I was first intrigued by the lovely cover of Currawong Creek (I know the old saying, but the winding road, low cloud and mysterious mountains got to me). This book is so much more than I expected – there’s broken families, environmental issues and a romance. The beautiful descriptions of the Queensland bush put my mind back there in an instant.

Despite the cover, Currawong Creek doesn’t start in the country. It starts in Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, Australia. Clare is a lawyer working for Legal Aid – it’s another step on a carefully planned career path. She’s all about her career, but her main emphasis is helping people. When one of her clients runs off leaving her son in Clare’s office, Clare unexpectedly decides to take Jack on. The social worker and her colleagues warn her that she’s not prepared for Jack’s problems. Clare’s boyfriend can’t believe what she’s done. With her father’s puppy and Jack, Clare tries to continue her life as it was before – and fails. After a rude shock at a work function, Clare decides to contact her grandfather, who her father refused contact with. With Jack and the dog Samson, she’s off to a Queensland outback farm. There, Jack flourishes and Clare becomes close to the local vet, Tom. However, a mining company is forcing landowners to allow fracking – but there appears to be dangerous consequences. Can Clare save Currawong Creek, Jack and be happy in the process?

I loved this book. It was gentle, thought provoking and funny. Tom, as the vet, has plenty of humourous episodes involving animals (there’s some good ones with dogs). Scoullar has also won a fan in me from including birds in the narrative – one very sad part involving a cockatoo and some budgies. The animals also bring out Tom’s sensitive side and the reader can clearly see the contrast between Tom and Clare’s previous boyfriend Adam. Clare’s grandfather, Harry, is somewhat of an old Australian farmer type – but don’t start thinking about clichés and stereotypes. Harry is a lot more than that and his actions at time, while surprising, fit in perfectly with his character.

Clare herself starts as a bit of an enigma – she seems truly devoted to her work, but then takes on Jack which is out of character. It’s not that Clare is uncaring (far from it), but it’s an extension of her tendencies to solve everything into her personal life. One interesting point raised is that Clare had recently lost her father, but her bereavement doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on her life. We get the idea that Clare wasn’t very close to her father, so is she seeking a replacement family in Jack and Samson the dog? Is that why she clings to Jack so tightly? Whatever the reason, Clare fostering Jack as a single woman is something to be applauded.

I liked how Scoullar didn’t let the future custody of Jack overtake the book; otherwise I think it would have had a different tone. Although the book details social worker visits, restrictions and visits (pretty accurately to my rather limited knowledge), Clare never lets the fact that Jack is a boy with his own rights to be clouded over. While I wasn’t sure what to make of his mum Taylor and what her intentions were (if any), I believed that she did want the best for her son. Perhaps it was her immaturity that made her run hot and cold with Clare.

Combining the family drama with the controversial issue of fracking and potential health hazards was really interesting. Again, the environmental issue didn’t overpower the warmth of the narrative, but it was educational without being boring (a tough task). It made me wonder what the legal situation is in my own state and to be cautious if the situation ever arose!

A beautiful balance of story combined with real-life issues, I enjoyed the warmth of Currawong Creek. The beautiful descriptions of the Queensland bush put my mind back there.

Thank you to Penguin Australia and Net Galley for the eARC.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

Currawong Creek is Jennifer Scoullar's second successful foray into the rural fiction market. Set primarily in Queensland's Darling Downs, and its beautiful Bunya Mountains, this lovely novel sees Brisbane lawyer, Clare Mitchell, seeking refuge at her grandparent's property when she unexpectedly becomes a temporary foster parent to a troubled, young boy, Jack. While Jack thrives in the company of Clare's grandfather and the animals at Merriang, Clare begins to envision a new future - a life on the land, with Jack and the handsome local vet, Tom. But her dream is threatened when Jack's mother decides she wants her son back and The Pyramid Mining Company aims to destroy the land Clare loves.

In Currawong Creek, Scoullar highlights two important issues.
The first is the state of the foster care system. As a foster carer herself, Scoullar is familiar with the system and in Currawong Creek she draws attention to the lack of placement options for 'challenging' children in need. If Clare had not volunteered to care for Jake he would have been sent to an inappropriate facility and his issues would have been compounded by his stay.
The second relates to coal seam gas exploration and the threat it poses in rural areas to pastoral and farming land. Just recently there has been a huge campaign in my local area regarding the issue (my town is surrounded by dairy farms) though I admit I didn't pay a lot of attention. I was quite horrified to learn of the dangers of frakking and having read this novel I have a clearer understanding of my community's objections to the mining company.

I really liked the characters of Currawong Creek. I admired Clare's instinct to protect Jack and her willingness to persevere with him. It would not have been easy and yet Clare makes him a clear priority.
Jack, despite all his challenging behavioural issues, is sweet and engenders sympathy and it is a delight to watch him blossom at Merriong. I particularly liked the way in which the author explored the benefits of equine therapy for Jack, I have a friend who also found it a successful technique for her challenging foster child.
I was impressed at the way in which Scoullar portrayed Jack's mother's, Taylor, balancing her faults (which are many) with her love for her child. I strongly believe in the idea of meeting the needs of the child in issues of custody and I was satisfied with the way in which Jack and Taylor's relationship was resolved.
Tom is a vet, leasing Merriang as a site for his practice and becomes the love interest for Clare. I liked him, especially our introduction to him as he wrestles with a python, but I thought he was a little bland and could have been fleshed out a little more, especially with regards to his background and how it relates to Clare, Taylor's and Jack's relationship.
Harry, Clare's grandfather, will surprise you. I really didn't see his actions coming though they make a kind of sad sense.

Currawong Creek is a delightful, thoughtful and heartwarming story. I really enjoyed this well written novel and I am already looking forward to the next from Jennifer Scoullar. ( )