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The Vale Girl
I had seen every last secret laid bare in my own house, every briefcase in Banville gaping open.
But I had missed one.
Fifteen-year-old Sarah Vale has disappeared from the small town of Banville.
Resident copper Sergeant Henson attempts to find the missing girl but the locals dismiss his investigations. What would you expect with a mother like hers anyway?
No one really cares except teenager Tommy Johns - for Sarah Vale takes a straight line to his heart.
And, sometimes, one true champion is all it takes to tear a town's veneer apart.
A delicate and layered exploration of secrets and lies, forgotten children and absent parents, and the long shadows of the past.
An extraordinary debut from a talented writer.
But I had missed one.
Fifteen-year-old Sarah Vale has disappeared from the small town of Banville.
Resident copper Sergeant Henson attempts to find the missing girl but the locals dismiss his investigations. What would you expect with a mother like hers anyway?
No one really cares except teenager Tommy Johns - for Sarah Vale takes a straight line to his heart.
And, sometimes, one true champion is all it takes to tear a town's veneer apart.
A delicate and layered exploration of secrets and lies, forgotten children and absent parents, and the long shadows of the past.
An extraordinary debut from a talented writer.
298 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2013
16 people are currently reading
945 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
November 11, 2013
Fifteen year old Sarah Vale was a loner. She had only one friend at school – Tommy Johns. They had been firm friends for a very long time, both had family backgrounds which weren’t “normal” to say the least, with Tommy’s dad rarely being at home, leaving Tommy on his own for weeks and months at a time plus Sarah’s family life was difficult as well; Sarah looked after her mother who was ostracised in the town for her choice of profession, which meant the students at the school were not to associate with Sarah…
With Sarah having to contend with the bullying from Cameron and his mates, the jeering and humiliation which accompanied him each time he opened his mouth, Sarah found herself wagging school more and more often – it was just easier than putting up with it all the time. But the day Sarah went to her favourite waterhole to swim and relax, her privacy was shattered…
Tommy realized Sarah was missing – he’d searched and searched – so he went to Sergeant Henson at the police station and reported her missing. And so began the investigation into a missing school girl, a young girl no-one cared about except Tommy. Suddenly secrets were being discovered, lies were uncovered and the past reared its ugly head. Would Sarah be found – would she be safe? A frustrated Sergeant Henson couldn’t believe the magnitude of the silence from the town’s people!
I enjoyed this debut novel from Aussie author Nelika McDonald very much. Sarah and Tommy were great characters, but I especially enjoyed Tommy’s character, his strength and determination even at a young age. He showed great courage while missing his father deeply, to keep thoughts of Sarah alive in the town, even though he knew most people weren’t interested. Highly recommended.
With Sarah having to contend with the bullying from Cameron and his mates, the jeering and humiliation which accompanied him each time he opened his mouth, Sarah found herself wagging school more and more often – it was just easier than putting up with it all the time. But the day Sarah went to her favourite waterhole to swim and relax, her privacy was shattered…
Tommy realized Sarah was missing – he’d searched and searched – so he went to Sergeant Henson at the police station and reported her missing. And so began the investigation into a missing school girl, a young girl no-one cared about except Tommy. Suddenly secrets were being discovered, lies were uncovered and the past reared its ugly head. Would Sarah be found – would she be safe? A frustrated Sergeant Henson couldn’t believe the magnitude of the silence from the town’s people!
I enjoyed this debut novel from Aussie author Nelika McDonald very much. Sarah and Tommy were great characters, but I especially enjoyed Tommy’s character, his strength and determination even at a young age. He showed great courage while missing his father deeply, to keep thoughts of Sarah alive in the town, even though he knew most people weren’t interested. Highly recommended.
May 23, 2016
Not the strongest ending but still a thoroughly enjoyable read.
August 12, 2013
Atmospheric and evocative, The Vale Girl is a cleverly written debut novel from Nelika McDonald comprising mystery, shrewd observation and intriguing characters. I’d heard some good remarks about this one so I went in expecting a good read … and I got it.
The book opens with Sarah Vale, the fifteen-year-old daughter of the town prostitute, being bullied by an arrogant teenage boy and his friends. In some ways it’s nothing new for Sarah, who has always been the child no one was allowed to play with. Lately, the bullying has taken a menacing new turn, with the perpetrator, Cameron, asserting his sexual power (someone’s got to ‘break her in’, he reasons). Only Tommy, Sarah’s long-time friend and also a latchkey kid, cares enough to try to stop things going further.
