Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
3rd out of 41 books
—
119 voters
Night Beach
by
Kirsty Eagar
Imagine there is someone you like so much that just thinking about them leaves you desperate and reckless. You crave them in a way that's not rational, not right, and you're becoming somebody you don't recognise, and certainly don't respect, but you don't even care. And this person you like is unattainable. Except for one thing... He lives downstairs.
Abbie has three obsess...more
Abbie has three obsess...more
Paperback, 314 pages
Published
April 26th 2012
by Penguin Books Australia
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,611)
My first inclination upon finishing Night Beach is to flood my review with several happy, dancing gifs.
Yeah, that will do.
That would be a helluva lot easier than trying to express why and how I loved this book so much.
However, allow me to give you some very valid reasons to read this book:
1. Eagar is an extremely promising Australian author.
2. This book is blurbed by Melina Marchetta for a reason.
3. I told you to.
Not everyone is going to completely get Night Beach. Eagar's style is both raw and...more
Yeah, that will do.
That would be a helluva lot easier than trying to express why and how I loved this book so much.
However, allow me to give you some very valid reasons to read this book:
1. Eagar is an extremely promising Australian author.
2. This book is blurbed by Melina Marchetta for a reason.
3. I told you to.
Not everyone is going to completely get Night Beach. Eagar's style is both raw and...more
71 likes · like · see review
view all 25 comments
But there the night is close, and there
Darkness is cold and strange and bare;
And the secret deeps are whisperless;
... and music is
The exquisite knocking of the blood...”
- The Fish, Rupert Brooke (1911)
Night Beach is an intense, evocative novel that explores the shadowy recesses and dark corners of the mind that birth, feed and foster art and obsession. It’s an unsettling story, delving into unchartered spaces of the consciousness, a story that balances precariously between the real and the unre...more
Darkness is cold and strange and bare;
And the secret deeps are whisperless;
... and music is
The exquisite knocking of the blood...”
- The Fish, Rupert Brooke (1911)
Night Beach is an intense, evocative novel that explores the shadowy recesses and dark corners of the mind that birth, feed and foster art and obsession. It’s an unsettling story, delving into unchartered spaces of the consciousness, a story that balances precariously between the real and the unre...more
36 likes · like · see review
This review and other fun things can be found on my blog Trin In The Wind.
Oh. My. God.
Instructions for reading this book:
1. Read at night
2. Read at night while it's raining
3. Read at night while it's raining and you're home alone
4. Let yourself go.
I have no idea what to do with this book. I feel like I've been burned alive.
There's a certa...more
"Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow" - The Hollow Men, T.S Eliot
Oh. My. God.
Instructions for reading this book:
1. Read at night
2. Read at night while it's raining
3. Read at night while it's raining and you're home alone
4. Let yourself go.
I have no idea what to do with this book. I feel like I've been burned alive.
There's a certa...more
20 likes · like · see review
4.5 stars
There aren’t that many real Maja books out there, books that hit the very center of my soul, that make me dizzy with admiration and excitement. And as it turns out, I love heavily atmospheric books. If you’d asked me yesterday, I would have vehemently denied it. Sure, some of my favorite books fit the description (The Scorpio Races, The Space Between), but I always thought of them as exceptions rather than a rule. What I realized with Night Beach is that the way these books make me feel...more
There aren’t that many real Maja books out there, books that hit the very center of my soul, that make me dizzy with admiration and excitement. And as it turns out, I love heavily atmospheric books. If you’d asked me yesterday, I would have vehemently denied it. Sure, some of my favorite books fit the description (The Scorpio Races, The Space Between), but I always thought of them as exceptions rather than a rule. What I realized with Night Beach is that the way these books make me feel...more
35 likes · like · see review
Uh oh. Don't hate me.
It is probably for the best that I am too much of a coward and a lightweight to start experimenting with drugs, I tried weed once and began spacing out after two puffs. However, I've listened to enough lengthy descriptions about friends' experiences to feel qualified to compare Night Beach to a trip on magic mushrooms. I'd recommend this book to fans of This is Shyness, however I'd liken the latter to being on acid instead. Both novels were extremely bizarre and focused on...more
37 likes · like · see review
Dear Penguin Australia, thank you for giving me a chance to read Night Beach, I am very grateful. I am not in this to Win Famous Friends or Unintentionally Make Famous Enemies. I just like to read and then tell people what I think. I don't fawn unless it is genuine. I don't criticise unless the book forces me to be passionate and want the author to do better. So please find enclosed my review. Yours, Shirley Marr.
