Debuts to Drag You Out of the Winter Blues

As I was reflecting on the books I’ve read through this exceedingly strange year, I was struck by how many of them were by debut authors. Across the six books I’m sharing here, I’ve explored climate change and genetic experiments, a murder mystery, the history of words, a creepy legend in the Great Western Tiers of Tasmania, a flower farm, and a reality show with an awkwardly hilarious premise. Of these books, five are debut Australian authors and five of the books have been released in 2020 – which, as we all know, has been a challenging year to be releasing a novel at all, let alone a debut. These authors are most definitely ones to watch! 

So here we are, some short reviews of my favourite debut novels I’ve read so far in 2020. To see what else I've been reading and loving, come over to my Instagram page @sophies.little.libary

The Bluffs by Kyle Perry

Published by Penguin Books Australia

2020

Well, I’m officially adding the Hungry Man to the long list of fears in my life... what an extraordinarily creepy urban legend! The Bluffs was completely atmospheric and unsettling, I was drawn in right from the start. This book had no slow parts for me, it was so well written I absolutely flew through it. Just when I thought I had it all worked out, everything turned upside down. I had been waiting and waiting for this book to come out after reading an early review, and it was worth the wait.

When a group of teenage girls go missing from their outdoor ed camp on the rugged mountains of the Great Western Tiers in Tasmania, the locals immediately start drawing parallels to a similar case in 1985. It doesn’t take long before the cracks, corruption and secrets hidden in the small town of Limestone Creek are exposed. Woven in amongst the investigation is an undercurrent of unsettling fear about the Hungry Man, and whether the legends could be true.....

The Nancys by RWR McDonald

Published by Allen & Unwin

2020

Tippy Chan is an 11 year old girl who loves her Uncle Pike’s old Nancy Drew novels, and dreams of solving a mystery in the small town where she resides. When her uncle and his new boyfriend Devon come to look after Tippy while her mum goes on a cruise, her moment arrives - her teacher’s body is found, decapitated, next to the town’s only traffic light. Tippy and her somewhat questionable babysitters quickly form The Nancys, an amateur detective club, and begin investigating – and they are better at sleuthing than anyone could have guessed.

This was such a fun and original read! It was dark and funny, with quirky characters you can’t help but love. Tippy’s uncle and his boyfriend are chaotic and fun and bursting with innuendo. This book is brilliant and absolutely bonkers.

Give it a read and don’t forget the first rule of The Nancys - everyone’s a suspect.

 

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

Published by Affirm Press

2020

This book appealed to me just from the title, but when I started reading the synopsis I was even more convinced. A book about words... What’s not to love!

Esme Nicholl grew up under the table of the Scriptorium, collecting words that were lost or discarded by the male compilers, assistants and editors of the first Oxford English Dictionary. As time goes by and she grows, she comes to realise that many of these words belong to or relate to women. She understands these words are important, and she begins to collect them. Excluded words, vulgar words, words commonly spoken but not documented, women’s words, words deemed unnecessary by the male lexicographers who decide which words are worthy of the Oxford Dictionary are all added to her collection.

Set against the suffragette movement and the beginning of the First World War, this novel spans just over a century. I’m used to historical fiction novels flipping between time periods and points of view, but I loved that this book didn’t do that. We follow Esme’s story from a 5 year old right through to adulthood.

When I was a child I used to picture a big round table of men in top hats making up words and deciding what they should mean. And I would always wonder, how did they have the words to be able to speak to make up the other words? As I grew I realised it was obviously not that simple, and so I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the process for defining and documenting words, and the meticulous and lengthy endeavour that was. Many of the characters in the novel were real people, which made this all the more exciting to read.

This book was a celebration of the depth, meaning and importance of words. An important reminder that when people are gone, their words are what is left behind. This book was a complete 10/10 for me, and now I think I want to be a lexicographer when I grow up!

Thank you to Affirm Press for sending me an advanced copy of this book.

 

The Safe Place by Anna Downes

Published by Affirm Press

2020

Emily is a bit of a lost lamb - she’s a struggling actress, she has a strained relationship with her adoptive parents, she’s just lost her job and is about to evicted... and on top of all that her acting agent drops her with no warning. Just when everything feels hopeless, Scott, the CEO of the company she’s just been fired from, swoops in with a job offer she can’t refuse. It feels like fate. Emily jumps at the chance, and she is whisked away to the fancy mansion in a remote part of France she will now be calling home.

But not long into her time as a housekeeper and companion for Scott’s reclusive wife and unstable young daughter, Emily starts to wonder if perhaps everything isn’t quite as it seems.

Anna Downes painted such an eerie atmosphere, I could feel something building but had no idea what to think or which of my many theories would be right. There were so many clues, red herrings and moments dropped in through the book that made me think ‘hang on a minute....’

This is one of those ‘unputdownable’ books, to the point where one night while reading this I refused to go to bed so I could keep reading. I forgot that I am a 30 year old grandma, so I promptly fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 2am with the lights blazing, my book dangling from my hand and a stiff neck.... and then tried to read a few more pages before actually going to bed.

Thank you to Affirm Press for sending me an advanced copy of this book.

The Shelf by Helly Acton

Published by Allen & Unwin

2020

Amy is preparing for a holiday to a surprise destination with her boyfriend of 2 years. She suspects he is about to propose, and is horrified when he unceremoniously dumps her on the set of a new reality TV series, ‘The Shelf’. Along with the 5 other housemates, they compete in a series of challenges over 4 weeks to try to win the title of ‘The Keeper’ and a million pounds. Who will win the money, and who will be left on the shelf?

First of all, I am not a huge reality TV fan, and the premise of the show in this book is completely abhorrent. I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did! It was feminist and laugh-out-loud funny, while looking closely at toxic statements, problematic relationships, the incessantly cruel nature of reality tv and the social commentary that comes with it. I was livid at some of the language used by the men in the show, and I wanted to bop that insufferable host on the nose. But I absolutely loved how self-empowered all the women became in this book, I was cheering for them all the way through. Plus they had prosecco on tap, which I think is something I should put into my house. 

If you’re looking for a lighter, funny read that still deals with issues such as self-image, self-confidence, misogyny and expectations on gender roles, this is the book for you.

Thank you to Allen & Unwin for sending me an advanced copy of this book.

 

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hard by Holly Ringland

Published by HarperCollins Australia

2018

This book was amazing… just the opening sentence had me HOOKED.

Alice Hart is the daughter of an abusive father and a mother who loses herself in the language of flowers to cope. Alice is never sure which version of her father she will encounter - “the monster, or the man who turned a gum tree into a writing desk’”. After an unspeakable tragedy, Alice has to move away from the only home she’s ever known. On her estranged grandmother’s flower farm, she slowly begins to trust the other women there, women who are also trying to put themselves back together.

This book was full of intense characters and relationships, difficult moments and complex journeys of self discovery - all interspersed with the hidden language of flowers. The first and second halves were quite different, which I enjoyed. There were disconcerting moments of history repeating that had me holding my breath. This book was heart warming and heartbreaking, all at once.

“Life is lived forward, but only understood backwards”

If I haven’t already convinced you, I’m going to say it again – you need to read these books! Now is the time to be supporting authors and publishers so we can continue to read stories as wonderful as these. I’m really pumped that the majority of these debuts are Australian authors, we have many brilliant authors here who I can't wait to see published internationally if they haven't been already.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on these books - please drop a comment below or come over to my Instagram page, there is nothing I love more than to chat about books. Don't forget to subscribe to these blogs posts and as always, happy reading!