Review by crb7977 -- Ironbark Hill by Jennie Linnane

[crb7977]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Ironbark Hill" by Jennie Linnane.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Ironbark Hill by Jennie Linnane is a book about a girl, Natalie, telling us the story of the year that she turned 16. It is her most memorable year and home life with her abusive step-father seems to have hit an all time low. Natalie navigates through this while trying to protect her mother, sisters, and mentally handicapped brother. Natalie faces discrimination from her classmates about her bi-racial heritage and unanswered questions she has about her father’s death. Up to this year, these questions have not been welcomed and she continues to struggle coming to grips with his death and the secrecy surrounding it.

This is the year that Natalie has decided that enough is enough. In an effort to get more money for his drinking habit, Natalie’s step-father decides that he wants to sell her prize heifer. She will have none of this though and takes steps to ensure that he will not be able to do this. For Natalie’s safety, her mother has secured a position for her with a prominent household in town and it is there that she learns that she has a knack for painting. Her employer’s wife, an art teacher, takes Natalie under her wing. It is while working in this household that she will experience her first love bringing about another set of challenges she will face.

I give this book a 4 out of 4. This book has been extremely well edited and what I like best is that the author, Jennie Linnane, does such a great job describing the places and situations in the book. She brings to life the hot dry summers and the rains that come that flood the land; the smell of books in her employer’s library; and the city lights and sounds from the overlook of the city. The gripping emotions of joy, sorrow, hatred, and fear that Natalie feels, are brought to the forefront.

While there was nothing specific I disliked about this book, I feel pained that the trials that Natalie has to go through really happen. It is through these trials that she becomes the woman she is meant to be. As a person who has never had to experience these specific things, it is hard to imagine the feelings of despair she would have felt. I do know however, that these types of things happen everyday in the world and something can be learned from the perseverance of the characters.

Ironbark Hill brings to life the trials in life that we hope our own children will never have to go through, to not have to make the same decisions that Natalie had to make. The author brings this story to life through her descriptive storytelling and in a way that is easy to understand and follow. I found this to be a very good read and one that I didn’t want to put down. I would recommend this book to any adult as some themes are not appropriate for younger ages.

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Ironbark Hill
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[green2read]

The themes and ideas presented in this review have a great interest to me because of the years I spent teaching and my own interest in art. Although my students were younger (12-14), their life stories had quite a few obstacles in common with Natalie. This should be an interesting book to read. I will definitely need to read the "adult" themes mentioned, because my experience with my students make me wonder what could possibly be more "adult" than some of their experiences.