Currawong Creek in Aussie Readers

Apr 04, 2013 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own-read, 2013-release, aussie-authors, rural, contemporary-fiction, romance

Clare Mitchell was an ambitious lawyer, working her way up the ladder; the day she saw young four-year-old Jack and his mother Taylor was a day which would see Clare’s life change forever. With the courts deciding Jack’s future, Clare volunteered to care for Jack for a short time – how hard could it be? Jack was violent, didn’t talk, and for all intents and purposes a disabled child. So the hurricane which hit her apartment should have been expected. Samson, her dog, was a saviour – Jack idolise ...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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

Currawong Creek is Jennifer Scoullar's second successful foray into the rural fiction market. Set primarily in Queensland's Darling Downs, and its beautiful Bunya Mountains, this lovely novel sees Brisbane lawyer, Clare Mitchell, seeking refuge at her grandparent's property when she unexpectedly becomes a temporary foster parent to a troubled, young boy, Jack. While Jack thrives in the company of Clare's grandfather and the animals at Merriang, Clare begins to envision a new future - a life on t
Currawong Creek is Jennifer Scoullar's second successful foray into the rural fiction market. Set primarily in Queensland's Darling Downs, and its beautiful Bunya Mountains, this lovely novel sees Brisbane lawyer, Clare Mitchell, seeking refuge at her grandparent's property when she unexpectedly becomes a temporary foster parent to a troubled, young boy, Jack. While Jack thrives in the company of Clare's grandfather and the animals at Merriang, Clare begins to envision a new future - a life on the land, with Jack and the handsome local vet, Tom. But her dream is threatened when Jack's mother decides she wants her son back and The Pyramid Mining Company aims to destroy the land Clare loves.

In Currawong Creek, Scoullar highlights two important issues.
The first is the state of the foster care system. As a foster carer herself, Scoullar is familiar with the system and in Currawong Creek she draws attention to the lack of placement options for 'challenging' children in need. If Clare had not volunteered to care for Jake he would have been sent to an inappropriate facility and his issues would have been compounded by his stay.
The second relates to coal seam gas exploration and the threat it poses in rural areas to pastoral and farming land. Just recently there has been a huge campaign in my local area regarding the issue (my town is surrounded by dairy farms) though I admit I didn't pay a lot of attention. I was quite horrified to learn of the dangers of frakking and having read this novel I have a clearer understanding of my community's objections to the mining company.

I really liked the characters of Currawong Creek. I admired Clare's instinct to protect Jack and her willingness to persevere with him. It would not have been easy and yet Clare makes him a clear priority.
Jack, despite all his challenging behavioural issues, is sweet and engenders sympathy and it is a delight to watch him blossom at Merriong. I particularly liked the way in which the author explored the benefits of equine therapy for Jack, I have a friend who also found it a successful technique for her challenging foster child.
I was impressed at the way in which Scoullar portrayed Jack's mother's, Taylor, balancing her faults (which are many) with her love for her child. I strongly believe in the idea of meeting the needs of the child in issues of custody and I was satisfied with the way in which Jack and Taylor's relationship was resolved.
Tom is a vet, leasing Merriang as a site for his practice and becomes the love interest for Clare. I liked him, especially our introduction to him as he wrestles with a python, but I thought he was a little bland and could have been fleshed out a little more, especially with regards to his background and how it relates to Clare, Taylor's and Jack's relationship.
Harry, Clare's grandfather, will surprise you. I really didn't see his actions coming though they make a kind of sad sense.

Currawong Creek is a delightful, thoughtful and heartwarming story. I really enjoyed this well written novel and I am already looking forward to the next from Jennifer Scoullar.
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Jun 04, 2017 Kathryn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, australian-authors, reading-list-2017

3.5★ The setting (Brisbane and the Bunya Mountains) was great. I enjoyed the story of Jack and Clare. It was very readable, the romance was fairly well done, although a bit overdone at times.

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Jul 13, 2013 Sheree rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews, read-in-2013, contemporary-fiction, aussie-author

4.5 stars

There's just something about a beautifully written story set in a location you're intimately familiar with ... it's a vivid & nostalgic trip down memory lane. Currawong Creek tugs on the heartstrings not just for location but for characters that were as real to me as friends next door.