When Sarah goes missing no one seems particularly worried. Her mother, Susannah, doesn’t even seem to realise Sarah is missing, so it falls to Tommy to report Sarah’s disappearance. He convinces the town’s policeman, Sergeant Henson, to take Sarah’s disappearance seriously and soon an investigation is under way. The response from the town is indifferent, which infuriates Tommy and confounds Henson; he’s disturbed to find the town is more concerned about its upcoming Grevillea Festival to care about the daughter of the ‘town whore’. No one seems to know anything, but both Henson and Tommy believe certain people are holding back from them, including the somewhat strange Graham Knight.
“If you leave no trace, nobody could say later whether you were even there at all.”
Set in the fictional country town of Banville, the story is told from the multiple perspectives, including Sarah’s as a first-person narrative, and Tommy’s, Henson’s and Graham’s as third-person narratives. After Sarah went missing, I started to wonder if this was another book in the vein of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, especially in light of Graham’s strange behaviour – another reviewer on Goodreads has noted the same – but, without spoiling anything, it’s not. McDonald does well to create an atmosphere of menace and foreboding – for much of the book I felt unsettled and unsure about what had (or would) happen to Sarah. It’s subtly done; a gradual feeling of unease that carries through the entire book. Great writing!
One of the things that stood out for me was the depiction of parent-child relationships and the town’s acceptance of them. Through Tommy and Sarah, McDonald has contrasted two forgotten children and absent parent scenarios. Tommy’s father disappears for stretches of time, leaving Tommy to fend for himself, and his mother died years earlier. Tommy’s experience of this is poignant: “He made everyone he loved disappear”. Many of the townsfolk quietly look out for Tommy, slipping him food and so on. It’s different for Sarah. Her mother is physically there, but not emotionally; most of the time she’s drunk and Sarah has taken on the role of caretaker, preparing food, maintaining the house and so on. There’s no doubt the community is aware of Sarah’s plight, but because of who she is – or who her mother is – there’s no compassion thrown her way. Sarah observes this in a matter-of-fact, it-is-how-it-is manner: “But the way they hated my mother and I was quieter, like a low drone of a mosquito following you everywhere you went.” Essentially, Banville is a character in its own right, composed of a community that’s scared and mean at times, and selfish and compassionate by turns; reading this, I found myself frustrated, even angry, with Banville as a whole, rather than individual townsfolk. As I explored the relationships further, and the town’s input (the notion that it takes a community to raise a child was as absent as the parents themselves), I couldn’t help wondering how Sarah and Tommy would fare as adults without stable parent figures – especially Sarah.
The Vale Girl does a fantastic job depicting the small town atmosphere in which everyone knows everyone … but not everything. It’s a clever debut that’s multi-layered and tightly written for the most part (the only thing I queried was the ending, which didn’t quite fit for me). I’m looking forward to more from McDonald and I’d recommend this for anyone who likes engrossing suspense.
The book opens with Sarah Vale, the fifteen-year-old daughter of the town prostitute, being bullied by an arrogant teenage boy and his friends. In some ways it’s nothing new for Sarah, who has always been the child no one was allowed to play with. Lately, the bullying has taken a menacing new turn, with the perpetrator, Cameron, asserting his sexual power (someone’s got to ‘break her in’, he reasons). Only Tommy, Sarah’s long-time friend and also a latchkey kid, cares enough to try to stop things going further.
When Sarah goes missing no one seems particularly worried. Her mother, Susannah, doesn’t even seem to realise Sarah is missing, so it falls to Tommy to report Sarah’s disappearance. He convinces the town’s policeman, Sergeant Henson, to take Sarah’s disappearance seriously and soon an investigation is under way. The response from the town is indifferent, which infuriates Tommy and confounds Henson; he’s disturbed to find the town is more concerned about its upcoming Grevillea Festival to care about the daughter of the ‘town whore’. No one seems to know anything, but both Henson and Tommy believe certain people are holding back from them, including the somewhat strange Graham Knight.
“If you leave no trace, nobody could say later whether you were even there at all.”
