The Sunnyvale Girls in Aussie Readers

Jul 08, 2014 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, net-galley, 2014-release, contemporary-fiction, uncorrected-proof, arc, own-read

As Flick (Felicity) Stewart watched the sunrise in the company of her dog Fella and horse Contractor, a sight she never got sick of, her Nan, Maggie Stewart was pottering in her garden. Maggie’s garden was her haven, though her kitchen where she cooked for her daughter Toni (Antonia), Flick and farmhand but definite member of the family Jimmy came a close second – Maggie’s cooking was legendary; while the others worked the farm, Maggie kept them fed and healthy. It was a perfect arrangement and As Flick (Felicity) Stewart watched the sunrise in the company of her dog Fella and horse Contractor, a sight she never got sick of, her Nan, Maggie Stewart was pottering in her garden. Maggie’s garden was her haven, though her kitchen where she cooked for her daughter Toni (Antonia), Flick and farmhand but definite member of the family Jimmy came a close second – Maggie’s cooking was legendary; while the others worked the farm, Maggie kept them fed and healthy. It was a perfect arrangement and with Maggie having lived on Sunnyvale Farm in Western Australia all her life, then her daughter and granddaughter as well, it was a connection the three women felt deeply.

Back in the war years when Maggie was a young woman, their farm became home to two Italian prisoners of war. Rocco and Giulio came to work on Sunnyvale Farm; they were hardworking young men and settled in well. But Maggie’s mother Phyllis was unimpressed with them – in the two years they were there she didn’t warm to them at all. But Maggie’s brother Charlie and father John appreciated and liked the young men, while Maggie felt her heart speed up just a little when she was in their company…

When Flick and Jimmy were renovating the inside of the old farmhouse on Sunnyvale, Flick was excited to find a tightly closed box of hidden keepsakes – but the discovery of what was inside created shockwaves right through the Stewart women. Suddenly there were secrets from a long ago past which threatened to tear apart not just their lives but the lives of others across the world. In an attempt to discover the truth, would they find peace and happiness or would their lives be shattered forever?

I absolutely loved The Sunnyvale Girls! Aussie author Fiona Palmer paints beautiful word pictures of the land, the vastness of the Australian outback and the bush. This story is heartwarming, sad and uplifting all at the same time. The differing strengths of the three women in this story is wonderfully portrayed and I have no hesitation in recommending The Sunnyvale Girls highly.

With thanks to TRR, NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.
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May 09, 2014 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-author, arc-are, netgalley-reviews, provided-by-publisher

The Sunnyvale Girls, Fiona Palmer's sixth novel, is an engaging story about family, self discovery, and romance.

'Sunnyvale', a sheep and wheat farm in regional Western Australia, is home to three generations of women, matriarch Maggie, her daughter Antonia (Toni) and granddaughter, twenty year old Felicity (Flick).

A dual narrative featuring a contemporary and historical timeline has become a popular element in recent rural romance novels. In The Sunnyvale Girls, Felicity discovers a hidden cac
The Sunnyvale Girls, Fiona Palmer's sixth novel, is an engaging story about family, self discovery, and romance.

'Sunnyvale', a sheep and wheat farm in regional Western Australia, is home to three generations of women, matriarch Maggie, her daughter Antonia (Toni) and granddaughter, twenty year old Felicity (Flick).

A dual narrative featuring a contemporary and historical timeline has become a popular element in recent rural romance novels. In The Sunnyvale Girls, Felicity discovers a hidden cache of unopened letters addressed to Maggie, and unearths a secret Maggie has kept for over 50 years. Through Maggie's memories, we learn the origins of that secret - a forbidden wartime romance between Maggie and a young, handsome Italian POW billeted to Sunnyvale during the last years of World War Two. Toni is shocked by Maggie's revelation, but Felicity reacts to the news with excitement and convinces Toni to accompany her to Italy to try and find Maggie's lost love.

Both timelines feature family drama, romance and a hint of mystery. Palmer explores the individual journey's of the three women with a deft hand by challenging her characters emotionally.
Maggie's story reveals a bittersweet tale of first love, thwarted by prejudice and circumstance. Her secret is easily guessed, but the storyline is sweet, the historical details are interesting and I was eager to find out why Rocco never returned for Maggie as promised.
Toni, already simmering with long held resentments and low self esteem, is furious with her mother when Maggie's secret is revealed. It makes her question the choices she has made in the past and forces her to confront the decisions she needs to make about her future, especially where Jimmy, Sunnyvale's farm hand, is concerned.
Felicity is simply curious about Maggie's past and excited at the prospect of reuniting her grandmother with her lost love. Having fought her mother's attempts to get Felicity to explore the world beyond the boundaries of Sunnyvale, Italy is a revelation for Felicity, especially when she meets a handsome Italian waiter.

