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23rd out of 157 books
—
178 voters
Thyla (Thyla #1)
by
Kate Gordon (Goodreads Author)
"My name is Tessa. I am strong. I am brave. I do not cry. These are the only things I know for certain. I was found in the outback, ragged as a wild thing. I have no memory; not even of how I got the long slashes across my back. They make me frightened of what I might remember. The policewoman, Connolly, found me; and placed me; in a boarding school and told me about her d...more
Paperback, 279 pages
Published
January 18th 2012
by Random House Australia
(first published April 1st 2011)
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Warning: Split-personality review ahead! I have scored this novel 3 stars, but as opposed to merely 'liking' the whole novel, I really adored the first half and felt terribly disappointed by the second half! Let me explain.
The First Half: 4 Star Worthy!
As soon as I saw the blurb of Thyla I knew that this was exactly the book I wanted to read. In brief: wild girl gets found in the Tasmanian wilderness missing her memory; the only thing she can recall is that her name is Tessa and the vague feelin...more
The First Half: 4 Star Worthy!
As soon as I saw the blurb of Thyla I knew that this was exactly the book I wanted to read. In brief: wild girl gets found in the Tasmanian wilderness missing her memory; the only thing she can recall is that her name is Tessa and the vague feelin...more
19 likes · like · see review
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That's it! I'm moving to Australia!
Oooh, boy. You truly can’t go wrong with Aussie YA authors! I’ve read some awful books lately and by the time I picked up Thyla, I was becoming quite desperate. Kate Gordon saved my life, or at the very least the rest of my vacation.
Amazing writing. And I mean AMAZING writing! Not as good as Raw Blue, but close enough. Gordon has this way of making you picture everything in your head without being overly descriptive. In fact, her writing is not descriptive at...more
Oooh, boy. You truly can’t go wrong with Aussie YA authors! I’ve read some awful books lately and by the time I picked up Thyla, I was becoming quite desperate. Kate Gordon saved my life, or at the very least the rest of my vacation.
Amazing writing. And I mean AMAZING writing! Not as good as Raw Blue, but close enough. Gordon has this way of making you picture everything in your head without being overly descriptive. In fact, her writing is not descriptive at...more
23 likes · like · see review
This review contains photos of mentioned locations as a gift to international readers.
My review is split in to five sections: Writing, Plot, Worldbuilding, Characters, and X-Factor. Each section comprises of either half or one star, except X-Factor which can utilise two whole stars.
I’ve read some other reviews of this book, and like my friend Shirley Marr, I agree this book should probably be rated in two separate halves . The first half is pretty damned awesome: Tessa has amnesia, and the thin...more
My review is split in to five sections: Writing, Plot, Worldbuilding, Characters, and X-Factor. Each section comprises of either half or one star, except X-Factor which can utilise two whole stars.
I’ve read some other reviews of this book, and like my friend Shirley Marr, I agree this book should probably be rated in two separate halves . The first half is pretty damned awesome: Tessa has amnesia, and the thin...more
14 likes · like · see review
Thanks Maja for your great review of this that led me to try out the works of an Aussie author. I really enjoyed it.
Tessa, found in a bush and brought to a hospital, wakes up with absolutely no memory but her name. And I mean, NO memory. Of anything. The tiny people in the TV scare her! So she gets sent to this school… with this missing girl... duh duh duuuuuuuuuh.
What a great author. The writing is so wonderfully simple that it's easy to get lost in Tessa's words. The prose is truly unique. I d...more
Tessa, found in a bush and brought to a hospital, wakes up with absolutely no memory but her name. And I mean, NO memory. Of anything. The tiny people in the TV scare her! So she gets sent to this school… with this missing girl... duh duh duuuuuuuuuh.
What a great author. The writing is so wonderfully simple that it's easy to get lost in Tessa's words. The prose is truly unique. I d...more
10 likes · like · see review
This is the book I'm hosting for the Traveling Book at YA-MA!
Full Review Soon.
"...It's very easy to piss her off."
"Piss her off?"
I hadn't heard that expression before. I mean, I had heard the words 'piss' used as another word for urination, but I assumed (and hoped) that Rhiannah wasn't talking about urination. That would be rather odd.