Set in the fictional country town of Banville, the story is told from the multiple perspectives, including Sarah’s as a first-person narrative, and Tommy’s, Henson’s and Graham’s as third-person narratives. After Sarah went missing, I started to wonder if this was another book in the vein of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, especially in light of Graham’s strange behaviour – another reviewer on Goodreads has noted the same – but, without spoiling anything, it’s not. McDonald does well to create an atmosphere of menace and foreboding – for much of the book I felt unsettled and unsure about what had (or would) happen to Sarah. It’s subtly done; a gradual feeling of unease that carries through the entire book. Great writing!
One of the things that stood out for me was the depiction of parent-child relationships and the town’s acceptance of them. Through Tommy and Sarah, McDonald has contrasted two forgotten children and absent parent scenarios. Tommy’s father disappears for stretches of time, leaving Tommy to fend for himself, and his mother died years earlier. Tommy’s experience of this is poignant: “He made everyone he loved disappear”. Many of the townsfolk quietly look out for Tommy, slipping him food and so on. It’s different for Sarah. Her mother is physically there, but not emotionally; most of the time she’s drunk and Sarah has taken on the role of caretaker, preparing food, maintaining the house and so on. There’s no doubt the community is aware of Sarah’s plight, but because of who she is – or who her mother is – there’s no compassion thrown her way. Sarah observes this in a matter-of-fact, it-is-how-it-is manner: “But the way they hated my mother and I was quieter, like a low drone of a mosquito following you everywhere you went.” Essentially, Banville is a character in its own right, composed of a community that’s scared and mean at times, and selfish and compassionate by turns; reading this, I found myself frustrated, even angry, with Banville as a whole, rather than individual townsfolk. As I explored the relationships further, and the town’s input (the notion that it takes a community to raise a child was as absent as the parents themselves), I couldn’t help wondering how Sarah and Tommy would fare as adults without stable parent figures – especially Sarah.
The Vale Girl does a fantastic job depicting the small town atmosphere in which everyone knows everyone … but not everything. It’s a clever debut that’s multi-layered and tightly written for the most part (the only thing I queried was the ending, which didn’t quite fit for me). I’m looking forward to more from McDonald and I’d recommend this for anyone who likes engrossing suspense.
July 21, 2022
The end was a bit disappointing but otherwise it was a good book
August 13, 2013
A story of secrets, lies, ugly truths and the ways in which the past haunts the present, The Vale Girl is a stunning debut by Nelika McDonald. When fourteen year old Sarah Vale, the illegitimate daughter of an alcoholic prostitute, goes missing, the residents of Banville are indifferent. In the absence of the small town's compassion, teenage Tommy Johns, determined not lose another person whom he loves, pushes Sergent Henson to investigate.
The narrative shifts between the first person voice of Sarah and the third person viewpoints of Tommy, Sergent Henson and Graham Knight. We learn of Sarah's mother's tragic past, Tommy's absent father and Graham's thwarted love. As the days pass with no sighting of Sarah the investigation reveals the secrets of Banville belied by the gaiety of the impending annual Grevillea Festival.
"The main street of Banville was very pretty, and it was easy to see how visitors could be seduced by her. But it still surprised Henson how few people ever drifted off the tourist trail and into the back streets, where the true heart of Banville was....Where the locals actually lived and ate and fought and played and slept, it was just an ordinary town, plain and dull. And in ordinary towns, there were broken things, ugly things, desolate and deserted things, and people who were all those things too." p59
Tension builds as the fate of Sarah remains unclear. While Henson speculates she may be the victim of a local bully who has seemingly fled town, Tommy comes to suspect Graham, with whom Sarah has never felt comfortable. McDonald has us wavering between our suspicions of these men, questioning their motivations and desperate to find the missing girl we have come to care about.
McDonald's observations of the town and its residents are sharp and insightful, burrowing beneath the appearance of respectability and responsibility. The writing is evocative and the atmosphere unsettling, emphasising the intrigue.
The Vale Girl is a thought provoking study of a community and its outsiders, of parents and their children, of ruined dreams and the desperate grasp of hope. A compelling and impressive debut I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.
June 20, 2018
Really Good. The plot is a little confusing. It's sorta like a rougher Jasper Jones.
October 18, 2013
The Vale Girl is a novel about the teenage daughter of a smalltown prostitute, her disappearance/abduction and subsequent events.
