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Wattle Creek

3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 · rating details · 78 ratings · 11 reviews

Damien McAllister is a man on the brink. Spending long, hard days on a farm he has no affection for, and nights ignoring the criticisms of his mother, Damien can no longer remember what he's living for. But in a small town like Wattle Creek, there are few people to turn to - and Damien learned long ago to keep his problems to himself.

Until Jacqueline Havelock, a young psyc...more

Paperback, 335 pages

Published April 2012 by Mira Harlequin Australia

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The Girl in Steel Capped Boots by Loretta Hill

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Oct 21, 2012 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

As I think I have mentioned before, I do tend to avoid the rural lit’s a bit only because I also live on the land and sometimes find I just cannot read more about the land and prefer to venture elsewhere on my reads! But I must say that I have come to really like Fiona MacCallum - she is a very talented writer that I enjoy and if you like the rural reads and haven’t tried any of Fiona’s books before, I do recommend. I did enjoy her previous novel Nowhere Else a little better though – this one wa...more

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Apr 08, 2012 Lauren Murphy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-author, aww2012, romance, rural-lit, eclectic2012

Although this book turned up unexpectedly for review, i was excited to review it as i’ve become a big fan of rural lit. I also share the same profession as the protagonist, Jacqueline Havelock, a young psychologist.

Jacqueline moves to Wattle Creek for a twelve month contract as a private psychologist in the local medical practice. She is immediately intrigued by one of her first patients, Damien a shy farmer with depression. Jacqueline works hard to fight the barriers of people seeking professio...more Although this book turned up unexpectedly for review, i was excited to review it as i’ve become a big fan of rural lit. I also share the same profession as the protagonist, Jacqueline Havelock, a young psychologist.

Jacqueline moves to Wattle Creek for a twelve month contract as a private psychologist in the local medical practice. She is immediately intrigued by one of her first patients, Damien a shy farmer with depression. Jacqueline works hard to fight the barriers of people seeking professional help in this rural town and develops a close friendship with the elderly widow Ethel who lives across the road and takes on Jacqueline as a project to infiltrate her in the town.

Unfortunately I did have some issues with the plot in this story. It was a little slow, I know it was character-driven, but I didn’t really feel like I ever knew Jacqueline very well, though Damien seemed well developed.

But the biggest issue for me (and maybe I’m a little biased here on this area!) was Jacqueline’s role as a psychologist. She had some serious boundary issues and some of her behaviour was quite unethical. One major no, no, that is drummed into psych students throughout their 6 years or so of training is to NEVER have a sexual relationship with a client. Although Jacqueline and Damien’s relationship didn’t become physically intimate until therapy was finished, she certainly crossed the boundaries when she was his psychologist. Firstly, she turned up at his home with his Aunt when he missed his second or third appointment= breach of confidentiality and not within her role as a private psych. Then telling him that she is not just his psychologist, but also his friend=also a no no. She also asked locals about his personal life= need I say no, no? They began to develop a friendship where it was obvious that they were both attracted to each other, yet she still encouraged him to come and see her professionally. This made it difficult for me as a reader to be vested in the romantic relationship between these two characters. The reason there shouldn’t be a personal relationship between client and therapist is because the therapist is in a position of authority and the client is vulnerable. There is a clear power imbalance. The therapeutic relationship is emotionally intimate and the therapist’s role is to provide an environment of trust and safety. In some ways I felt Damien was manipulated because of Jacqueline’s feelings for him and I don’t think it was really clear how he felt about her separate to how she helped him professionally. Maybe I’m harping on a bit but I just found it quite unrealistic and silly that Jacqueline thought once he was ‘fixed’ she could just start dating him a week later. If memory serves me correctly, a psychologist can’t have a personal relationship with a client (preferably ever) until at least 2 years have passed.

Anyway, despite all these issues I think if the ethical conflicts were captured in the story and actually used within the plot or if they had quit therapy after one session and then developed a friendship then the storyline would have been more believable.

Despite my reservations about the protagonist, I did feel the author captured Damien’s emotional state early in the book quite well and also his hesitation in seeking professional help. I felt that he did grow and develop some skills to cope with the circumstances and got a better grasp on his ambitions in life.

Aside from my issue with how the protagonist’s profession was managed, I did enjoy the story when I ignored these aspects and thought Wattle Creek was a sweet story about two different people relying on each other in a small country town and trying to find their place in the world. I do also have Paycheque by Fiona McCallum sitting on my TBR shelf and I intend to read this for the AWW2012 challenge- so I haven’t ruled this author out just yet.
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Apr 24, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-author, provided-by-publisher

Wattle Creek is a contemporary Australian novel that explores the sensitive subject of depression amongst men in rural areas. Damien is a third generation farmer doing it tough. The sheep are stupid, something always needs fixing and he is single and lonely. After finding himself cradling a rifle and contemplating suicide he reaches out for help. Jacqueline is establishing her psychologist practice in Wattle Creek after fleeing an awkward situation in the city arising from her work in prisons. S...more Wattle Creek is a contemporary Australian novel that explores the sensitive subject of depression amongst men in rural areas. Damien is a third generation farmer doing it tough. The sheep are stupid, something always needs fixing and he is single and lonely. After finding himself cradling a rifle and contemplating suicide he reaches out for help. Jacqueline is establishing her psychologist practice in Wattle Creek after fleeing an awkward situation in the city arising from her work in prisons. She is looking forward to working in Wattle Creek, determined to help the regions residents, however practicing in a small rural town poses challenges she had never considered.