Currawong Creek opens in Brisbane (where I live) with legal aid lawyer Clare Mitchell feverishly balancing a career and heavy work load with a large dog and city apartment living. When Clare takes on gua ...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, australian, rural-lit, romance, aww2013

Brisbane lawyer Clare Mitchell is cutting her teeth in Legal Aid, knowing that the time she puts in here will be rewarded down the track. She does have a habit of getting a bit close to her clients, of getting a bit involved but Clare also gets results. When one of her clients Taylor disappears out the front for a cigarette, Clare is happy to watch Taylor’s 4yo son Jack for a few minutes. But then Taylor doesn’t come back. A suitable place cannot be found for Jack, who is believed to be severely Brisbane lawyer Clare Mitchell is cutting her teeth in Legal Aid, knowing that the time she puts in here will be rewarded down the track. She does have a habit of getting a bit close to her clients, of getting a bit involved but Clare also gets results. When one of her clients Taylor disappears out the front for a cigarette, Clare is happy to watch Taylor’s 4yo son Jack for a few minutes. But then Taylor doesn’t come back. A suitable place cannot be found for Jack, who is believed to be severely autistic. Although she’s only spent a few minutes with him, Clare disagrees with that diagnosis because a lot of it hinges on the fact that Jack doesn’t speak or interact and Clare knows this isn’t true. He has spoken – to her.

Clare decides to temporarily take Jack herself and this ends up involving a whole lifestyle change. Jack doesn’t do well in childcare for long hours and Clare has inherited her deceased father’s German Shepherd pup who doesn’t do well in her tiny apartment. She makes a snap decision to accept the offered leave from work and take Jack to Currawong Creek, the property of her maternal grandparents where Clare spent many happy childhood holidays. Clare hasn’t seen her grandfather for a long time – since her mother left and her father stopped all visits out to her mother’s family. She’s missed a lot, including the death of her grandmother.

Out at Currawong Creek, Clare watches Jack blossom. There’s no doubt that he had some behavourial issues but out on the farm, spending time with her grandfather and the handsome local vet who runs a practice on the property, Jack begins to come into his own, especially when Tom, the vet begins some therapy using horses, something that he’s qualified in. Clare can’t believe how much effect it has on Jack’s temper and attitude. He’s happy, he’s healthy and his development is improving – Clare is more sure than ever that he is definitely not severely autistic. Tom helps her explore alternatives and also gives her the proof she needs to take to the department who have refused to believe the diagnosis could be a mistake.

Clare has never been happier. She finds herself worrying less about her career and reluctant to return to Brisbane to work. She’s finding love with Tom, the local vet after a heartbreak. She sees the way Jack is growing and developing and she’s loving the time she’s spending with her grandfather again. But there are threats to Clare’s new found happiness – Taylor, Jack’s mother has resurfaced and is looking to seek custody again. And a mining company are making inroads on her grandfather’s beloved farm and threatening to destroy it, despite all the protests from the local community. Now it looks like Clare’s happiness is about to be snatched from her.

Currawong Creek is the second novel from Jennifer Scoullar and we begin in the city with Brisbane lawyer Clare who ends up with temporary custody of a troubled young boy named Jack. Diagnosed as severely autistic with little chance of ever communicating, Clare knows that this is wrong – she’s heard Jack speak. Given he won’t speak for anyone else, she decides to look after him and this proves to be more difficult than she first assumed. Jack has issues with temper, toileting, anxiety and obviously, communication. He runs into trouble at daycare and Clare finds the best way to handle him is to keep him outside and moving. It’s obvious that taking him to her father’s country property has a huge positive impact on Jack. He still has his moments and his issues but he begins to really improve and take even more steps to disprove his diagnosis.

Time on the property is beneficial for more than just Jack – Clare relaxes, settles in to country life, helping out local vet Tom and spending time with her grandfather. She has more time to spend with Jack, working with him to build up his trust and security and she begins a romance with Tom. Her grandfather gains a new lease on life having them there and it seems as though life is perfect – but things can’t last forever and when Jack’s mother turns up, Clare is devastated. She doesn’t believe that Taylor could have turned her life around so quickly, nor does she believe that she’s best option as Jack’s carer.

