Maureen McCarthy is one of Australia's most popular young adult authors. Her novels have been short listed for numerous awards, and include the bestselling book "Queen Kat, Carmel and St. Jude Get a Life," which was made into a highly successful Australian mini-series. This is her American debut.
* "Readers find themselves in the back seat, completely caught up
in the tense, exhasuted love that's up front and the chapters that
trace Rose's memories...Crisp writing perfectly captures this
novel's fascinating internal and external landscapes."--Kirkus
Reviews - starred review "An emotional roller coaster."--Publishers
Weekly "McCarthy provides [an] engrossing mother-daughter
tale."--Horn Book Magazine Kirkus Reviews - starred reviewRose's
road trip up the Australian coast invokes flashbacks from the
previous year, when her parents' marriage, plans for college and
best friendship all fell apart. Rose grits her teeth as she and her
mother bounce alongside the ocean, evading untouchable topics.
Readers find themselves in the back seat, completely caught up in
the tense, exhausted love that's up front and the chapters that
trace Rose's memories. McCarthy offers beautiful and brutal
depictions of a tightly knit family fraying at the edges. As Rose
spits venom at her set of sisters and mother, teen readers will
understand her frustration, fury and turns of remorse [while]
McCarthy begins to reveal what happened to change her from a
levelheaded, college-bound girl to an erratic, drifting loner.
Crisp writing perfectly captures this novel's fascinating internal
and external landscapes. Older teens just stepping into adulthood
will recognize and appreciate Rose's authentic transformative
experiences. Publishers WeeklyAustralian author McCarthy crafts a
juicy family melodrama in her American debut. Set in her native
country, McCarthy's novel unfolds from the point of view of Rose, a
no-nonsense 19-year-old whose happy, orderly life is destroyed when
her father leaves her mother for another woman. Coping with their
own grief, Rose and her three older sisters struggle to keep their
mom from falling apart. Alternating between a present-day road trip
taken by Rose and her mom with flashbacks from a year earlier
detailing the shocking events that precipitate their trip, the book
hurries its audience onto an emotional roller coaster...there is an
authenticity to the flawed and conflicted Rose that will draw
readers into her world. The Horn Book Magazine (High School) Taking
a road trip to visit her dying grandmother, nineteen-year-old Rose
finds she can't keep running from the devastating events of the
previous year--her dad's shameful fall from grace, her parents'
painful divorce, her own disastrous and forbidden love affair, and
the complete disintegration of a close friendship. Phenomenal loss
of trust is what links these events together, and Rose is forced to
revisit all the pain (as both the betrayed and the betrayer) as she
hits the road. And who's riding shotgun, provoking all the deep
thought? Not her former lover, nor her former BFF, and certainly
not her former idol, Dad; no, it's Mum who's hitching a ride with
Rose, making this YA road novel a bit different from the rest...
Australian author McCarthy provides [an] engrossing mother-daughter
tale: with a protagonist/narrator who's barely still a teenager and
a cast that is virtually all adult, this coming-of-age novel will
appeal to older readers venturing out into the adult world. j.m.b.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's BooksGr 9-12 Last year, Rose
was crushing on a new neighbor Nat Cummings, hanging with her best
friend, Zoe, and readying to attend university after graduation;
now she's working as a waitress and estranged from Zoe, and
embarking in a long trans-Australian drive to visit her dying
grandmother, a trip that suddenly, much to Rose's dismay, includes
her mother. The narrative alternates between the story of Rose's
tumultuous year and her current journey, gradually unfolding the
facts behind her devastation and her altered life trajectory as the
two women travel to their destination... More successful is the
slow revelation and exploration of her affair with Zoe's
(unmarried) father, an event occurring against the backdrop of
Rose's own father's announcement that he's leaving Rose's mother
for another woman. Characterization is particularly sharp in its
dual portrait of Rose's mother then (a basket case as the result of
her husband's leaving) and now (a strong, optimistic woman who
loves her to get involved in strangers' lives), a change for the
better that tacitly offers Rose a model for survival of her own
heartbreak. Fans of road-trip stories or melodrama [will] be
curious to see how it all turns out. DS School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-Rose's grandmother is dying, prompting the high school grad
and current waitress to hit the road in her beat-up old van, with
Mum in the passenger seat. Rose is less than thrilled, having
successfully avoided her family for the past year. A stellar
student, she was set to study law and follow in her father's
footsteps, but when he left her mother, everything fell apart.
