THE BELOVED

by Annah Faulkner   (LWH)

I really, really loved this beautiful book. From the first page it had me and it only took a day or so to finish it... that's how much I loved it! Roberta, a young girl contracts polio and is confined to hospital for months, then forced to wear a calliper and boot. This is devastating to Roberta and her family but when she is given a set of paints she realises how much she loves art and how talented she is. She is 'special' for sure as she can see colours hovering over people she meets. Some are angry colours others are full of love and she of course paints them, but her style is very different from the 'norm' and through a set of circumstances her mother forbids her to pain any more. This is who Roberta is.... she must paint... it's what she was born to do. 

In Australia she is bullied at school, because of her gympy leg, but her life changes when her family move to New Guinea. There is so much colour there she must continue her passion.  Because I love to draw and paint I really felt the frustration Roberta felt from being banned to paint. When she discovers secrets in her mother's life her whole world is turned upside down and I wanted the story to go on and on.I won't give you any more of the story because there many highs and lows that come her way.

This story is so beautifully written. I felt like I was with little Roberta as she grew up, peering into her life, feeling her pain. It felt so real that I thought it must have been an autobiography but this was Annah Faulkner's first novel. I can't believe it!

THE BELOVED

by Annah Faulkner

I really, really loved this beautiful book. From the first page it had me and it only took a day or so to finish it... that's how much I loved it! Roberta, a young girl contracts polio and is confined to hospital for months, then forced to wear a calliper and boot. This is devastating to Roberta and her family but when she is given a set of paints she realises how much she loves art and how talented she is. She is 'special' for sure as she can see colours hovering over people she meets. Some are angry colours others are full of love and she of course paints them, but her style is very different from the 'norm' and through a set of circumstances her mother forbids her to pain any more. This is who Roberta is.... she must paint... it's what she was born to do.

In Australia she is bullied at school, because of her gympy leg, but her life changes when her family move to New Guinea. There is so much colour there she must continue her passion. Because I love to draw and paint I really felt the frustration Roberta felt from being banned to paint. When she discovers secrets in her mother's life her whole world is turned upside down and I wanted the story to go on and on. I won't give you any more of the story because there many highs and lows that come her way.

This story is so beautifully written. I felt like I was with little Roberta as she grew up, peering into her life, feeling her pain. It felt so real that I thought it must have been an autobiography but this was Annah Faulkner's first novel. I can't believe it!

THE VELVET ROOM

THE VELVET ROOM  by Zilpha Keatly Snyder   (LWH)

This book was my special Christmas treat to myself. I loved reading as a child and in primary school read every book I could get my hands on, but I distinctly remember my favourite book ‘The Velvet Room’ by Zilpha Keatly Snyder. Over the years I had forgotten the actual story except that it was about a girl finding a secret room, draped in velvet curtains, that she would  run to when she wanted to get away from her family. I guess that book started me, without me realizing it, to love stories of suspense, mystery,  and secret places.

I had searched many libraries and second hand bookshops trying to find this book and was delighted to finally find it online, so I ordered it and hoped that it would live up to all I had remembered about it being a fabulous book. It didn’t disappoint. It was so lovely to read this book and enjoy it as an adult. Memories came flooding back of how I felt when I had first read it in the early 70’s… yes, 40 years ago! Can you believe it?

THE MEMORY CAGE

THE MEMORY CAGE   by Ruth Eastham   (LWH)

This is a very powerful and emotional story dealing with war, Alzheimer’s and family secrets. It is beautifully written and the compassion Alex shows for his Grandfather is beautiful. The story tells of Alex who was adopted at the age of 6 from a refugee camp in Bosnia and is now a teenager. His parents and younger brother are all dead and he is haunted by memories of not being able to save his younger brother from drowning. He is adopted into the Smith family, lives in Doverham, England and adores his adopted Grandfather, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s and is about to be put into a home.

He is desperate to help his Grandfather to remember the past so he doesn’t have to be put in an aged home, but as Alex delves into the past and tries to create a scrapbook of his life, secrets are discovered that have been hidden away for many years. With the town losing so many of their young men in the war some people don’t want the past dug up. Remembering the past is not want Alex wants for himself either as it is too hurtful and he tries to cut all memories of Bosnia from his life. The story concludes with a dramatic incident that had me in tears. Secrets are revealed and lies uncovered to culminate in a truly wonderful ending.

About the author:  Ruth Eastham was born in Lancashire, England, and trained as a teacher. She has worked in more than a dozen schools in UK, NZ, Australia and Italy. She likes photography, secondhand books and world maps.. This was Ruth’s first novel but I’m sure not her last. She likes to write anytime and everywhere! She likes to catch a new idea before I forget it so she always keep a notebook handy, or she writes up my arm if there's no paper about.