From the onset I wanted to love this book. I wanted to love Kirsty's first book, Ra...more
From the onset I wanted to love this book. I wanted to love Kirsty's first book, Ra...more
30 likes · like · see review
It would have been 4 stars if it weren't for that ending.
6 likes · like · see review
Rating: 2.5 Stars
I read this book with Jasprit from The Reader's Den for a read-along and honestly, if it hadn't been for the fact that I had to read three chapters every day, I would have given up on this one a looooong time ago. Night Beach is, in many ways, the perfect October read. It opens up with an interesting premise and there are more than a few hair-raising events within the first couple of chapters to keep your attention and leave you hanging on the edge of your seat but unfortunatel...more
I read this book with Jasprit from The Reader's Den for a read-along and honestly, if it hadn't been for the fact that I had to read three chapters every day, I would have given up on this one a looooong time ago. Night Beach is, in many ways, the perfect October read. It opens up with an interesting premise and there are more than a few hair-raising events within the first couple of chapters to keep your attention and leave you hanging on the edge of your seat but unfortunatel...more
8 likes · like · see review
Oh, this book frustrated me. The writing (in terms of word arrangement, that is) was beautiful. I wish I could give it 5 stars just for the writing. But the actual plot - well, was there even a plot?
There was something about a supernatural thing, some (evil?) being that was hinted at the whole time and then BAM! something weird would happen, but I was never sure how, or why, or even what exactly was happening. Everything through the book was so beautifully described - except for the transitions...more
There was something about a supernatural thing, some (evil?) being that was hinted at the whole time and then BAM! something weird would happen, but I was never sure how, or why, or even what exactly was happening. Everything through the book was so beautifully described - except for the transitions...more
Feb 02, 2012
Laura Newcombe
marked it as to-read
Auto-approval tastes like victory. One point to all malnourished, hard-working Australians. OUR TIME HAS COME!
3 likes · like · see review
I am creeped out, but conflicted. 3.5 stars, I think? This needs some consideration.
4 likes · like · see review
I’m not a jealous person.
Well, OK, that’s a blatant lie.
I can be waiting at the bus stop and find at least five people I am jealous of. Because, seriously, how does her hair stay so nice when it is chucking it down? I’m wearing a hood and I have my brolly up and I’m huddling a little close to this chav in hope that his bulk shelters me from the rain and I still look like I’ve been dragged backwards through a hedge.
Um…
I am not a jealous person but I am jealous of Kirsty Eagar and her writing.
T...more
Well, OK, that’s a blatant lie.
I can be waiting at the bus stop and find at least five people I am jealous of. Because, seriously, how does her hair stay so nice when it is chucking it down? I’m wearing a hood and I have my brolly up and I’m huddling a little close to this chav in hope that his bulk shelters me from the rain and I still look like I’ve been dragged backwards through a hedge.
Um…
I am not a jealous person but I am jealous of Kirsty Eagar and her writing.
T...more
13 likes · like · see review
1.75/5
sure sense of mood and tone, the actual storyline left me rather indifferent to any of the characters. confusing mess of a book. unintelligible slang and fairly heavy use of symbolism. should probably read it again.
>> bree t.
sure sense of mood and tone, the actual storyline left me rather indifferent to any of the characters. confusing mess of a book. unintelligible slang and fairly heavy use of symbolism. should probably read it again.
>> bree t.
2 likes · like · see review
A gothic story about the very dark things that feed the creative process.
uh huh .
You Said It .
Night Beach is one of those books which are so hard to explain and write about . My attempt to write a review here is going to be a definite failure but let's just give it a try , shall we ?
I'm kinda dumbstruck here . Sure i knew that i would in some or the other way 'like' the book because when you look at this book and peak into it's summary , there's something about it that just oozes of originalit...more
uh huh .
You Said It .
Night Beach is one of those books which are so hard to explain and write about . My attempt to write a review here is going to be a definite failure but let's just give it a try , shall we ?
I'm kinda dumbstruck here . Sure i knew that i would in some or the other way 'like' the book because when you look at this book and peak into it's summary , there's something about it that just oozes of originalit...more
7 likes · like · see review
Night beach sounded really interesting, I had high hopes for it.
First of all I want to say thank you to the publisher and NetGally for giving me the opportunity to read this.
This is an Australian book and let me say you can tell. There was a lot of Aussie jargon and slang used that even I didn’t understand, and I think maybe there was too much of that. it was very Australian, almost stereotypical, the beach the suffers, the writing doesn’t help their image, the term ‘beach bums’ is what these...more
First of all I want to say thank you to the publisher and NetGally for giving me the opportunity to read this.