I really loved this book, right up until the "twist" (which I won't spoil), which sort of had me saying 'Really?' Not a very satisfying ending at all, and while I'm sure there were some arty intentions, overall it just comes off more like the author didn't know how to finish her story, which would make sense since this is the author's debut novel I believe.
That said, there's a lot to like about the book. It is very well written (up until the end as I said), and the characters are all very believable. Sarah, the "Vale Girl", and her mother Suzannah in particular struck a chord - with me, at any rate. Possibly since I was the son of a single mother. While my mum isn't a whore (though I've definitely called her worse than that over the years), there is an incredible amount of co-dependence that emerges in the relationship between a single parent and their child, and the book captured that aspect very well, in my opinion.
Definitely not a bad read, and a good start for a new Australian author.
Read for Aussie Readers' September 2013 "New Australian Fiction" Challenge
I really loved this book, right up until the "twist" (which I won't spoil), which sort of had me saying 'Really?' Not a very satisfying ending at all, and while I'm sure there were some arty intentions, overall it just comes off more like the author didn't know how to finish her story, which would make sense since this is the author's debut novel I believe.
That said, there's a lot to like about the book. It is very well written (up until the end as I said), and the characters are all very believable. Sarah, the "Vale Girl", and her mother Suzannah in particular struck a chord - with me, at any rate. Possibly since I was the son of a single mother. While my mum isn't a whore (though I've definitely called her worse than that over the years), there is an incredible amount of co-dependence that emerges in the relationship between a single parent and their child, and the book captured that aspect very well, in my opinion.
Definitely not a bad read, and a good start for a new Australian author.
Read for Aussie Readers' September 2013 "New Australian Fiction" Challenge
March 27, 2015
I found The Vale Girl at my local library and picked it up because of the cover. As soon as I started reading it, it drew me in very quickly. I found the characters easy to connect with, particularly Sarah who is the main character. She is terribly lonely, albeit her one friend in the world, Tommy. I loved Tommy's character. Also incredibly lonely, Tommy is fiercely determined and passionate. The way his character is described made me wonder if he had Aspergers. The small town feel of this story is portrayed very well and for a debut novel, I think the author has done a great job. The only thing that made me rate this book slightly lower than I could have was the ending, which I won't reveal. However, for me, it almost felt like the author didn't know how it was going to end either. The story had the potential for a massive finish but in my opinion just didn't quite make it. Good read overall and would recommend it.
February 15, 2021
'The Vale Girl' by Australian author Nelika McDonald was a rather sad and despairing story set in a small country town where gossip, innuendo, secrets and scandals abounded. The plot is different to many stories I've read lately and for that I am so grateful. The story centres on fifteen-year-old Sarah (mother a prostitute, no father around) and her friendship with fellow outcast Tommy. Early in the story, Sarah goes missing and through the chapters we learn of her hard life, the attitude of the town to her because of her mother, the bullying and threatening teenage boys at school, and the various men and boys who may or may not be involved in her disappearance. There were some heartwarming bits involving the detective who attempts to find her and Tommy, but overall it was unsettling and melancholy. But that's good writing I guess. Certainly looking forward to her next book.
April 22, 2018
I'm finished with The Vale Girl: To explain how good this book was... it was tugging on my conscious, and urging my to pick it back up even while I was away on holiday to cairns!
It's not a very big book but I managed to find time to finish it over the long weekend by sacrificing my precious sleep.
4 Stars. Maybe 4.5
It's not a very big book but I managed to find time to finish it over the long weekend by sacrificing my precious sleep.
4 Stars. Maybe 4.5
September 1, 2021
This is an enjoyable book. Secrets are revealed to us slowly and you realise that you have misjudged many of the key characters. It’s well paced with a satisfying conclusion.
October 19, 2017
This book was OK, I did get bored with it in parts and felt that the last half of the book was rushed.
June 8, 2014
I heard about this book when a Goodreads friend in the UK asked me if I could find a copy for him, as he couldn't get it in the UK - not in hard copy, nor as an e-book. It was 'out of stock' in every bookshop here in NZ, and in a recent trip to Australia, I still couldn't get a copy - not even at the shop that specialised in 'Australian' authors - despite it being by an Australian author?! With such low bookshop support I was dubious at buying it, even though I am in a region approved for purchasing it online at Kobo.com. Fortunately, my library had a copy, so I was curious enough to give it a go, and it duly arrived a couple of days after I ordered it.