And unsanitary.
Full Review Soon.
I am not particularly keen on this. Mainly, because it appears to be a bit younger than I prefer my YA. The premise is good - a girl wakes up in a hospital not remembering who she is, and the memories she does retain seem to have a disconnect with the present time. However the conflicts and the character so far have been of a middle school variety. Same goes for the writing style.
4 likes · like · see review
I really enjoyed Thyla. The synopsis only really covers the first half if the book but if you look at the genres listed it says paranormal and fantasy. I actually saw this before I started reading so I was prepared for the 2nd half (as other reviews called it). I love how there are no traditional werewolves/vampires but whole unique packs of creatures (Tasmanian were-tigers and were-devils/ Thylas and Sarcos). The book is very original and incorporates some history in it as well. Unfortunately,...more
Thyla
30
MAY
Kate Gordon
Random House
My name is Tessa. I am strong.
I am brave. I do not cry.
These are the only things I know for certain.
Thyla takes you somewhere mysterious. Somewhere dark and uncertain. Somewhere you find you are unable to stop yourself, you have to devour more.
What do you think of when you think of Tasmania? I am betting you don’t find yourself in the world of Thyla. Mixed up in the history of convicts, tigers and devils you find a secret world. It is right in front of you but su...more
30
MAY
Kate Gordon
Random House
My name is Tessa. I am strong.
I am brave. I do not cry.
These are the only things I know for certain.
Thyla takes you somewhere mysterious. Somewhere dark and uncertain. Somewhere you find you are unable to stop yourself, you have to devour more.
What do you think of when you think of Tasmania? I am betting you don’t find yourself in the world of Thyla. Mixed up in the history of convicts, tigers and devils you find a secret world. It is right in front of you but su...more
When you place a girl, who only days earlier was found wild and battered in the bush, a girl who doesn't even know what waffles are and who is irrationally afraid of the television, amongst a group of spoiled and stuck up daughters of the wealthy in an exclusive all girls boarding school, is it really any wonder that she doesn't quite fit in?
The world has changed, what Tessa remembers does not match what is before her. How is it she is able to remember names and dates from the past but nothing f...more
The world has changed, what Tessa remembers does not match what is before her. How is it she is able to remember names and dates from the past but nothing f...more
Tasmania's forests have a history of being battlegrounds. In recent times the timber men have diced with the environmentalists over their bounty - is it for the present generation or for those of the future. As in this fine novel, in the island's real life conflict there is an uneasy truce, a tenuous 'treaty' having emerged. In the early days though of colonisation there was a similar, unwritten truce between the invaders,the first Tasmanians and the fringe-dwellers, belonging to neither group,...more
Tessa woke up without a single memory of who she was. No family, no identity. The only truth she knew deep into the marrow of her bones is that she’s a strong person, incapable of tears and she's fearless. Little by little, snaps of recollections come back to her as she’s thrust into a mysterious world inside and outside of the boarding school she was forced into – a school, which held more memories of who she was than she cared to remember.
The synopsis wasn’t very forthcoming; I had no clue wha...more
The synopsis wasn’t very forthcoming; I had no clue wha...more
To declare my bias: Kate Gordon and I were at school together and I consider her a friend. I don't read a lot of YA fiction or fantasy, so I don't have a lot to compare her writing to.
I felt as though a chunk in the middle had been editted out of this novel. I felt as though the narrative jumped from "teenage girl found, weird scars, only knows her name" to "supernatural girl warrior" with something missing in between.
It also seemed the battle scenes- generally crucial to fantasy fiction- were u...more
I felt as though a chunk in the middle had been editted out of this novel. I felt as though the narrative jumped from "teenage girl found, weird scars, only knows her name" to "supernatural girl warrior" with something missing in between.
It also seemed the battle scenes- generally crucial to fantasy fiction- were u...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
My name is Tessa. I am strong. I am brave. I do not cry. These are the only things I know for certain..