This is an Australian book and let me say you can tell. There was a lot of Aussie jargon and slang used that even I didn’t understand, and I think maybe there was too much of that. it was very Australian, almost stereotypical, the beach the suffers, the writing doesn’t help their image, the term ‘beach bums’ is what these...more
1 like · like · see review
If there hadn't been for Goodreads I would have never known about all these books. I remember when I started researching this site back in summer 2009 I seriously thought that I was going mental since there were so many which I still hadn't read and so many which were on my list. With time I'll manage as I sincerely think that I still need to read around 500, 600 of them to have the things in my head that I want to have. That is if I learn how to cope with the things I am interested in. Which is...more
Why hello thar! Nice to be writing a review again :) You see, lately my time has been spent writing essays on things such as causes of action in order to sue somebody with and public relations scandals!
I HAVE been attempting to write this review for the past few days but my internet is being incredibly frustrating and RANDOMLY STOPS WORKING and shuts down my browser. So yeah, I've been a little bit annoyed! BUT YAYYYYYY! HERE IS A REVIEW AGAIN!
Now... about the book!
Abbie is a girl who loves to s...more
I HAVE been attempting to write this review for the past few days but my internet is being incredibly frustrating and RANDOMLY STOPS WORKING and shuts down my browser. So yeah, I've been a little bit annoyed! BUT YAYYYYYY! HERE IS A REVIEW AGAIN!
Now... about the book!
Abbie is a girl who loves to s...more
6 likes · like · see review
A brilliant, terrifying, traumatic book. Kirsty Eagar has really snuck up on the YA scene, her books filled with the unexpected, defying categorisation and packing one hell of a punch. I'll put a longer review up on the blog when I've had time to digest this one a bit more.
I've since had time to put a full review up here
I've since had time to put a full review up here
Now, don't get me wrong.
I was SO excited about this book. The blurb made my skin crawl with goosebumps: obsession? Dark things that feed the creative process? Bring it on!!
What I didn't know is that this is a PARANORMAL book. Which absolutely threw me off, because I don't do paranormal. Especially creepy paranormal. I wasn't expecting it and it freaked me out, frankly. So I had to throw the book aside, sadly- because like I said, I was really anticipating this story, and I was enjoying it so far...more
I was SO excited about this book. The blurb made my skin crawl with goosebumps: obsession? Dark things that feed the creative process? Bring it on!!
What I didn't know is that this is a PARANORMAL book. Which absolutely threw me off, because I don't do paranormal. Especially creepy paranormal. I wasn't expecting it and it freaked me out, frankly. So I had to throw the book aside, sadly- because like I said, I was really anticipating this story, and I was enjoying it so far...more
Kirsty Eagar has a knack for weaving intense atmospheric tales that entrance the reader and envelope their senses. Eagar is a writer in every sense of the word. She is fearless in the way in which she tackles the strong emotions, hormones and grit within the surf culture of Sydney.
Night Beach starts off like a younger sibling to Raw Blue – sun, sand and surf – and then morphs into a creature of its own, distinct from Saltwater Vampires and yet similar in its oceanic and gothic nature. But what d...more
Night Beach starts off like a younger sibling to Raw Blue – sun, sand and surf – and then morphs into a creature of its own, distinct from Saltwater Vampires and yet similar in its oceanic and gothic nature. But what d...more
After reading and loving Raw Blue (multiple times!!), I snapped up Night Beach when I saw it on amazon.
In Night Beach, Eagar takes us back to the setting she paints better than anybody else; the Aussie surf beach. Of course, it’s not the same beach as the haven in Raw Blue, this time the coast is dark and unrepentant. Expect bursting descriptions and just enough Aussie slang to make you feel grounded in reality, before Eagar rips the carpet out from under your feet.
As a modern art mistress, I...more
In Night Beach, Eagar takes us back to the setting she paints better than anybody else; the Aussie surf beach. Of course, it’s not the same beach as the haven in Raw Blue, this time the coast is dark and unrepentant. Expect bursting descriptions and just enough Aussie slang to make you feel grounded in reality, before Eagar rips the carpet out from under your feet.
As a modern art mistress, I...more
Aussie author Eagar breaks away from the tropes of YA pararom with her novel Night Beach. Gone are the constraints of a sugary sweet protag, or a too-good-to-be-true hero. Instead, Eagar's brightly woven beachside landscape offers older teen readers a refreshing and unapologetically attentive once over of life as a "surfie."