And I was VERY pleasantly surprised. I actually really REALLY liked this book. The articulation of childhood friendship turning into awkward teen love, was utterly exquisite. I could feel every uncomfortable, awkward moment, as if I was right back in my 14 year old skin, experiencing the same transition. And there were many passages where I had to grab a friend and read out loud, so I could share this wonderful voice I held in my hands. Some of those passages were long, wonderous paragraphs. Others were those "punch in the guts" one liners that I also love. Like this one ... from Sarah, as she contemplates her mother's decline into alcoholism.....
"You can have darkness by turning off the lights, but you can also have darkness if they are still on and you've drunk half a bottle of vodka in the bath."
Seeing beneath the veneer of a 'quaint' small town, to where real festering, ugly humanity resides was both compelling and heartbreaking. I really cared about a number of these characters. And for someone who is struggling to find time to read these days, I got to the point where I simply HAD to know what had become of Sarah Vale. And I sat up till the wee small hours until I did. It was pretty wonderful to be so absorbed by a book again!!!
I have sent a message to the author, in the hope that she can sort out whatever the deal is with her publishers and the regional restrictions on this book on line, and the painful inability to find it easily on bookshelves for those who love a 'real book', so hopefully, soon, more people will be able to read it. She has a wonderful voice, and I sincerely hope she writes more soon.
And I was VERY pleasantly surprised. I actually really REALLY liked this book. The articulation of childhood friendship turning into awkward teen love, was utterly exquisite. I could feel every uncomfortable, awkward moment, as if I was right back in my 14 year old skin, experiencing the same transition. And there were many passages where I had to grab a friend and read out loud, so I could share this wonderful voice I held in my hands. Some of those passages were long, wonderous paragraphs. Others were those "punch in the guts" one liners that I also love. Like this one ... from Sarah, as she contemplates her mother's decline into alcoholism.....
"You can have darkness by turning off the lights, but you can also have darkness if they are still on and you've drunk half a bottle of vodka in the bath."
Seeing beneath the veneer of a 'quaint' small town, to where real festering, ugly humanity resides was both compelling and heartbreaking. I really cared about a number of these characters. And for someone who is struggling to find time to read these days, I got to the point where I simply HAD to know what had become of Sarah Vale. And I sat up till the wee small hours until I did. It was pretty wonderful to be so absorbed by a book again!!!
I have sent a message to the author, in the hope that she can sort out whatever the deal is with her publishers and the regional restrictions on this book on line, and the painful inability to find it easily on bookshelves for those who love a 'real book', so hopefully, soon, more people will be able to read it. She has a wonderful voice, and I sincerely hope she writes more soon.
September 22, 2013
I just had to read this novel once I saw the cover. It is seriously one of the best examples of cover art used to sell a book that I have seen. The story is about a young girl, the Vale girl, who goes missing but no one seems to care. She has been invisible to the townspeople where she lived because she is bullied and also 'the prostitute's daughter.' But she stares out at us from the cover, front and centre and up close so the reader can't ignore her. This is her story as she tells it.
When Sarah Vale goes missing, it is her one friend and fellow misfit, Tommy, who raises the alarm. He and the local policeman begin the search for this girl no one else seems to bother about. Tommy helps tell her story and slowly many small town secrets and entanglements are revealed and we find that some people are not who they seem.
The novel reminded me of Jasper Jones while I was reading it with the claustrophobic small town setting and its secrets lying just underneath the surface. However, it isn't as complex or pack the same punch as Jasper Jones.
Having said that, the suspense created by the story made it hard to put down until I had found out what had happened to Sarah. The traditional parent-child relationship is turned on its head here and a darker side of small-town living is explored. For a debut novel, it is a success and Nelika McDonald is an author to look out for in the future.
When Sarah Vale goes missing, it is her one friend and fellow misfit, Tommy, who raises the alarm. He and the local policeman begin the search for this girl no one else seems to bother about. Tommy helps tell her story and slowly many small town secrets and entanglements are revealed and we find that some people are not who they seem.
The novel reminded me of Jasper Jones while I was reading it with the claustrophobic small town setting and its secrets lying just underneath the surface. However, it isn't as complex or pack the same punch as Jasper Jones.