McCarthy alternates chapters of the trip, during which they pick up
a hitchhiker, with flashbacks to the previous year: Rose's parents'
divorce, the teen's crush on Nat, and her friend Zoe's fling with
him. The book steadily builds up to the revelation that Rose was
seduced by Zoe's father, and thus the collapse of the young women's
friendship. Still, this is a story about redemption. While readers
glimpse Zoe through the flashbacks, they finally meet her when Rose
visits her in the hospital; the cancer she fought as a child has
returned. Their reconciliation is mirrored elsewhere; Rose's
parents learn to be civil around one another, and the hitchhiker
they pick up returns to his young son, whom he hasn't seen in two
years.While readers may be baffled by some of the Aussie terms and
the fact that Christmas takes place in the summer, these are
hurdles they can easily overcome, all the while rooting for likable
and complicated Rose. There is some raw language and mature
content, but this novel should be an easy sell to fans of authors
like Deb Caletti."-Jennifer Barnes, Homewood Library, IL"
Kirkus Reviews - starred review"Readers find themselves in the back
seat, completely caught up in the tense, exhausted love that's up
front and the chapters that trace Rose's memories . . . Crisp
writing perfectly captures this novel's fascinating internal and
external landscapes." Rose's road trip up the Australian coast
invokes flashbacks from the previous year, when her parents'
marriage, plans for college and best friendship all fell apart.
Rose grits her teeth as she and her mother bounce alongside the
ocean, evading untouchable topics. Readers find themselves in the
back seat, completely caught up in the tense, exhausted love that's
up front and the chapters that trace Rose's memories. McCarthy
offers beautiful and brutal depictions of a tightly knit family
fraying at the edges. As Rose spits venom at her set of sisters and
mother, teen readers will understand her frustration, fury and
turns of remorse. Just when Rose's sour attitude grows tiresome,
McCarthy begins to reveal what happened to change her from a
levelheaded, college-bound girl to an erratic, drifting loner.
Crisp writing perfectly captures this novel's fascinating internal
and external landscapes. Older teens just stepping into adulthood
will recognize and appreciate Rose's authentic transformative
experiences. Publishers Weekly Australian author McCarthy crafts a
juicy family melodrama in her American debut. Set in her native
country, McCarthy's novel unfolds from the point of view of Rose, a
no-nonsense 19-year-old whose happy, orderly life is destroyed when
her father leaves her mother for another woman. Coping with their
own grief, Rose and her three older sisters struggle to keep their
mom from falling apart.Alternating between a present-day road trip
taken by Rose and her mom with flashbacks from a year earlier
detailing the shocking events that precipitate their trip, the book
hurries its audience onto an emotional roller coaster...there is an
authenticity to the flawed and conflicted Rose that will draw
readers into her world. The Horn Book Magazine (High School) Taking
a road trip to visit her dying grandmother, nineteen-year-old Rose
finds she can't keep running from the devastating events of the
previous year--her dad's shameful fall from grace, her parents'
painful divorce, her own disastrous and forbidden love affair, and
the complete disintegration of a close friendship. Phenomenal loss
of trust is what links these events together, and Rose is forced to
revisit all the pain (as both the betrayed and the betrayer) as she
hits the road. And who's riding shotgun, provoking all the deep
thought? Not her former lover, nor her former BFF, and certainly
not her former idol, Dad; no, it's Mum who's hitching a ride with
Rose, making this YA road novel a bit different from the rest. For
teens willing to stretch, Australian author McCarthy provides a
long but engrossing mother-daughter tale: with a
protagonist/narrator who's barely still a teenager and a cast that
is virtually all adult, this coming-of-age novel will appeal to
older readers venturing out into the adult world. j.m.b. Bulletin
of the Center for Children's BooksGr 9-12 Last year, Rose was
crushing on a new neighbor Nat Cummings, hanging with her best
friend, Zoe, and readying to attend university after graduation;
now she's working as a waitress and estranged from Zoe, and
embarking in a long trans-Australian drive tovisit her dying
grandmother, a trip that suddenly, much to Rose's dismay, includes
her mother. The narrative alternates between the story of Rose's
tumultuous year and her current journey, gradually unfolding the
facts behind her devastation and her altered life trajectory as the
two women travel to their destination... More successful is the
slow revelation and exploration of her affair with Zoe's
(unmarried) father, an event occurring against the backdrop of
Rose's own father's announcement that he's leaving Rose's mother
for another woman. Characterization is particularly sharp in its
dual portrait of Rose's mother then ( a basket case as the result
of her husband's leaving) and now ( a strong, optimistic woman who
loves her to get involved in strangers' lives), a change for the
better that tacitly offers Rose a model for survival of her own
heartbreak. Fans of road-trip stories or melodrama may not mind the
excess, and they'll be curious to see how it all turns out. DS
School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-Rose's grandmother is dying, prompting the high school grad
and current waitress to hit the road in her beat-up old van, with
Mum in the passenger seat. Rose is less than thrilled, having
successfully avoided her family for the past year. A stellar
student, she was set to study law and follow in her father's
footsteps, but when he left her mother, everything fell apart.
