The Midlands by Kate Gordon

For any reader that loved Little Women, Seven Little Australians or just loves a good mystery set amongst the Australian bush this is one to grab. I loved this book!

The Midlands is set in the Tasmanian bush during the First World War and centres around the Whittle sisters, who are not your typical turn of the century girls!

The five girls are used to having their gentle, fun loving storytelling father around, but when he enlists and heads to France, they are left with their cold distant mother who sees them as tiresome.  The family leave Hobart and head to the Midlands where their strict grandparents live and it isn’t long before they are getting into all sorts of mischief and trying to solve the mystery of what their father is actually doing and whether he is in France. Throw into this mix a strange governess and you have a story that you will want to read in one sitting.

Kate Gordon’s writing is engaging and the descriptions are perfect.  This story is bound to be one that is passed through many hands and would make an excellent classroom novel as well.  As I started reading, I was immersed in the world of the Midlands and the excitement of being just a little bit naughty to rebel against the world and the adults who are making decisions for the children.  I loved reading about the personalities of the characters and seeing how they changed and developed through the story.  This really does have a very Australian feel to it with an old-time style that harks back to the classics mentioned above. I enjoyed this book so much and would recommend that all libraries grab a copy, or two as it will be popular. 

Themes: History, Family, Mystery, Friendship, Australian, War.

Mhairi Alcorn