I was a little torn on this issue at first. Taylor was an unreliable character – she swung from being thankful to abusive, conciliatory to negative. I believe that she loved Jack and wanted the best for him and that perhaps she had been swayed into things she didn’t exactly want. The character of the lawyer and the child protection worker were overly aggressive and frustrating at times – I don’t know how Clare held her tongue in relation to the way she was spoken to, like she was an errant child. Taking on a child like Jack was a huge ask for someone unprepared and untrained like Clare. She obviously had little idea what to do with a 4yo in the beginning (that was obvious by all the Coke she kept pouring into him) but she was willing to have a go, to put herself out for him when no one else would. They bonded, she came to love him, she came to see him as hers. He wasn’t, but she viewed him that way. When she and Tom, the vet disagree about who should care for Jack, I thought that Clare’s reaction was a little over the top. There was nothing wrong with what Tom said. But Clare too a “with me or against me” attitude which wasn’t exactly helpful.

This book taught me a lot of curious things – for instance, I learned that the average 4yo asks about 400 questions a day. I believe my 4yo asks many more than that but it definitely showed me I’m not alone in answering questions like “Mum, what’s a government? What are taxes? Who drives ambulances? What’s an election?” (why yes my child does listen to too much ABC radio in the car with his father). Also, if your private land contains minerals then all the minerals are the property of the Crown, although no mining can occur until compensation has been made, so at best mostly all you can do is delay. The value of the element be it coal, natural gas or other far outweighs the rights and wishes of the owner of the land. I very much felt for Clare’s grandfather and his passionate view of keeping the company off his land. He’d seen first hand what had happened to other properties and it was sad that were very few options open to him other than barring his gates and blocking the way and making it too difficult. He’d seen other people succumb to the offers of compensation and then have their land destroyed and no amount of money would be worth damaging Currwawong Creek.

Another enjoyable book celebrating the land and love from this author. ...more

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Aug 30, 2013 Tien rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australian-author, romance, australia, chick-lit, womens-lit

I am trying to think of whether I’ve ever read any Aussie rural romance type of books prior to Currawong Creek and I can’t think of even one title! I think I’ve a number of them on my to-read list on GR but for one reason or another I’ve not read any of them. I have to thank Anna from The Reading Room for her generous offers to date , including this book. Sometimes, I decided to take the plunge (like this time) and enjoyed the read enormously.

The appeal was twofolds. The cover which depicts a wo I am trying to think of whether I’ve ever read any Aussie rural romance type of books prior to Currawong Creek and I can’t think of even one title! I think I’ve a number of them on my to-read list on GR but for one reason or another I’ve not read any of them. I have to thank Anna from The Reading Room for her generous offers to date , including this book. Sometimes, I decided to take the plunge (like this time) and enjoyed the read enormously.

The appeal was twofolds. The cover which depicts a woman in a slim black dress walking bare feet in a rural Australian setting –just gorgeous background and I love the contrast! The blurb about Clare finding “herself the unlikely guardian of a small, troubled boy”. This calls to my maternal instinct and I really wanted to find out whether that boy found the help he needed. I know, I didn’t really read it for the ‘romance’ still… I enjoy romance in all forms!

It was an easy book to get into; Clare, a Brisbane lawyer, was finding life to be lacking. Whatever it’s lacking, she’s not quite sure because she’s doing well career-wise and she’s even got a good looking and successful boyfriend. She’s just going with the flow… This side of Clare was so easily identifiable that she’s caught my interest very early in the story. When she found herself responsible for a little boy, she tried to keep living her life as before but (as all mothers will know) this was a disaster. Clare found herself thinking of her childhood and turned to Currawong Creek where she herself had some happy memories.

Currawong Creek was a heart-warming story that calls to your nurturing soul (I’m not just talking about the little boy here), of finding home where one’s soul and body belongs, and of course, no story is complete without loss, forgiveness, and love. I devoured this book in no time at all as I really didn’t want to put it down. It was such a comfort read and whilst, the ending was a little choppy and slightly rushed for my liking, I still found myself happy, relaxed, and content when I closed the book. The best bits of the book for me though was the light humours peppered throughout the story; one of which I will close with…

Clare climbed the tree. She didn’t quite know how she did it. One minute she was standing on the ground, rigid with fear. Next minute she was astride a broad branch, peering down like a possum, with the heeler leaping and snapping below. There was no risk of falling. She was wrapped around that trunk so tight it was like she was welded on. Getting down, on the other hand, might present some problems.

Thank you Penguin Australia via The Reading Room for providing copy of book ...more

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