Thyla may be the third book of YA in two weeks that touches on memory (either forgetting or being forgotten.) The first half is Tessa piecing things together. She is discovered in the bush, sort of adopted by this policewoman, and then sent to a boarding school. Her inability to remember and her numerous questions about what she didn't know had me divided. Sure, I found her refreshing at first...more
Thyla may be the third book of YA in two weeks that touches on memory (either forgetting or being forgotten.) The first half is Tessa piecing things together. She is discovered in the bush, sort of adopted by this policewoman, and then sent to a boarding school. Her inability to remember and her numerous questions about what she didn't know had me divided. Sure, I found her refreshing at first...more
It seems that I have been reading a lot of introductory books lately. And this is definitely one of them.
Summmary
Tessa wakes up in a hospital with no memory of her past and mysterious scars on her back. Connolly a police officer is there when she wakes up. She helps Tessa adjust and try to get her memory back. When she leaves the hospital they send her to a boarding school where there is more mystery. Something strange is happening and it involves Tessa and Connolly's missing daughter Cat. Tess...more
Summmary
Tessa wakes up in a hospital with no memory of her past and mysterious scars on her back. Connolly a police officer is there when she wakes up. She helps Tessa adjust and try to get her memory back. When she leaves the hospital they send her to a boarding school where there is more mystery. Something strange is happening and it involves Tessa and Connolly's missing daughter Cat. Tess...more
3.5 stars. An extended review appears on my blog.
Tessa is brave, strong and never cries. That is all she knows about herself after waking up in the bush near Hobart, Tasmania. Taken to hospital by a policewoman named Connolly, whose own daughter went missing in the bush, Tessa begins to slowly piece together who (or what) she is. The truth further unravels after she's sent to the elite boarding school Connolly's daughter disappeared from, and she begins to realise how interconnected the events...more
Tessa is brave, strong and never cries. That is all she knows about herself after waking up in the bush near Hobart, Tasmania. Taken to hospital by a policewoman named Connolly, whose own daughter went missing in the bush, Tessa begins to slowly piece together who (or what) she is. The truth further unravels after she's sent to the elite boarding school Connolly's daughter disappeared from, and she begins to realise how interconnected the events...more
4 likes · like · see review
Thyla is a spectacular new addition to the ranks of paranormal fiction. Rich in dark imagery and sparkling with flashes of humour, it is an utterly compelling read. The protagonist, Tessa, combines endearing innocence with an edgy, primal intensity; her startling past - unveiled one layer at a time - is similarly mesmerising. Rather than keeping to the well-worn paths of vampire and angel mythology, Thyla brings something new to the genre: uniquely Australian shapeshifters, complete with organic...more
Thyla by Kate Gordon is set in Hobart, Tasmania. Tessa has been found in the bush by policewoman Rachel Connolly and her partner Vince after an anonymous phone call. At first she has no memories other than her name. But slowly little things come back to her and she realises that the world is very different from what she remembers. She's never seen a tv or a movie and finds the way everyone talks is peculiar to her, it's like she's from another time. She also has long, red scars on her back that...more
Set in modern Tasmania, this novel is rich in history with an added supernatural twist. With the beautiful landscape as a backdrop and a contemporary high-school/boarding-school setting, the novel also has a good pace. It moved seamlessly and there were no gaps or places that felt like they weren’t needed.
But of course it is the characters that make the story good. Tessa’s voice leads the reader through the story by showing the events, almost in a letter format. Now I know this may sound like a...more
But of course it is the characters that make the story good. Tessa’s voice leads the reader through the story by showing the events, almost in a letter format. Now I know this may sound like a...more
This is common knowledge to the majority of my friends, but for those of you who didn’t know, back when Monica was but a wee little girl, a vast portion of her psyche was shaped by the book Strange and Unexplained Phenomena. It’s thanks to this book that I, at age something-tiny, decided to become a cryptozoologist when I grew up.
Yes, I may not have been able to pronounce it, but by GOD I was going to study animals that “science” had turned its back on.
Damn you science.
So anyway, I had it all s...more
Yes, I may not have been able to pronounce it, but by GOD I was going to study animals that “science” had turned its back on.
Damn you science.
