ARA Review by Janeen Myers of Ironbark Hill

[Janeen Myers]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Ironbark Hill.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Ironbark Hill[/]
Review by Janeen Myers

Ironbark Hill[/], published in 2017, is the first in the Ironbark Hill Saga series of three books by Jennie Linnane. The author, who is a native Australian, writes about her land and its people in novels, short stories, and children’s books. Ironbark Hill begins with the adult Natalie Chapman looking back on her sixteenth birthday. Natalie dreamed of becoming an art teacher, quite an ambitious plan for someone born with aboriginal blood and no realistic hopes of attending college. Her story is one of survival and victory over poverty and cruelty from those who used her yet underestimated her resilience and tenacity.
Jennie Linnane’s characters are easy to visualize, and they come alive in the story. Natalie’s mother, Mum, walks a rocky path around tension and rage in her home. Mediating between her husband Alex and their children – two of whom are hers from a previous marriage – keeps her constantly on edge. She has lost her beauty and vitality trying to keep peace among all the parties.

Alex, Natalie’s stepfather, is like a storm, building in the distance, always threatening to move in and rain down turmoil on the family. Tension rises throughout the story as Alex’s fury increases, directed especially toward Natalie. He’s consumed by jealousy that seems to come from a dark unknown source: he shows her no civility.

Although not a major character, the handsome Bruce Glover, Natalie’s employer’s husband, is a catalyst in the story. Besides Natalie’s mother, he is the only person who acknowledges Natalie’s beauty and goodness.
Readers are drawn into Natalie’s story told in her own voice. We appreciate her hopes and goals that often seem unrealistic to those around her. Dark, beautiful, independent, she struggles with the cruelty of her stepfather and the sexual magnetism of Bruce Glover. She wants to escape them both.

I believe Jennie Linnane has nailed the characters and their motivations, and the setting is visual and authentic. But this is Natalie’s tale to tell. She is creative, ambitious, and practical. Encouraged by her mother, she seeks out ways to earn her own money, and as she grows from an adolescent into a young woman, we see her charm in not knowing how beautiful she has become. She continues the routines of her life – her chores, looking after her younger brother Joey and their Grandpa, the companionship she has with her mother – and when Bruce Glover comes on to her, she is breathless. It is then that she reaches out for the warmth and affection she has not had at home.

I give Ironbark Hill[i/] 4 out of 5 stars. Stepfamilies and racial issues always concern us, and these are well presented in this novel. The characters are fully developed and believable – we care about what happens to them. However, often the very compelling story becomes sidetracked by the author’s ponderous writing style. For example, “Mum flopped back into her chair with a weariness that seemed in sharp contrast to the sparkle emanating a short time before” p. 45; “He was softly spoken with a culture of accent and timbre of voice that I felt I could listen to forever” p. 136. And the author’s personification of inanimate objects can distract from the movement of the plot: “It [Sam Teagle’s truck] paused and muttered a shuddering discontent of the early hour” p. 77. Also, “… a shower had promised earlier--and reneged as usual” p. 42. As a result of these mechanical issues, I believe the book should not be rated a 5.

Young readers would certainly identify with the growing-up experiences that Natalie faces in Ironbark Hill, especially the social situations she finds herself in. Although it could be read as a cautionary tale for late teens, the very adult problems with the Glovers, I believe, make this more an adult read. As I read toward the end of the book, I wanted to learn more about what happens next to these people I had come to care about. Fortunately, I was given a taste of what to expect next in the Epilogue. Because there are two more books in the series, I look forward to what comes next “down under.”

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