Palmer has always had success with creating a strong sense of place in her novels, drawing on her familiarity with the Australian rural landscape. The author's descriptions of Italy, particularly of the village of Montone in which Maggie and Flick stay, are similarly evocative. (Check out Fiona's guest post at Book'd Out to learn about her research trip to Italy.)

A lovely rural romance, with appealing characters, a strong storyline, and a historical twist, The Sunnyvale Girls is another enjoyable novel from Fiona Palmer. ...more

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Sep 16, 2014 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, arc, australian, rural-lit, aww2014, hist-contemp-blend

Flick is part of a three generation farming team, living and working on the land with her mother Toni and her grandmother Maggie. For Flick, the farm is everything – she’s never really wanted to leave and do anything else. However Toni wants her to take the money her grandfather left her and travel, have the opportunity to see the world, something Toni never was able to do. But Flick would rather stay on the farm and do up the old homestead. While she’s doing the floors she discovers a secret co Flick is part of a three generation farming team, living and working on the land with her mother Toni and her grandmother Maggie. For Flick, the farm is everything – she’s never really wanted to leave and do anything else. However Toni wants her to take the money her grandfather left her and travel, have the opportunity to see the world, something Toni never was able to do. But Flick would rather stay on the farm and do up the old homestead. While she’s doing the floors she discovers a secret compartment and unearths a pile of letters from just after the Second World War.

When Maggie was a teenager during WWII, the family farm received some Italian prisoners of war to work. One of them, a handsome man named Rocco caught her eye and over the years Rocco lived and worked on the farm, he and Maggie fell in love. Their moments together were snatched and fleeting as Maggie’s mother would never have approved of them even speaking and socialising, let alone anything else. When Flick discovers the letters it opens up memories and secrets that Maggie has long kept hidden and it isn’t long before they all come spilling out, changing lives and causing rifts.

Toni and Flick journey to Italy on a quest to find some more answers, not just about the long-kept secret but also about themselves and what they really want.

The Sunnyvale Girls is rural queen Fiona Palmer’s latest offering and blends the contemporary with the historical, taking the reader back to the time of the Second World War and the Italian prisoners who were brought to Australia and held for the duration of the war. Some were in camps, others farmed out to properties as cheap labour, helping local farmers work the land. In the 1940s, Maggie is a teenager living on her family’s farm, fulfilling a traditional female role helping her mother cook and tend the gardens. Her mother seems dissatisfied with farming life and the house the family has to live in and she’s deeply disapproving of the two Italian POW’s delivered to the farm resenting their presence at her dinner table despite the fact that they are using their expertise learned before the war to build a new homestead on the farm, all their own idea. Maggie is much more like her father and her brother who are both welcoming and accepting of the two prisoners, getting to know them as best they can and coming to consider them almost a part of the family. Maggie always hoped that Rocco would come back for her after he was able to go home when the war ended but until Flick unearthed the hidden letters, she’d never heard a word from him.

Maggie, Toni and Flick are all strong characters in very different ways. Maggie has lived her life on the land, taking over her father’s farm rather than her brother, who had little interest in it and moved to the city. She’s seen her husband injured and endured his loss. Toni is a single mother, has always been a single mother and her life is the farm, sometimes to her private resentment. She regrets not travelling, leaving to see what else is out there. She passionately wants more for Flick, even though Flick says she doesn’t have any other ambitions other than to work the farm. Toni has closed herself off from love, even though there are options, including one that’s always been right in front of her eyes. The journey to Italy shows her what she’s been missing and what she could have if only she were brave enough to say the word and reach out for what she wants. For Flick, Italy shows her what is out there beyond the farm. Despite thinking that she never wanted to leave, the opportunity to solve the quest makes her realise that there’s much more out there and she can see and do things without having to give up the farm. It also presents opportunities in her personal life that just aren’t available at home.

The Sunnyvale Girls is a really enjoyable tale that showcases the wonderful settings of rural WA, both 70 years ago and today as well as the beauty and excitement of Italy. I’ve never been overseas so I really loved reading about Toni and Flick visiting Italy and the things that they got to see and do. My parents went a couple of years ago and I’ve seen their pictures so I was able to really visualise their adventures. Italy is one place that I’d really love to go, because it forms a big part of my boy’s heritage. I thought the mystery was very engaging and I absolutely loved the way it played out. It was something that I could actually see happening because sometimes, life just works like that. I could have read a whole book about Maggie, from her life starting when Rocco arrived on the farm onwards. I felt like there was so much more to that story that I could’ve learned and it would’ve made fascinating reading. I liked Toni and Flick as characters and I appreciated that Toni wanted more for her daughter, even if it seemed like she was being overly pushy at times. Flick came to realise that she wouldn’t know this stuff didn’t interest her unless she actually tried it out. Both Toni and Flick discover a lot of things about themselves and I think through learning Maggie’s story it encourages both of them to take those opportunities in front of them and not be left wondering what might have been. ...more

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