Jacaranda Snow

by Catherine Greer

'We're so lucky,' said Gran. `We've just enough for two.'

Jess and Gran have always made the best of everything. When there's not much for dinner, they cook oodles of noodles. When there's no cake for birthdays, they toast marshmallows on the stove. When it snows in the mountains, Jess longs to go. But there's no extra money for a holiday this year. So Jess finds a way to see the most amazing snow of all.

Jacaranda Snow is about a family that lives with plenty of love and optimism. It's a beautiful growth mindset book.

32 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2018

About the author

Hello, I'm Catherine Greer. Thank you for being here, and for taking the time and care to share your thoughts on the books that I write with love and put out into the world. If you're a reader and / or a writer, you'll know that it takes years to write and bring a book into the world -- and our greatest hope is to find readers who enjoy resonate with a story.

My debut YA novel was sophisticated and felt very Atwood-esque, based on her compelling poem "Siren Song". I'm sorry that I didn't redeem the main character, Annie, who is an unreliable narrator and also a girl living with quite a lot of pain. I love her still, and all she went through in Love, Lie, Repeat.

My new novel is for adult women like me. It's called The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe, and I poured everything I am into this book. Baking, recipes, community, love, grit, determination and a willingness to keep going...no matter what the odds are. If you love UpLit or Feel Good Fiction, you might love this one. If you're a crime or thriller reader, or want to read on the dark side, it's probably not one for you.

But if you love to curl up in bed and read about a spirited woman who wins...and who learns to fall in love with HERSELF, then you might just love The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe. Please do try the family recipes in the book. They are all fantastic...my favourites are the chocolate cake and the classic carrot cake. And the cinnamon buns! You'll see quite a lot of readers making these recipes on Instagram, and I've loved seeing that.

If you want to hear from me every week, I write a free, upbeat and simple Sunday newsletter at LoveOurAge dot com.

Thank you for being here. Writers want to share their stories and their hearts with the world. I hope you feel that my books are "for you". If you want to share a critique of what I could be doing better, please do email me at my website. I'm a human learning how to improve, like all the rest of us, and probably a lot like you. Thank you for your support of my work in the world. Catherine x

Reviews

[Jocelyn Hee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about hope and positivity. Water colour illustrations are just gorgeous. An overall feel-good book. The author's notes on Jacaranda trees was interesting reading as was the nice touch of a musical score composed by Alexander Lau enclosed in the end pages.

Music can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WL6U...

[Kate Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully done. Extremely well written. The ‘not enough’ instead of mentioning money or time etc, the ‘splashy’ etc The pictures are beautiful. We have jacarandas near our house so my girls love this and it’s been used for character day too!

[Juju · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to use to teach growth mindset to students. Use it with Educalme classroom!

[Ginger Beer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. A lovely story about creativity in the face of limited resources and being grateful for what we do have.