Having said that, the suspense created by the story made it hard to put down until I had found out what had happened to Sarah. The traditional parent-child relationship is turned on its head here and a darker side of small-town living is explored. For a debut novel, it is a success and Nelika McDonald is an author to look out for in the future.
September 16, 2013
Thank you Nelika McDonald and Pam Macmillan Australia for providing me with this engaging novel.
A solid debut performance by author Nelika McDonald. I really enjoyed this fast paced contemporary novel that features astute character development and brilliant observational qualities depicting small town middle class Australia in the 1980’s. As Edmund Burke is reputed to have said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”, and this theme is very evident and relevant in this narrative. Neighbours and community members ignore ongoing domestic violence, bullying is prevalent in the behaviours of children and adults alike and rumour and innuendo prescribe how individuals are perceived and treated. Thankfully we have several heroes in this book who do not sit idly by and let the past totally dictate the future.
This is a multilayered sensitive narrative that is an introspective analysis of contemporary attitudes largely still relevant today; of family histories and values, of secrets and lies, of children exchanging roles with the adults in their lives, a story that discusses the meaning of love and family and a wonderful coming of age narrative. This narrative is so many things but most of all it is an impressive, engaging debut novel.
A solid debut performance by author Nelika McDonald. I really enjoyed this fast paced contemporary novel that features astute character development and brilliant observational qualities depicting small town middle class Australia in the 1980’s. As Edmund Burke is reputed to have said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”, and this theme is very evident and relevant in this narrative. Neighbours and community members ignore ongoing domestic violence, bullying is prevalent in the behaviours of children and adults alike and rumour and innuendo prescribe how individuals are perceived and treated. Thankfully we have several heroes in this book who do not sit idly by and let the past totally dictate the future.
This is a multilayered sensitive narrative that is an introspective analysis of contemporary attitudes largely still relevant today; of family histories and values, of secrets and lies, of children exchanging roles with the adults in their lives, a story that discusses the meaning of love and family and a wonderful coming of age narrative. This narrative is so many things but most of all it is an impressive, engaging debut novel.
August 9, 2013
This is a debut? Seriously? I thought the characters and story were very well written - the writing is just beautiful, evocative, reflective, real, compelling. I loved the observations the author has made about small Australian towns, and the way she writes places you there, easily, so you are part of the story almost.
The story itself is not complex and thankfully didn't develop into something really sinister (for a while I thought we were going down "The Lovely Bones" path!). Sarah Vale is the teenage daughter of the town prostitute. She has gone missing but who really cares about her anyway? We care. And young Tommy cares. He's in love with her. He and the local town sergeant go looking. And it's in the search we see the town for what it really is, we see the people for who they are, and things slowly unravel so we see them more clearly.
I found the book intriguing, partly because of the beautiful writing style, and the other because I wanted to know what happened to Sarah. Sarah herself is in the narrative so we get to know her story, what she thinks and feels, but where is she? What's happened to her!? We have to know. Because we find ourselves caring for this girl.
I still can't believe it's a debut!
The story itself is not complex and thankfully didn't develop into something really sinister (for a while I thought we were going down "The Lovely Bones" path!). Sarah Vale is the teenage daughter of the town prostitute. She has gone missing but who really cares about her anyway? We care. And young Tommy cares. He's in love with her. He and the local town sergeant go looking. And it's in the search we see the town for what it really is, we see the people for who they are, and things slowly unravel so we see them more clearly.
I found the book intriguing, partly because of the beautiful writing style, and the other because I wanted to know what happened to Sarah. Sarah herself is in the narrative so we get to know her story, what she thinks and feels, but where is she? What's happened to her!? We have to know. Because we find ourselves caring for this girl.
I still can't believe it's a debut!
September 26, 2013
I loved this book! The story of the disappearance of 15 year old Sarah Vale, the self-sufficient (as she has to be) daughter of the local small town prostitute. The townspeople of Banville have no interest in her disappearance, the town's tourist attracting Grevillea Festival being more important to the community at large. Only best friend Tommy, and the local policeman Sgt Henson are determined to find her.
For a debut novel this is pretty impressive, every character mentioned is fleshed out sufficiently to feel like you almost know them. And the young model on the cover of the book really works - she is the Sarah that you see as you read. I look forward to the author Nelika McDonald's second novel. 4 stars.
For a debut novel this is pretty impressive, every character mentioned is fleshed out sufficiently to feel like you almost know them. And the young model on the cover of the book really works - she is the Sarah that you see as you read. I look forward to the author Nelika McDonald's second novel. 4 stars.
