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

[Christina Rose]

In our world today we hear of abuse around the world, this book has captured that subject everyone dances around. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars because I can relate to Natalie and know the feelings she is dealing with. I liked "Ironbark Hill" because of the issue it placed inside this family and just how one can move forward with living their life. It sends the message to anyone being abused to stay strong and fight back.

That's definitely a message that some people unfortunately need to hear.

[Christina Rose]

Thank you so much for all these comments. I almost feel like I have read the book. It sounds like a very inspiration, moving book. And I always love books with strong female leads!

Strong female leads are always a plus for me, too.

[Christina Rose]

I think the plot and characters were written well. I only cared for the main character, Natalie, the other characters didn't have much in redeeming charateristics. The mother was disappointing in her role. Her daughter was so dedicated to her and supported her in the end, when her mother was not protecting her while she was vulnerable. But this shows the relationship between an abused person and the abuser. The mother shut down and the children suffered. This continues to happen in today's society. This could be an eye opener for the priviledged who never had to deal with issues such as this. I think this is a good book to recommend for young adults and older teens to relate to ideals they may be facing.

I've read similar thoughts from other reviewers about the characters of Natalie and her mother. It seems to be the consensus
Thank you for your insight. This book may very well serve as an eye-opener for some.

[Christina Rose]

This book was a tough one to read because of all the emotional weight. I thought it was excellent.

Emotional subjects like those discussed in this book aren't always easy to tackle. It sounds like the author did well, though.

[Christina Rose]

I really enjoyed reading this book. The writing is so eloquent and almost poetic. The plight of Natalie to rise up against poverty, abuse and avenging her dead father is so powerful. I really liked that Natalie is such a strong character and keeps her head high even when she gets continuously beat down. There really wasn't anything I didn't like about the book. The book was very emotionally charged through and kept me interested. Easily one of the best books I have read this year.

It sounds like this book really met, and possibly exceeded, your expectations. I'm looking forward to tackling it as soon as I'm able.

[Christina Rose]

This book for sure had me stepping out of my genre comfort zone, but I was glad to.

It's always great to read books that stretch us a bit in terms of our comfort; I think sometimes we readers dig down into our favorite genres so far that we miss great books in different genres!

I agree. That's one of the things I enjoy most on this site; the exposure to books we would normally pass over.

[Christina Rose]

I just finished this book, and thought it was a good read. I felt like I really knew Natalie after going through the life-changing events with her and watching her grow and mature. I will be interested in reading other books by Jennie Linnane, and would recommend this one to others. That said, it all went a bit fast for me at the end. Would have liked there to be more substance in between what occurred with Alex and the end.

It's good to hear you'd be interested in reading other books written by this author. Someone else mentioned the abrupt ending as well. Thanks for your thoughts.

[Christina Rose]

This was my first review and I gave it 3 out of 4 stars. After finishing my review and then reading other reviews, I lean toward a 4. The writer is a great author. There was a lot of substance to the story, and she didn't leave loose ends. All of my questions were answered. And while she made some choices not everyone would like, she made it clear why the choices were made so they were understandable.

I'm glad that you're open to the opinions of others. Sometimes I'll find in the reading of other reviews, that there was an element I misunderstood. This can absolutely change my mind about a rating on occasion.

[Christina Rose]

I have read around 5 reviews about the book so I can fully understand what it is about. I is now a book I want to read and I just added it on my shelf. I am not sure if my personal experience is what has drawn me towards the book but I feel I can relate to it and reading it will be inspiring for me.

I hope you enjoy the book, and that it is indeed inspiring for you.

[laban123]

the book is entertaining,loved the storyline,i would give it a five star rate

[KatrinaP]

I agree. That's one of the things I enjoy most on this site; the exposure to books we would normally pass over.

Me too! I read a lot of fantasy but had never read a comedic fantasy, and I just recently read and reviewed The Fish Wielder for this site; I had never even heard of this book or the author, and I may never have had it not been for this site, and I absolutely loved the book! It's easy to get so comfortable in a genre that you overlook anything new or different, but this site really pushes you to take chances on new books, and so far for me it has really paid off.

[rs1977]

The story conveys an important message about abuse,
Although I did not like the narration and the writing style,
I would concur that the story reflects the day-to-day happenings
in the society that can be seen in many instances. But I
have my own reservations about the book being the 'Book of
the Month'.

[marcmoise2300]

Better than expected, I think a lot of girls will relate to Natalie, Definitely going to recommend this book to more people.

[Elizabeth Pass]

I didn't like this book at all. It casually displays violence, murder, and adultery without real consequences. Often, it even showed these things as good responses to undesirable behavior. It was also really hard to read since the narration was so different from the dialogue. The author used apostrophes instead of quotation marks but then used a lot of additional apostrophes in the slang. I liked the cow and how that storyline sections off the book between beginning, middle, and end. I will not be recommending this book to anyone and don't understand how it was voted book of the month.

[alexandratriona]

The book was okay, but a bit too depressing for me. However, you do have to admire the tenacity of Natalie. Overall, I would recommend it to others, even though it personally was not what I prefer.