims who talk about how they were gaslighted. It’s fascinating.

“When I was a teenager, my mom would tell me that I was ‘getting pudgy.’ Then she’d make brownies or cake, and leave it out on the kitchen counter.”
JALISA, 34

Each chapter of the book is broken down into a different type of gaslighter, from relationships, to politics, cults, parents, siblings, and friends. There’s also a very long and helpful list of resources at the back of the book for anyone who wants further guidance and help after reading the book.

“In case you didn’t already have enough to worry about, the risks of violence with gaslighters is very real. They are more prone to getting violent because their frustration threshold is so low and they generally don’t have good coping skills. You should be prepared to protect yourself.”

I felt there was a slight oversight in the packaging of the book. Some victims of gaslighting are with potentially violent partners, or have been lured into a community or cult where their every move is watched. And it’s super obvious what this book is about. How are those people meant to read this book and not get caught?

Most of this book talks about the extremes of gaslighting, but it’s very informative. I was interested in reading this to expand my knowledge of what gaslighting is. For victims of gaslighting, I imagine this would be a very valuable tool.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Gaslighting: How to Recognise Manipulative and Emotionally Abusive People…and break free
Dr Stephanie Sarkis
March 2019
Hachette Book Publishers

Hare’s Fur by Trevor Shearston

What a swift odd turn his life had taken. A teenage girl with a ring in her nose was sliding ware into his drying racks.

Russell Bass is a potter living on the edge of Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains. His wife has been dead less than a year and, although he has a few close friends, he is living a mostly solitary life. Each month he hikes into the valley below his house to collect rock for glazes from a remote creek bed. One autumn morning, he finds a chocolate wrapper on the path. His curiosity leads him to a cave where three siblings — two young children and a teenage girl — are camped out, hiding from social services and the police.

Although they bolt at first, Russell slowly gains their trust, and, little by little, this unlikely group of outsiders begin to form a fragile bond.

In luminous prose that captures the feel of hands on clay and the smell of cold rainforest as vividly as it does the minute twists and turns of human relationships, Hare’s Fur tells an exquisite story of grief, kindness, art, and the transformation that can grow from the seeds of trust.

Hare’s Fur by Trevor Shearston is a literary novella about life, family, loss and the fragility of life and everything in it.

‘Hare’s fur’ is a specific pottery pattern that resembles the fur of a rabbit. Protagonist Russell is in his seventies and lives alone in the Blue Mountains. He is a professional potter. Russell takes a lot of time with his work, making sure to give everything due attention and detail. Russell applies that same attention and concern to the three kids he meets in the woods. They’re frightened and wary, and he is determined to earn their trust and help them.

“He was startled on the return walk when a small hand took his. The boy didn’t risk looking to his face for consent. He gripped back and shortened stride, coughing to swallow away the tightness in his throat. He couldn’t, and finally had to pretend to sneeze so he could wipe his eyes. He thought he must have held a child’s hand since Michael, but couldn’t think whose child.”

Hare’s Fur is rich with description and imagery, taking the reader on a journey of observation and reflection. The symbolism of the story and the characters is not lost. Russell works with pottery — fragile objects. He lives alone since his wife suddenly passed, and he doesn’t have many friends.

These three kids he meets are fragile too, much like the objects he works with. They’ve run away from a troubled home life, a broken family. He befriends them and earns their trust. They have much to learn from each other.

Unfortunately, the pacing really bothered me for most of this novel. There’s so much internal monologue and so much detailed description, that I felt the story was moving too slowly for it to really grip me. I found my attention waning — I found myself flicking through to see how many pages I had left to go.

“The fire was dead, but sitting round and black in the ashes was an object it took him a moment to recognise, so long since he’d seen one, a cast-iron camp oven. It must already have been here, no child could have carried it. The cutlery looked to be of the same vintage, with thick tines and handles.”