So anyway, I had it all s...more
4 likes · like · see review
I almost don’t know what to say other than I am so glad I was sent this to review; that I got to experience this novel by being able to get my hands on a copy. I can definitely say I have never read anything like it; sure something similar but nothing that quite matches this novel. It took me awhile to get into the scene because the way it was written but happily soon after page 60 or something the story really pulled me into its grasp. This is definitely in my top reads of the year so far; it h...more
this book was a fantastic read!!
lately it has been so hard to find a good book, a book that will just suck you in. Thyla was great, i read it in 3 days ( and trust me 3 days is really good for me, i am uselly to bissy to read anything)
i loved the main character tessa she really made the book, i also loved perrin, his character was so sexy! can't wait to see what happens to them in the next one:)
the structure of the book was sorta confusing at times but it's not to bad and you don't really notice...more
lately it has been so hard to find a good book, a book that will just suck you in. Thyla was great, i read it in 3 days ( and trust me 3 days is really good for me, i am uselly to bissy to read anything)
i loved the main character tessa she really made the book, i also loved perrin, his character was so sexy! can't wait to see what happens to them in the next one:)
the structure of the book was sorta confusing at times but it's not to bad and you don't really notice...more
This is really 2.5 stars:
I must say, my feelings toward this book were totally flip-floppy the entire time I was reading it. The only way I can explain my final thoughts are wishy washy. I started out super confused, and completely turned off be the narration and the main character, Tess. My feelings about this didn't really change. The diary point of view became increasingly annoying as time went on, and I felt myself getting so fed up with Tess and her choices that I didn't want to keep readin...more
I must say, my feelings toward this book were totally flip-floppy the entire time I was reading it. The only way I can explain my final thoughts are wishy washy. I started out super confused, and completely turned off be the narration and the main character, Tess. My feelings about this didn't really change. The diary point of view became increasingly annoying as time went on, and I felt myself getting so fed up with Tess and her choices that I didn't want to keep readin...more
Mar 11, 2012
Ashleigh Paige
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Ashleigh Paige by:
Cillian and Shirley Marr
Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker.
How strange.
I was forewarned that this tale of an amnesiac girl at a boarding school where strange things are going on was a very unusual book, but the friends that told me about Thyla were also adamant that it was fantastic. Well, one moreso than the other. It was a very strange book, but I did enjoy it overall and wish it were more easily available where I live. Why must Australia be so far away? Why?
I loved Tessa's voice and when she would rediscover so...more
9 likes · like · see review
This Australian story presents us initially with the story of Tessa, a girl found wild in the bush without a memory of who she is or what has happened to her. Taken by a kindly policewoman, Connolly, to a boarding school, Tessa attempts to find her place in the 'in' crowd of girls' clans, despite feeling different to everyone else and with a growing sense of familiarity and links with people and experiences in her past.
Slowly Tessa experiences a growing awareness of who she is, the terrible even...more
Slowly Tessa experiences a growing awareness of who she is, the terrible even...more
The overall plot of the novel was a great idea, however, to begin with, it was difficult to the very unique style of writing. Also the answer to the big question 'who is Tessa and where did she come from?' was somewhat underwhelming to me. The ending seemed too abrupt and felt more like the end of a chapter, rather than the end of a book. But, in general, the book was interesting and I will have to read the next installment, even if it is just to find out what happens.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Shirley Marr's review of this book captures most of what I want to say about it. Essentially, it's another uneven book by a first time author. I have more than niggling feeling that this book was pushed to publication far too soon, (perhaps to ride a trend wave?). Good books take time: 2, 3 4, or even 10 years. With more time spent reflecting and working on this novel, I'm sure it would have been much, much better. Overall, disappointing.
This novel's mystery had me hooked from the first page. Actually I think I was hooked from the moment I read the back of the book and the acknowledgements at the beginning and the story did not disappoint. In fact I was so hooked that I finished this story in less than a day and after reading some during my lunch break, seriously thought about not going back to work and finishing the story there and then instead.
Read the rest of my review at : http://sapphireddragon.blogspot.com/2......more
Read the rest of my review at : http://sapphireddragon.blogspot.com/2......more
I know it has only been a day or two since I finished this book but for the life of me a good portion of the story flew out of my head. I do remember that it felt overly-complicated and not particularly well-written and I can't say that I'm interested enough in it to bother picking up the next book, if there is a next book. Not my particular cup of tea. Pass.
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