Hi again! We’re getting closer to the end of the year, goodness – I can’t quite believe that we’ve only got two more books to go in 2018 after this one!
You might have noticed that the schedule has been stretched out a little; our October book is only just arriving, which means the discussion will be held in early November, and our November book will stray into December…and that’s totally okay, because our final book of the year is a longer read that takes us through to the start of February, so I don’t mind dragging things out a little towards year’s end.
And I’m very pleased to announce the title of our October read: SONGS THAT SOUND LIKE BLOOD by Adelaide author Jared Thomas. Here’s the blurb:
Roxy May Redding’s got music in her soul and songs in her blood. She lives in a hot dusty town and is dreaming big. She survives run-ins with the mean girls at high school, sings in her dad’s band and babysits for her wayward aunt. But Roxy wants a new start – when she gets the chance to study music in the big city, she takes it.
Roxy’s new life, her new friends and her music collide in a way she could never have imagined. Being a poor student sucks…navigating through the pressure of the national music competition has knobs on it…singing for her dinner is soul-destroying…but nothing prepares Roxy for her biggest challenge. Her crush on Ana, the local music journo, forces her to steer her way through a complex maze of emotions alien to this small town girl. Family and friends watch closely as Roxy takes a confronting journey to find out who the hell she is.
If you haven’t encountered any of Jared’s work before, he also wrote Sweet Guy (shortlisted for the 2006 Vic Premier’s Literature Awards and the 2009 SA People’s Choice Award for Literature), Dallas Davis, and he collaborated with Patty Mills on the Game Day! series of middle grade books. Last but not least, he wrote Calypso Summer, a really amazing read which I heartily recommend – it was a State Library of Qld black&write! winner, was featured at Reading Matters in 2015, and was also listed as an International Youth Library White Raven book in the same year, so go check it out.
I really hope you enjoy SONGS THAT SOUND LIKE BLOOD in October – if you’d like to pick it up (with free shipping!) from Boomerang Books, use the ‘loveoz’ promo code right here. Alternatively you can buy the ebook here.
Happy reading, and happy October!
xxEllie