Wattle Creek wasn't quite what I was expecting, though it has an element of romance and minor suspense, it's focus is more on Damien's emotional journey. McCallum has created a wonderful character in Damien, he is very much a 'typical' rural Aussie bloke in that he doesn't talk much and he is reluctant to share his feelings. His journey through depression is realistically painful. The long hours and hard work coupled with the isolation and financial concerns has seen Damien grow increasingly disillusioned during his twenties but he has continued to work the land out of respect and a sense of duty to his late father. He is unable to turn to his mother for support, though she part owns the farm, she lives with her second husband and has no time for Damien's messy emotions. It is only in crisis that he reaches out to the local GP who refers him to Jacqueline.
Unfortunately, Jacqueline is the character I liked least in Wattle Creek. A psychologist, Jacqueline is fresh from the city and has to adjust to living in a small town. Initially I found her background interesting and sympathised with her when she made an error in judgment that leads to disapproval by the clinic doctor but as the novel unfolded I found she lacked the self awareness and insight I would have expected from someone of her profession. She is young admittedly, and therefore somewhat inexperienced, and though I don't doubt her motivation is to provide care for the community I thought her internal thoughts tended to be judgmental. I also found I was uncomfortable with the relationship that develops between Jacqueline and Damien, which seems to me to be a breach of professional ethics. In a small town it is understandable that the line between the personal and professional can blur a little, as the incident in the pub shows, but having once gotten involved with a patient, no matter how innocent the interaction, repeating the error seems disingenuous.
I was fond of Ethel, she is quite a character, an active octogenarian, willing to extend friendship and support to both Jacqueline and Damien. I also thought McCallum captured the essence of a small rural community well. I enjoyed witnessing the interactions unique to rural life - the CWA meeting, for example, and the way in which the community pulls together when fire threatens.

For me, the strength of Wattle Creek lies in its authentic depiction of a young rural man struggling with depression and I appreciate McCallum highlighting the issue. While I wasn't enamoured with Jacqueline and the romantic element of the novel, I did generally enjoy Wattle Creek and read it in just one day. I plan to eventually read McCallum's previous titles, Paycheque and Nowhere Else.(less)

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Apr 18, 2013 Jenny rated it 2 of 5 stars

A Qantas freebee, handbag size, perfect for travelling :)

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Dec 19, 2012 Kel rated it 3 of 5 stars

As with many books in this genre, there wasn't a compelling and believable enough story to really get me in. I found the characters likeable enough but everything fitted together a little too neatly and stereotypically for me. I like my characters and plots a little messier!

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Jan 27, 2013 Suzie Hogan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book fairly predictable but it is nice to read a story that has nice ending and I like to read a out the country as it is very friendly also liked the environment where it was set I think it must be some where near broken hill

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Jan 29, 2013 Jenni King added it

I loved this book. Will definitely read more by Fiona Mccallum.

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Nov 11, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

amazing! it is BRILLIANT! WANT TO READ AGAIN AND AGAIN!!

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Apr 16, 2012 Caroline rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Aussie fiction

Recommended to Caroline by: Same author as Nowhere Else

Just kept reading, ignored the family!

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Mar 19, 2013 Cathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ending was a little bit predictable and tidy

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Oct 31, 2012 Priya rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having not long ago had a baby, my head space has only managed easy reading lately. This certainly fit the bill but was also enjoyable too.

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May 06, 2013 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian-authors

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About Fiona Mccallum

Fiona McCallum spent her childhood years on the family cereal and wool farm outside a small town on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. An avid reader and writer, she decided at the age of nine that she wanted to be the next Enid Blyton! She completed her final years of schooling at a private boarding school in Adelaide.

Having returned to her home town to work in the local council office, Fiona main...more Fiona McCallum spent her childhood years on the family cereal and wool farm outside a small town on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. An avid reader and writer, she decided at the age of nine that she wanted to be the next Enid Blyton! She completed her final years of schooling at a private boarding school in Adelaide.

Having returned to her home town to work in the local council office, Fiona maintained her literary interests by writing poetry and short stories, and studying at TAFE via correspondence. Her ability to put into words her observations of country life saw a number of her feature articles published in the now defunct newspaper SA Statewide.

When her marriage ended Fiona moved to Adelaide, eventually found romance, and followed it to Melbourne. She returned to full-time study at the age of twenty-six and in 2000 graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Professional Writing) from Deakin University. While studying, she found herself drawn to writing fiction where her keen observation of the human condition and everyday situations could be combined with her love of storytelling.

After brief stints in administration, marketing, and recruitment, Fiona started Content Solutions, a consultancy providing professional writing and editing services to the corporate sector. Living with a sales and marketing executive and working on high level business proposals and tenders in Australia and overseas, gave Fiona great insight into vastly different ways of life.

Fiona continued to develop her creative writing skills by reading widely and voraciously, and attending short courses. In 2001 she realised her true passion lay in writing full-length fiction, and in 2002 completed her first manuscript.

In early 2004 Fiona made the difficult decision to return to Adelaide alone in order to achieve a balanced lifestyle and develop a career as a novelist. She successfully re-established her consultancy, and now enjoys the sharp contrast between her corporate work and creative writing.

Fiona's first novel Paycheque was released on April 1 2011 and became an 'instant bestseller'. Her second novel Nowhere Else was released on Dec 1 2011 and had already outsold Paycheque by early January 2012. Fiona's third novel, Wattle Creek, is due for release April 1 2012.(less)

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