McCarthy alternates chapters of the trip, during which they pick up
a hitchhiker, with flashbacks to the previous year: Rose's parents'
divorce, the teen's crush on Nat, and her friend Zoe's fling with
him. The book steadily builds up to the revelation that Rose was
seduced by Zoe's father, and thus the collapseof the young women's
friendship. Still, this is a story about redemption. While readers
glimpse Zoe through the flashbacks, they finally meet her when Rose
visits her in the hospital; the cancer she fought as a child has
returned. Their reconciliation is mirrored elsewhere; Rose's
parents learn to be civil around one another, and the hitchhiker
they pick up returns to his young son, whom he hasn't seen in two
years. While readers may be baffled by some of the Aussie terms and
the fact that Christmas takes place in the summer, these are
hurdles they can easily overcome, all the while rooting for likable
and complicated Rose. There is some raw language and mature
content, but this novel should be an easy sell to fans of authors
like Deb Caletti."-Jennifer Barnes, Homewood Library, IL"
* "Readers find themselves in the back seat, completely caught up in the tense, exhasuted love that's up front and the chapters that trace Rose's memories...Crisp writing perfectly captures this novel's fascinating internal and external landscapes."--Kirkus Reviews - starred review "An emotional roller coaster."--Publishers Weekly "McCarthy provides [an] engrossing mother-daughter tale."--Horn Book Magazine Kirkus Reviews - starred reviewRose's road trip up the Australian coast invokes flashbacks from the previous year, when her parents' marriage, plans for college and best friendship all fell apart. Rose grits her teeth as she and her mother bounce alongside the ocean, evading untouchable topics. Readers find themselves in the back seat, completely caught up in the tense, exhausted love that's up front and the chapters that trace Rose's memories. McCarthy offers beautiful and brutal depictions of a tightly knit family fraying at the edges. As Rose spits venom at her set of sisters and mother, teen readers will understand her frustration, fury and turns of remorse [while] McCarthy begins to reveal what happened to change her from a levelheaded, college-bound girl to an erratic, drifting loner. Crisp writing perfectly captures this novel's fascinating internal and external landscapes. Older teens just stepping into adulthood will recognize and appreciate Rose's authentic transformative experiences. Publishers WeeklyAustralian author McCarthy crafts a juicy family melodrama in her American debut. Set in her native country, McCarthy's novel unfolds from the point of view of Rose, a no-nonsense 19-year-old whose happy, orderly life is destroyed when her father leaves her mother for another woman. Coping with their own grief, Rose and her three older sisters struggle to keep their mom from falling apart. Alternating between a present-day road trip taken by Rose and her mom with flashbacks from a year earlier detailing the shocking events that precipitate their trip, the book hurries its audience onto an emotional roller coaster...there is an authenticity to the flawed and conflicted Rose that will draw readers into her world. The Horn Book Magazine (High School) Taking a road trip to visit her dying grandmother, nineteen-year-old Rose finds she can't keep running from the devastating events of the previous year--her dad's shameful fall from grace, her parents' painful divorce, her own disastrous and forbidden love affair, and the complete disintegration of a close friendship. Phenomenal loss of trust is what links these events together, and Rose is forced to revisit all the pain (as both the betrayed and the betrayer) as she hits the road. And who's riding shotgun, provoking all the deep thought? Not her former lover, nor her former BFF, and certainly not her former idol, Dad; no, it's Mum who's hitching a ride with Rose, making this YA road novel a bit different from the rest... Australian author McCarthy provides [an] engrossing mother-daughter tale: with a protagonist/narrator who's barely still a teenager and a cast that is virtually all adult, this coming-of-age novel will appeal to older readers venturing out into the adult world. j.m.b.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's BooksGr 9-12 Last year,
Rose was crushing on a new neighbor Nat Cummings, hanging with her
best friend, Zoe, and readying to attend university after
graduation; now she's working as a waitress and estranged from Zoe,
and embarking in a long trans-Australian drive to visit her dying
grandmother, a trip that suddenly, much to Rose's dismay, includes
her mother. The narrative alternates between the story of Rose's
tumultuous year and her current journey, gradually unfolding the
facts behind her devastation and her altered life trajectory as the
two women travel to their destination... More successful is the
slow revelation and exploration of her affair with Zoe's
(unmarried) father, an event occurring against the backdrop of
Rose's own father's announcement that he's leaving Rose's mother
for another woman. Characterization is particularly sharp in its
dual portrait of Rose's mother then (a basket case as the result of
her husband's leaving) and now (a strong, optimistic woman who
loves her to get involved in strangers' lives), a change for the
better that tacitly offers Rose a model for survival of her own
heartbreak. Fans of road-trip stories or melodrama [will] be
curious to see how it all turns out. DS School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-Rose's grandmother is dying, prompting the high school grad
and current waitress to hit the road in her beat-up old van, with
Mum in the passenger seat. Rose is less than thrilled, having
successfully avoided her family for the past year. A stellar
student, she was set to study law and follow in her father's
footsteps, but when he left her mother, everything fell apart.
