Overall rating and opinion of "Ironbark Hill" by Jennie Linnane

[Amanda Nixon]

I have just voted for this book as the April book of the month. I really liked the role that Natalie played in the story. She is indeed such a strong character.

I agree! I love that this book had such a strong female lead. That is so hard to find.

[maggiechap]

I haven't finished it and I'm about half way through but I love the language of the book and how the author describes everything. I found the word flow and narrative style both beautifully creative and at times distracting. The way the author crafted the story was unique and brilliant. I definitely plan on giving the boo a 4 star review and adding it to my recommended reading list on my blog.

[ADunham]

I could not honestly get very involved in this story. The plot moved to slowly and other than showing how much a person can truly overcome it did not seem to have a real point. However, the characters were well developed. Each had their own way of speaking and were easily distinguishable from one another which I loved. I also have to say that, while I did not enjoy it very much, it was quite well written and there was enough foreshadowing to keep me interested to read until the end. My main complaint would be that the scenes where any type of real action were involved came and went before I had even realized they had occurred. It tended to be a bit anti-climactic in that respect.

[Slevasse]

This book for sure had me stepping out of my genre comfort zone, but I was glad to.
Natalie is a pretty relatable character. She's shy and quiet but is buzzing with life. She doesn't see the beauty everyone else see's in her at first, but as the year progresses, she begins to see herself as the beautiful young woman she is.
The ending of the story was kind of expected. (I won't say anymore...spoilers)
The author really captures the scenery very well. I felt that I was standing there in the story with the characters.
Overall, it was a good book. I probably wouldn't read it again, just because it didn't resonate very strongly with me. I would, however, recommend it to others to read because it was pretty good.

[Christina Rose]

I thought the book was very good. I feel so much sympathy for the main character, and hope she's ok. I will definitely recommend this book to other people, because of the excellent personification of the characters.

It's always great when the characters truly come alive in a book. I am yet to start this one, but plan to this weekend. I'm glad it was good enough to recommend to others.

[Christina Rose]

It's a great story. Natalia is a young flawless girl with dreams and hope. A girl who was trying to be there for her mother and siblings. Why didn't her mother take upon that role and responsibility to be there for Natalie and her siblings instead. I will definitely recommend this book to other people, because it relates to the lives of both teens and adults.

It's not always easy for a book to relate to multiple generations. I'm glad this one was able to do that for you. I look forward to starting it this weekend.

[maggiechap]

The first thing that really stuck out with me was the way that Linnane used language in her story. It was unique, classy and fresh. I found myself just sitting with certain sentences for a couple minutes to take them in. So many times I read books that try to use language like this, but they often fail. The sentences are clunky and it sounds like the author is trying to hard, but Linnane is the exact opposite and it's the one thing I enjoyed most about this book and is the number one reason I can't wait to finish.

[Christina Rose]

I thought the book was decent but not good enough to be a book of the month. I liked the character of Natalie in how strong she was but I didn't really care for the turnout of the book. Natalie was the only character that I truly cared about. I don't think I'll recommend this book to anyone.

That's too bad! I'm glad you could still find a character to care about, even though the book did not meet your expectations.

[Christina Rose]

The book is an inspirational story for the young and old, I love and care so much for Natalie whose struggles and hardworking skills were just to take care of her beloved mother. that's the beauty of the heart of a female child to the parents. all the settings and plotting is perfectly put in place here.
what I dislike so much here is where her mother wasn't there for her as well. I think she would have done better in this book by transferring her care to her daughter as well no matter the circumstances.
I strongly recommend this book to everyone out there, there's always a lesson to be learnt from this inspirational piece

It sounds like you really enjoyed the book. It's too bad the mother didn't play a more positive role. I look forward to starting this book soon.

[Christina Rose]

I have just voted for this book as the April book of the month. I really liked the role that Natalie played in the story. She is indeed such a strong character.

It's great that you enjoyed this book enough to vote for it. I love when a story includes a strong female character, and I look forward to reading this one soon.

[Christina Rose]

I felt very intrigued by the main character and was definitely able to empathize due to the good writing. I would recommend this book to others.

An intriguing and relatable main character is always helpful
I'm glad the writing was also up to par.

[Christina Rose]

I have just voted for this book as the April book of the month. I really liked the role that Natalie played in the story. She is indeed such a strong character.

I agree! I love that this book had such a strong female lead. That is so hard to find.

Strong female leads are an important aspect for me, as well. It's good to hear this book has that covered

[Christina Rose]

I haven't finished it and I'm about half way through but I love the language of the book and how the author describes everything. I found the word flow and narrative style both beautifully creative and at times distracting. The way the author crafted the story was unique and brilliant. I definitely plan on giving the boo a 4 star review and adding it to my recommended reading list on my blog.

This makes me look forward to diving into this book over the weekend. Thanks!

[Christina Rose]

I could not honestly get very involved in this story. The plot moved to slowly and other than showing how much a person can truly overcome it did not seem to have a real point. However, the characters were well developed. Each had their own way of speaking and were easily distinguishable from one another which I loved. I also have to say that, while I did not enjoy it very much, it was quite well written and there was enough foreshadowing to keep me interested to read until the end. My main complaint would be that the scenes where any type of real action were involved came and went before I had even realized they had occurred. It tended to be a bit anti-climactic in that respect.

That's too bad about the plot and action scenes. Good characters can often save a book, though. I'm glad you could find something to like

[Christina Rose]

This book for sure had me stepping out of my genre comfort zone, but I was glad to.
Natalie is a pretty relatable character. She's shy and quiet but is buzzing with life. She doesn't see the beauty everyone else see's in her at first, but as the year progresses, she begins to see herself as the beautiful young woman she is.
The ending of the story was kind of expected. (I won't say anymore...spoilers)
The author really captures the scenery very well. I felt that I was standing there in the story with the characters.
Overall, it was a good book. I probably wouldn't read it again, just because it didn't resonate very strongly with me. I would, however, recommend it to others to read because it was pretty good.

It's good to step out of our zones every now and then. Natalie sounds like a strong character, and one that I'll enjoy reading about.