While Eagar's real talent lies in capturing the no-nonsense Australian lingo and interplaying it with her stunning descriptions of the ocean, she loses no points for her port...more
While Eagar's real talent lies in capturing the no-nonsense Australian lingo and interplaying it with her stunning descriptions of the ocean, she loses no points for her port...more
Night Beach is a story of infinite complexity – easily inviting readers into a life riddled with emotional holes in the shape of a mother and a longtime crush, and enveloping us in a world we can practically touch while captivating us with a heroine whose every emotion reverberates through us. One of the joys of reading Ms. Eagar’s work is meeting her characters, young women and men who are so gloriously real the paper pages fall away and we find ourselves watching the lives of friends unfold be...more
Eagar writes very well and her descriptions of the sea and of the surfing community worked. The book was very Australian, which I enjoyed also. I enjoyed being part of Abbie's journey. I thought that Abbie was a very real character, and I sympathised with her feelings of exclusion from her family, and her friends. I liked that she was sometimes not all that likeable, but that she developed strength of character as the novel progressed.
I enjoyed the 'crush' aspect and I could understand her fasc...more
I enjoyed the 'crush' aspect and I could understand her fasc...more
Night Beach is a very intense book, unsettling and creepy at times. I was pulled into the story but found the main character a bit hard to take. Abbie, a 17 year old girl on the verge of leaving adolescence, is the protagonist of the story. She has a crush on her step-cousin Kane, who has been living with her family. Calling it a crush is pretty mild actually, she is obsessed, bordering on stalker territory.
Kane comes back from a surfing holiday and Abbie can sense something is different about h...more
Kane comes back from a surfing holiday and Abbie can sense something is different about h...more
I finished reading the book in the morning, and my first thought after completing it was... WHOAAAAAA... and then my brain just shut down. It took me this long 4.30 hours to write a review and even now, I have no idea what should I write and what should i exclude.
There are three things that come to my mind, when thinking about this book.
An artist, the sea, and the place beyond.
The story weaves around these elements in a manner that traps you, and forces you to read and read and read..till you c...more
There are three things that come to my mind, when thinking about this book.
An artist, the sea, and the place beyond.
The story weaves around these elements in a manner that traps you, and forces you to read and read and read..till you c...more
Jun 10, 2012
Candace
added it
First of all, this is an Australian published title and is not available in the US (yet anyway). Just so you don't spend a load of time trying to find it. ;) You can order it from Australia though.
I'm not sure what I should rate this one because I have some mixed feelings. I love Kirsty's brilliant writing, the Aussie feel and language and the gorgeous setting. I loved the dialogue, it really came alive for me, it felt real. I'm not a surfer, and know nothing about it, but loved those scenes.
Th...more
I'm not sure what I should rate this one because I have some mixed feelings. I love Kirsty's brilliant writing, the Aussie feel and language and the gorgeous setting. I loved the dialogue, it really came alive for me, it felt real. I'm not a surfer, and know nothing about it, but loved those scenes.
Th...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Well, here I sit at 4 a.m., so obviously I was able to finish the book. The truth is, I couldn't put it down.
I was so afraid that Night Beach wouldn't possibly be able to be nearly as good as Raw Blue, especially given that the stories couldn't be farther away from each other in premise if they tried. Rarely have I ever been so glad to be so wrong about anything.
I had forgotten the impact of Eagar's words. Her writing is gorgeous and powerful. It isn't 'in your face' but she doesn't hold anythi...more
I was so afraid that Night Beach wouldn't possibly be able to be nearly as good as Raw Blue, especially given that the stories couldn't be farther away from each other in premise if they tried. Rarely have I ever been so glad to be so wrong about anything.
I had forgotten the impact of Eagar's words. Her writing is gorgeous and powerful. It isn't 'in your face' but she doesn't hold anythi...more
This was the first of Kirsty Eagar's books that I read and I absolutely loved it, it was great to find another quality Australian writer of young adult fiction. Her characters are so real, and so fully developed it feels like you are reading about real people. Their thoughts and actions are relatable and believable. The supernatural themes of this book creep up on you till the hair on the back of your neck stand up and a shiver runs down your spine.
The story centers around Abbie, a seventeen ye...more
The story centers around Abbie, a seventeen ye...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aussie YA Reading...: Night Beach by Kirsty Eagar | 10 | 43 | Feb 13, 2012 07:42am |
Kirsty Eagar grew up on a central Queensland cattle property and spent her school holidays at the beach. After studying economics, she worked on trading desks in Sydney and London before changing careers, wanting a life where she could surf every day. She travelled around Australia for a couple of years, worked a variety of jobs and began writing fiction. Her debut novel, Raw Blue, was published b...more
More about Kirsty Eagar...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“I don't want romance and stolen kisses and sweetness and hand holding. I want something so big it's like two planets colliding, with an aftershock that I feel for the rest of my life.”
—
13 people liked it
“You cant rely on anybody being around for you, because things change.”
—
8 people liked it
More quotes…