Hare’s Fur will be ideal for readers who are looking for character-driven stories, and not necessarily plot-driven. This is for readers who love a slow burn, with overly descriptive imagery and paragraphs. If you’re looking for something fast-paced, then this book isn’t for you.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hare’s Fur
Trevor Shearston
March 2019
Scribe Publications

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer


2019: Life changed beyond recognition for Alice when her son, Eddie, was born with autism spectrum disorder. She must do everything to support him, but at what cost to her family? When her cherished grandmother is hospitalised, a hidden box of mementoes reveals a tattered photo of a young man, a tiny leather shoe and a letter. Her grandmother begs Alice to return to Poland to see what became of those she held dearest.

WWII: Alina and Tomasz are childhood sweethearts. The night before he leaves for college, Tomasz proposes marriage. But when their village falls to the Nazis, Alina doesn’t know if Tomasz is alive or dead.

2019: In Poland, separated from her family, Alice begins to uncover the story her grandmother is so desperate to tell, and discovers a love that bloomed in the winter of 1942. As a painful family history comes to light, will the struggles of the past and present finally reach a heartbreaking resolution?

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer explores the legacy of war and the far-reaching effects of family secrets.

Like most historical fiction novels, this story has two dual POV storylines threaded together. The first, set during WWII, and the other, set in the present in 2019. The women are the centre of both storylines.

In the past, there’s Alina, a young girl whose fiancé has left for college and whose future is in doubt. And in the present, Alice is a mother of two. Her son has autism and she’s the main caretaker of her two children. She feels unsupported by her husband, who works long hours and leaves Alice to do most of the work.

“I plan out Eddie’s visual calendar, lay out his clothing and then pack his school bag — the dreidel, which he’s still taking with him everywhere he goes, his stuffed Thomas the Tank Engine toy just in case he wants it, six Go-Gurts, one can of soup and six pairs of spare underpants, each with a matching ziplock bag for the inevitable accidents.”
ALICE

I felt more emotionally invested in Alice’s storyline that Alina’s. Alina’s story felt slow. Perhaps it was the events that took place, or perhaps it was the pacing. Part of me suspects it was both. But I felt that Alina’s chapters could’ve been more succinct and punchier. There was enough emotion and heartache to keep the reader invested, but the pacing did lag a little.

Although this particular storyline is very rich with hope. Alina loves Tomasz and is desperate to see his safe return. Alina may be young, but she’s also smart, resourceful and very aware of her surroundings. She’s helpful and trusting, and she learns how to survive the sad and grim situation that she’s in.

“It was the young soldier from that day in fall, the last time I wore a dress. He was back, and he was asking about me. I was too terrified to cry out, but equally, I was too terrified to control myself and I couldn’t think rationally enough to be sure of what I might do next.”
ALINA

Alice is a flawed character. She cares deeply for her son and she’s a good mother, but her attitude is, at times, constricted. She wants her husband, Wade, to help more, she wishes he understood more, but she doesn’t really allow him the opportunity to step up. She expects him to fail. Often, she keeps her mouth shut and seethes in silence. Other times, she waits until he makes a mistake and then snaps at him.

But Wade is not perfect either. He shuts himself off and focuses on his work, and as a result, he’s not the most attentive father. He allows his wife to do everything for the kids. So, when Alice goes to Poland to delve deep into her grandmother’s childhood, her husband finally realises just how much Alice has been doing for their family. He is defeated, and at a loss. But also, he learns to be the man he should’ve been all along.

This storyline is about family, marriage and sacrifice. It shows us how a marriage can change when a child requires more care than they thought. A child with autism does require a lot of attention, and that can strain any relationship.

“I still think about my big brothers. I sometimes wonder if I would have done anything different that day, if only I’d known that within a year they’d both be dead — and that those quiet moments by the train station would be the very last time I ever saw them.”
ALINA

Kelly Rimmer has captured two very different time periods — and two very different relationships. In Alina and Tomasz, we see young love torn apart by war and horror. In Alice and Wade, we see a love that has been clouded by exhaustive, complicated circumstances.

Readers will be able to relate to all of the characters in the book, even the ones who have lived through experiences that we could not possibly understand. I’d recommend this to readers of historical fiction, and those readers who love a family saga that spans decades.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Things We Cannot Say
Kelly Rimmer
March 2019
Hachette Book Publishers

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