McCarthy alternates chapters of the trip, during which they pick up
a hitchhiker, with flashbacks to the previous year: Rose's parents'
divorce, the teen's crush on Nat, and her friend Zoe's fling with
him. The book steadily builds up to the revelation that Rose was
seduced by Zoe's father, and thus the collapse of the young women's
friendship. Still, this is a story about redemption. While readers
glimpse Zoe through the flashbacks, they finally meet her when Rose
visits her in the hospital; the cancer she fought as a child has
returned. Their reconciliation is mirrored elsewhere; Rose's
parents learn to be civil around one another, and the hitchhiker
they pick up returns to his young son, whom he hasn't seen in two
years.While readers may be baffled by some of the Aussie terms and
the fact that Christmas takes place in the summer, these are
hurdles they can easily overcome, all the while rooting for likable
and complicated Rose. There is some raw language and mature
content, but this novel should be an easy sell to fans of authors
like Deb Caletti."-Jennifer Barnes, Homewood Library, IL"
Bulletin of the Center for Children's BooksGr 9-12 Last year,
Rose was crushing on a new neighbor Nat Cummings, hanging with her
best friend, Zoe, and readying to attend university after
graduation; now she's working as a waitress and estranged from Zoe,
and embarking in a long trans-Australian drive tovisit her dying
grandmother, a trip that suddenly, much to Rose's dismay, includes
her mother. The narrative alternates between the story of Rose's
tumultuous year and her current journey, gradually unfolding the
facts behind her devastation and her altered life trajectory as the
two women travel to their destination... More successful is the
slow revelation and exploration of her affair with Zoe's
(unmarried) father, an event occurring against the backdrop of
Rose's own father's announcement that he's leaving Rose's mother
for another woman. Characterization is particularly sharp in its
dual portrait of Rose's mother then ( a basket case as the result
of her husband's leaving) and now ( a strong, optimistic woman who
loves her to get involved in strangers' lives), a change for the
better that tacitly offers Rose a model for survival of her own
heartbreak. Fans of road-trip stories or melodrama may not mind the
excess, and they'll be curious to see how it all turns out. DS
School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-Rose's grandmother is dying, prompting the high school grad
and current waitress to hit the road in her beat-up old van, with
Mum in the passenger seat. Rose is less than thrilled, having
successfully avoided her family for the past year. A stellar
student, she was set to study law and follow in her father's
footsteps, but when he left her mother, everything fell apart.
McCarthy alternates chapters of the trip, during which they pick up
a hitchhiker, with flashbacks to the previous year: Rose's parents'
divorce, the teen's crush on Nat, and her friend Zoe's fling with
him. The book steadily builds up to the revelation that Rose was
seduced by Zoe's father, and thus the collapseof the young women's
friendship. Still, this is a story about redemption. While readers
glimpse Zoe through the flashbacks, they finally meet her when Rose
visits her in the hospital; the cancer she fought as a child has
returned. Their reconciliation is mirrored elsewhere; Rose's
parents learn to be civil around one another, and the hitchhiker
they pick up returns to his young son, whom he hasn't seen in two
years. While readers may be baffled by some of the Aussie terms and
the fact that Christmas takes place in the summer, these are
hurdles they can easily overcome, all the while rooting for likable
and complicated Rose. There is some raw language and mature
content, but this novel should be an easy sell to fans of authors
like Deb Caletti."-Jennifer Barnes, Homewood Library, IL"
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