Mandy

At first I wasn't sure if I should try this novel because I've just never been that interested in Australia. I'm so glad I did! I loved the experience of listening to this book. It's a wonderful story and the voices and accents are really well done by the narrator. Mary Abacus is now one of my very favorite literary characters. I downloaded the next book, Tommo and Hawk, before I even finished this one so I wouldn't have to wait to see what happens next!

I have been looking forward to this book coming out for months now and this was such a disappointment. The accents of the voice actors are so badly done that I could not continue listening. Unlike the movie Chocolat there is no Johnny Depp eye-candy to distract from the travesty of the terrible "Irish" accents!

I loved The Potato Factory and was eager to continue the story of the Solomon family in Tommo & Hawk. Mostly enjoyed this story, though there seemed to be more of the narrator telling the story rather than the characters. It basically centers around Tommo and Hawk's relationship and a lot of time is spent in New Zealand where they get involved in the Maori Wars. I found that part the most interesting and it made me want to learn more about that country's history.