[book review] Carolyn Denman - Songlines

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After a month I finally finished Songlines by Carolyn Denman. And I've one word: brilliant!

But let me first tell you how it came to me reading this. 

Big shoutout to the wonderful @OdysseyBooks on Twitter for sending me the e-book to read. They are a small publishing house in New Zealand and support new and unknown authors. If you want please visit their Twitter under mentioned @ above, or their website odysseybooks.com.au. 

I started to read it and loved it immediately but you all know that I truly struggle with time at the moment since I'm working 7-days a week now. Luckily I'm sick for the second week (back problems) and I finally managed to continue with some books I had started. Also Songlines. I read it in one sitting yesterday and I'm curious of how the story will continue since there are 3 more books at the moment of "The Sentinels of Eden" series by Carolyn Denman. 

Carolyn Denman grew up in Melbourne and completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne. Writing came to her much later. So nothing as we expect a writer to be, don't we?

If you want to find out more, please visit her website and blog here. 

"There's always a choice."´

 

Songlines is the first book in the series and starts with a young 17-year old girl called Lainie who's in her last year of high school and about to have her exams very soon. She lives on a sheep farm outside the town called Nalong. Her best friend Noah is always by her side and they support each other where they can, yet there are not a couple as everyone suspects. Both are looking forward to finish school and head to the city and to university together. 

She was raised by her aunt Lily since her parents had died when she was very young. She's an ordinary teenage girl until things change with the arrival of the coal seam gas company Kolsom. Lainie starts to have visions about things that are happening and hears a sad music in her dreams that seems to come from the river. There's also a huge problem she has to deal with at school: a boy called Bane who's been bullying her for years. 

Things get even more insane for her when one of the elders of the local Aboriginal community and the helping hand for her and her aunt on the farm, Harry Doolan, tell her the story about a secret place and how she's involved in all this. Harry tells her they have to protect the caves on their premises and the secret that comes with them. A secret that they had to protect with their lives if necessary. Lainie has a hard time to believe it and things get even more turbulent when Harry is going to the caves to get the help they so desperately need. 

Meanwhile after exams, she got saved by Bane (originally named Ben) and she starts to find out more about his behavior towards her and why things happen as they do. After a while and some talking, he agrees to help Lainie and her Aunt on the farm until they start to sort things between them and the their strange bond out. With finding out more about the the secrets Harry had kept all those years, her hopes and dreams also get shattered. Yet Lainie learns to deal with the threats and confusion she still feels about her heritage and her past. Mostly with the help of her new friends. Together the four of them try to find a way to save Harry, find out more about the secrets and how to protect it from the world and stop Kolsom with trying to get a hold of their land to mine it. Soon the four friends start to realize that their simple life is not so simple anymore and things could get dangerous for all of them including the ones they love.

"We belong to the earth, Lainie-Bug. We were sent here in human form for a reason. If you don’t know what to do, then just be human."

The whole book ends in a whirlwind of emotion, adventure, and an unforeseeable story line. And to be honest the end completely broke my heart. It was an interesting and exciting read, not only for young adults/teenagers but also for us big children. I loved that the story was a mixture of bible stories and old Aboriginal tales. Even if I've never been to Australia, I deeply felt connected with the tales and felt like I knew exactly where I was when I read the book. I also loved the character development of our main characters and their change of their friendship throughout the story. 

I'm truly looking forward to read the other books - also available as paperbacks! And to find out more about Lainie's story. So if you're interested in something magical, romantic, adventurous and all in all thrilling to read, please give Songlines a go and try it out. 

If you've read Songlines feel free to share your experience about it in the comments of on my Twitter. I'd like to hear how you guys liked it.