But drought grips the land, and the shearers are on strike. This book was well worth the read, especially if you’re interested in Australian history, or if you just like historical fiction and are looking for a new setting.The story behind Banjo Paterson's iconic Australian song.Ages 10-14 'Once a jolly swagman camped by a BillabongUnder the shade of a Coolibah treeAnd he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiledYou'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.'In 1894, twelve-year-old Matilda flees the city slums to find her unknown father and his farm. It then transitioned to third person, and I admit I stumbled sometimes over the “she”s meant to be Flinty, as I constantly thought of her as “I.” Not to say it didn’t work this way, too, but it would be interesting to see it all in first person and see what difference it made. Each chapter started with a diary entry from Flinty, in first person of course. I did think that this was a book begging to be written in first-person. Flinty draws strength from all of them in her time of need, and it’s that which gets her through. Flinty is surrounded by strong women who help and encourage her–like Miss Matilda, previously seen in A Waltz for Matilda, who owns the largest farm in the district. Mack the quintessential caring housewife Kirsty, a girl who’s had to take on too much too soon but remains upbeat nonetheless. The characters were lovable and well-written, Flinty standing out as strong and curious Mrs. I think that makes it fresh, too–Australia is often overlooked by most, and it’s not often you come across a book set here, even when you’re living in the country.
With brumbies and chooks and billies and whatever else, it couldn’t be set anywhere but Australia.
He also bears a warning: that for Flinty, the worst is yet to come–but the best is, too.Ĭhock full of Australianisms, this book might require an Australian dictionary close at hand (if you don’t have an Australian in the room to ask.) But that’s what makes this book so engrossing. No one will talk about the war until Flinty meets a soldier ghost from the future, who gives her an idea of what her friends went through. Then there are the boys who didn’t come back, like her brother Jeff. Andy, her brother, left the farm to go droving in Queensland, leaving her to look after her younger brother and sister. When the boys came back from the war, nothing was the same–Sandy, her sweetheart, wouldn’t talk to her. This is the story of Flinty McAlpine, a girl living in the mountains post-World War I Australia. I’ve started to fall in love with historical fiction, and Jackie French’s books set in past Australia are particularly appealing at the moment.
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