February 7, 2017
Small towns and their residents are well known for ‘community spirit’ and selfless inclinations.
When disaster strikes everyone within the community takes up the cause!!
This is apparently not the case in Banville “A charming tourist town, dedicated to filiopietistic homage” and highlighted when Sarah disappears. Banville has an underbelly of denial, avoidance and self-interest. I particularly enjoyed sharing the intimacy of the main characters thoughts. It brought home how delicately robust & courageous young people can be in situations which are deemed ‘not the norm’. Definitely worth a read
When disaster strikes everyone within the community takes up the cause!!
This is apparently not the case in Banville “A charming tourist town, dedicated to filiopietistic homage” and highlighted when Sarah disappears. Banville has an underbelly of denial, avoidance and self-interest. I particularly enjoyed sharing the intimacy of the main characters thoughts. It brought home how delicately robust & courageous young people can be in situations which are deemed ‘not the norm’. Definitely worth a read
September 3, 2013
3.5-4 stars
This book has been included in the top 50 books you can't put down and it certainly lives up to that tag. I started reading it in the bath and topped it up many times so I could keep reading. The writer constructed a small Australian town with such realism you felt like you knew were there. The characters were not very likeable but very real. The chapters were all narrated through the eyes of different characters and it was a bit hard to follow at times.
If you like Jasper Jones then you should read this book.
I received this book as part of the First reads program.
This book has been included in the top 50 books you can't put down and it certainly lives up to that tag. I started reading it in the bath and topped it up many times so I could keep reading. The writer constructed a small Australian town with such realism you felt like you knew were there. The characters were not very likeable but very real. The chapters were all narrated through the eyes of different characters and it was a bit hard to follow at times.
If you like Jasper Jones then you should read this book.
I received this book as part of the First reads program.
April 22, 2014
I loved this book. Sensitive, haunting, evocative, gently suspenseful.
This is one book you can judge by its cover - the haunting image of the missing girl, with her impassive, freckled face peering out hooked my heart, and all the more as I got to 'know' her through the book.
The rich language invited my mind to float along with the words - my favourite quote: "Everyone in Banville had a little tag like that at the end of their name, trailing after it like the tail of a kite." (p.21)
Thank you Nelika McDonald for hours of pure delight spent in the pages of this book.
This is one book you can judge by its cover - the haunting image of the missing girl, with her impassive, freckled face peering out hooked my heart, and all the more as I got to 'know' her through the book.
The rich language invited my mind to float along with the words - my favourite quote: "Everyone in Banville had a little tag like that at the end of their name, trailing after it like the tail of a kite." (p.21)
Thank you Nelika McDonald for hours of pure delight spent in the pages of this book.
August 7, 2015
This is a fabulous book in the vein of Jasper Jones. The lyrical writing has you captivated from the first page. It's one you just can't put down!
December 10, 2015
Good read, not too many characters basically a girl with a very average life disappears and nobody is very concerned only one boy she has befriended.
January 9, 2015
It was a nice easy read, good twist at the end.. but good...
November 24, 2019
Was surprised at the end! Genuinely thought I knew what was going on, but then it took a turn. I liked the ending. Although one other thing could have been resolved, but that's ok. A good read for an op shop pick up and will definitely be thinking about who I give it to next. A worthy read, and a good Australian read.
June 2, 2021
Twist at the end caught me by surprise in this story set in an Australian town. Quite a bleak story, with many adults making irresponsible choices that effect their children. More details and descriptions needed, felt like I was kept at arms length.
Pop sugar reading challenge 2021- a locked room mystery
Pop sugar reading challenge 2021- a locked room mystery
July 28, 2025
Although the subject matter was tough in places, this book differs from a previous read in that there was hope. The policeman had compassion and a conscience, and threads of love were woven through the story.
The main characters did their best in challenging circumstances, and showed great maturity despite their ages. A good read indeed.
The main characters did their best in challenging circumstances, and showed great maturity despite their ages. A good read indeed.
April 9, 2019
Portrays small town life well. Your heart breaks for Sarah and Tommy and those discarded by others.
February 6, 2021
Good writing .Weak ending.
May 14, 2022
3.7 April. Kept me interested
February 11, 2024
I gave it a 3.5 star
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