About the Book:
Sisters Eleanor and Maggie have been running the Lyrebird Lake Ladies Choir for fifteen years. It has become a haven for the lost and lonely women who have found their home in the stately federation house by the lake. When Eleanor enters the choir into the All Voices Championship, it offers them all a chance to make up for lost dreams.
Single mum Hannah arrives in Lyrebird Lake, homeless after being widowed and hoping for a new start with her son. With her angelic voice, Hannah could give the choir a winning edge. But when Eleanor hears her singing a long-forgotten lullaby, she is transported to her past, a traumatic time when two teenage girls were banished from their Irish homeland to a faraway country.
Will Hannah's arrival mend old wounds, or will the secret she unknowingly carries tear the sisters apart?
A lyrical, deeply moving story of facing secrets, finding your way back home, and the power of discovering your voice.
Published by Penguin Australia
Released June 2024
My Thoughts:
Rating: 5 stars
Why I chose it: Sandie Docker can always be relied upon for a good read.
Themes: Homelessness, forced adoption, friendships, family, starting over.
For fans of: Contemporary Australian novels that combine feel good aspects with topical themes.
The good: This was a brilliant novel. Sandie's chosen topic of homelessness of people we don't generally associate with homelessness is of rising importance. Older women are fast making up more and more of the homeless population within Australia due to life factors rather than substance abuse. The other big issue in this story was the history of forced adoptions that ran from around the mid 1950s to the early 1980s. This was aired out and woven into the back story of several characters.
The not so good: Nothing to report here. I loved it all.
In brief: The Lyrebird Lake Ladies Choir is a heartfelt story of new beginnings and coming full circle. The serious themes are relieved with the addition of a lively choir made up of ladies who have all started over at some point in their lives. This story is filled with community spirit in action. Recommended for book clubs and those who like their stories to have all the feels - laughter and tears.
Thanks for the review copy goes to: Penguin Australia.
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