Our Favorites for 2018:
Only Killers and Thieves
by Paul Howarth
Having lived in Queensland, Australia, I was attracted to this novel by it’s locale. As riveting as it was disconcerting, I won’t forget the story anytime soon. The Australian treatment of Aboriginals was every bit as painful as our treatment of Native Americans and continues in present day. Howarth’s depiction of Outback Queensland is spot-on and could very well take place in the current time.
Publisher’s Marketing:
Two brothers are exposed to the brutal realities of life and the seductive cruelty of power in this riveting debut novel – a story of savagery and race, injustice and honor, set in the untamed frontier of 1880s Australia – reminiscent of Philipp Meyer’s The Son and the novels of Cormac McCarthy.
An epic tale of revenge and survival, Only Killers and Thieves is a gripping and utterly transporting debut, bringing to vivid life a colonial Australia that bears a striking resemblance to the American Wild West in its formative years.
It is 1885, and a crippling drought threatens to ruin the McBride family. Their land is parched, their cattle starving. When the rain finally comes, it is a miracle that renews their hope for survival. But returning home from an afternoon swimming at a remote waterhole filled by the downpour, fourteen-year-old Tommy and sixteen-year-old Billy meet with a shocking tragedy.
Thirsting for vengeance against the man they believe has wronged them–their former Aboriginal stockman–the distraught brothers turn to the ruthless and cunning John Sullivan, the wealthiest landowner in the region and their father’s former employer. Sullivan gathers a posse led by the dangerous and fascinating Inspector Edmund Noone and his Queensland Native Police, an infamous arm of British colonial power charged with the “dispersal” of indigenous Australians to “protect” white settler rights. As they ride across the barren outback in pursuit, their harsh and horrifying journey will have a devastating impact on Tommy, tormenting him for the rest of his life – and will hold enduring consequences for a young country struggling to come into its own.
Recreating a period of Australian and British history as evocative and violent as the American frontier era, Only Killers and Thieves is an unforgettable story of family, guilt, empire, race, manhood, and faith that combines the insightfulness of Philipp Meyer’s The Son, the atmospheric beauty of Amanda Coplin’s The Orchardist, and the raw storytelling power of Ian McGuire’s The North Water.
Release Date: Feb. 6th
She Persisted Around the World
by Chelsea Clinton
I loved She Persisted, and this book looks to be just as great.
Publisher’s Marketing info:
The companion to Chelsea Clinton & Alexandra Boiger’s #1 New York Times bestseller, She Persisted. Perfect for tiny activists, mini feminists and little kids who are ready to take on the world.
Women around the world have long dreamed big, even when they’ve been told their dreams didn’t matter. They’ve spoken out, risen up and fought for what’s right, even when they’ve been told to be quiet. Whether in science, the arts, sports or activism, women and girls throughout history have been determined to break barriers and change the status quo. They haven’t let anyone get in their way and have helped us better understand our world and what’s possible.
In this companion book to She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World, Chelsea Clinton introduces readers to a group of thirteen incredible women who have shaped history all across the globe. She Persisted Around the World is a book for everyone who has ever aimed high and been told to step down, for everyone who has ever raised their voice and been told to quiet down, and for everyone who has ever felt small, unimportant or unworthy. Alexandra Boiger’s vibrant artwork accompanies this inspiring text that shows readers of all ages that, no matter what obstacles come their way, they have the power to persist and succeed.
This book features: Marie Curie, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Viola Desmond, Sissi Lima do Amor, Leymah Gbowee, Caroline Herschel, Wangari Maathai, Aisha Rateb, J.K. Rowling, Kate Sheppard, Yuan Yuan Tan, Mary Verghese and Malala Yousafzai.
Release Date: March 6th
The Feather Thief
by Kirk Wallace Johnson
My personal review:
Having some knowledge about fly fishing and fly tying is no preparation for Kirk Wallace Johnson’s Feather Thief. As captivating as it is disturbing, Kirk’s book starts as a theft of rare bird feathers from the Trist museum–with its perpetrator getting away scot-free and transports us to the underbelly of what was once a “gentleman’s” occupation. Hopefully, the world of salmon fly tying is exposed now by Kirk’s book, and by the revelation of this world’s lack of compunction in stealing priceless rare feathers, as a club of thieves, illegal traffickers, and obsessionists. This is no longer a gentleman’s sport.
Release Date: April 24th
