ORIGINAL TRADE PAPERBACK. A NEW NOVEL FROM CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED FANTASY AUTHOR DAVE FREER. Teenager Tim Ryan comes into his own as he faces danger on a remote Australia island where magic lurks in land and sea.
Tim Ryan can't shake the feeling that he is different from other teens, and not in a good way. For one thing, he seems to have his own personal poltergeist that causes fires and sets him up to be arrested for shoplifting.
As a result Tim has been sent to live on a rundown farm on a remote island off the coast of Australia with his crazy grandmother, a woman who seems to talk to the local spirits, and who refuses to cushion Tim from facing his difficulties. To make matters worse, Tim is expected to milk cows, chase sheep, and hunt fish with a spear.
But he's been exiled to an island alive with ancient magic—land magic that Tim can feel in his bones, and sea magic that runs in his blood. If Tim can face down the danger from drug-runners, sea storms, and the deadly threat of a seal woman who wishes to steal him away for a lingering death in the land of Faery, he may be able to claim the mysterious changeling heritage that is his birthright, and take hold of a legacy of power beyond any he has ever imagined.
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A fun read.
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Great read for all ages!
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well written!really holds your attention and makes you want to keep reading, and although it seems written for the younger audience it had a jaded old lady like me riveted too. This type of book writing is what makes new real readers out of kids exploring reading!
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Fascinating!I loved this book, unexpectedly and gleefully. This is a deeply subtle and nuanced novel. It’s a YA coming-of-age story, but much more. The young man messes things up in Melbourne, and is sent away to his grandmother on what seems to be an island out of time. The island residents, his neighbors, help him learn valuable lessons and grow in worth and self confidence. Yet, what an island! It has fairies and half-world inhabitants as well – with agendas, hope and fears of their own. So it seemed to me that Flinder’s Island must be fantastical and imaginary – I was so wrong about that first perception. David Freer’s Flinder’s Island is as real and fascinating as any locale on Earth. I started out looking up definitions for interesting nouns, and that led me to Tasmania, the history of a brutal civil war, the relocation of aboriginal people, then recipes for durable cookies that were sent to soldiers in WWI, WWII, and Vietnam. On to surf casting for flatfish – a reference from the story – and to the real Flinder’s Island’s website which calls out the incredibly delicious produce grown on the island. Now, back to the story. I am a grizzled old chef who reads unceasingly, and I cried when the hero and his story were resolved. The subtleties and nuances I spoke to are profoundly elegant in enriching the character development, and in moving the story forward. When you read the novel for the first time, please follow the little clues that surround the grandmother and her life story. It may be fiction, but cut from whole cloth. This is 5-star reading, I was thrilled to find this book.
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Product ReviewThe cover blurb has very little relationship to the novel, and there is no blond mermaid, so ignore that. Instead, be prepared for a reality tale about the life of an islander, written with love. Reviewed at http://habakkuk21.blogspot.com/2016/01/changelings-island-and-chicken-sexing.html
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Product ReviewA great story about a place I'd love to visit
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Product ReviewAnother great book by the good Dr Monkey.
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Product ReviewNot what I was expecting from Dave Freer, but excellent anyway!
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Product ReviewNice coming of age story. Not Dr Monkey's best work though.
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Product ReviewVery good young adult novel. I'm old and I like it too. could have been longer.
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