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32nd out of 89 books
—
79 voters
Queen Kat, Carmel & St. Jude Get A Life
A tumultuous year in the lives of three unforgettable women.
This is a wonderfully passionate & absorbing novel which explores the lives of three very different girls in their first year out of school, who share an inner city Melbourne house. All three girls come from the small country town of Manella. Katrina, priveleged, beautiful, & sophisticated, is the daught...more
This is a wonderfully passionate & absorbing novel which explores the lives of three very different girls in their first year out of school, who share an inner city Melbourne house. All three girls come from the small country town of Manella. Katrina, priveleged, beautiful, & sophisticated, is the daught...more
Paperback, 444 pages
Published
February 15th 2004
by Penguin Global
(first published February 15th 1995)
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The writing isn't great, but the characters and their struggles to cope with life at uni are very real. Some parts nearly had me in tears, and at one point I felt too sick to continue reading Jude's section (I had to put the book down and come back to it later). Evoking such strong emotions is, for me, a sign of good storytelling, so even though the narrative and dialogue felt clunky, this book gets four stars.
At times this story can be a bit clunky but its charm overrides all its faults. I love reading this book whenever I miss Melbourne - the characters go to cafes I went to, they sit in the rotunda in the Edinburgh gardens late at night just like I used to, and the streets they walk are all familiar and tinged with the same love I felt. Maybe that's why it works for me - it makes my own memories fresh again.
I adored this book. It was such a good read. A story about three university students, stepping out into the real love, their lives enriched by love, betrayal and family secrets. Though the ending was sad, I enjoyed this book to no end. The characters are so real, alive and passionate.
Going through Aussie books and coming across so many novels I read back in school that had such an impact on me but I managed to forget about.
This one in particular was a bit rough around the edges but the story flowed and the characters were oh so real.
This one in particular was a bit rough around the edges but the story flowed and the characters were oh so real.
One of those great "coming of age" stories, I probably should have read when I was 20. Still good to see the character development and the "twist" that three apparently different girls actually had so much in common.
FIRST IMPRESSION:
A story which would focus on three characters in particular.
WRITING STYLE:
There was never a dull moment with the writing style. It never failed to keep me interested. This was the book which got me into reading again, after a long break.
PLOT:
Pulled off better than I expected. Three girls, one dorm. All with different personalities.
CHARACTERS:
All the characters were amazing. I love their insights. It was characterisation at its best, and it was told in three points of views.
OVERA...more
A story which would focus on three characters in particular.
WRITING STYLE:
There was never a dull moment with the writing style. It never failed to keep me interested. This was the book which got me into reading again, after a long break.
PLOT:
Pulled off better than I expected. Three girls, one dorm. All with different personalities.
CHARACTERS:
All the characters were amazing. I love their insights. It was characterisation at its best, and it was told in three points of views.
OVERA...more
It could have been "Queen Kat, Carmel, St Jude and Anemone get a life" because I felt like being in part of their lives!
There's a copy of this book at the Simmons College Library - must investigate at some point.
3 girls going through the tough transition from high school to college. another great aussie read
I didn't like this book as well as the other Maureen McCarthy I've read but it was a solid OK! I did listen to it and the reader is Australian which made it very enjoyable. This book just felt a little more superficial than the other one. I couldn't quite love all three of the main characters, but again a solid 3 stars.
uh, what a dull book. Stereotypical characters- stories that weren't plausible, and some weird arcs in the book. A positive point was the narration - the changing viewpoint but the continuation of the story was nice. Kat was the most interesting of the characters for me, but her naievity was annoying, Carmel and Jude were decent characters, but still I couldn't connect with anyone in the story, the closing chapters were nice and considerably down to earth compared to the other chapters though an...more
This book wasn't as good as McCarthy's others but overall was relatively enjoyable. The characters did irritate me a lot though & I found them to be a bit unrealistic but all in all a good YA book!
Odd, but i liked it.
my favorite 'coming of age' book i read in high school, cant find it in UK so have requested younger sister seek it out and send to me becasue i want to read it again!
Great book. Read it in secondary school and I plan to read it again some time. The characters are solid and I still remember scenes from this book. Whenever I eat hot salty fish from the fish and chip shop I think of this book.
I honestly couldn't get into it. I'd heard so many good things, but in the end I just didn't like any of the characters enough to care to read about them.
Fantastic. Three very real characters each with unique voices. Was a big literary influence on my novel The Big Smoke.
It's been a while since I read this and I was probably a bit young at the time, but I remember I enjoyed it.
May 19, 2013
Amyfleur
added it
May 14, 2013
Bree
marked it as to-read
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Maureen McCarthy, the ninth of ten children, was born in country Victoria. An Australian author and scriptwriter, her novels concern the lives of emerging adults, from ages sixteen to early twenties. She has worked as a teacher in Victorian Secondary Schools and has also written scripts for television and educational films. McCarthy has three sons and lives in Melbourne.
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Feb 10, 2009 02:09am
Feb 10, 2009 12:44pm