
The Friday 56 (With Instagram 56 & Book Beginnings)
A Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys is my feature book for this Friday 56 Meme. I’m also taking part in Book Beginnings, a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader.
I just finished this book, so I’m sharing my review of this book below the #TheFriday56 and #BookBeginnings memes.
Here are a couple of sentences from page 56:
These lines have such a claustrophobic, ‘can’t escape’ feel to it, plus it also brings in the scenery around them perfectly. The Rock refers to the Rock of Gibraltar. So well crafted!
He is looking so intently at her, as if he could stare right through her pupils and into her very mind, that Lily feels for a moment that she cannot breathe. Certainly, she cannot swallow, for there is a lump in the back of her mouth as large as the Rock in whose shadow they are standing.
Book Beginnings:
4th September, 1939, Sydney, Australia.
Sandwiched between two policemen, the woman descends the gangplank of the ship.
My Review :
A Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am reviewing A Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys.
This is an Amazon Vine Programme Review.
A Dangerous Crossing is a fictional story inspired by a real diary of a young girl’s description of life in the 1930s as she travels on a large passenger ship from the UK to Australia to learn domestic skills for girls. Here are my thoughts:
^^ A Dangerous Crossing reads a little like an Agatha Christie novel in which a closed room whodunnit becomes a ‘closed ship’ mystery; when things get tough, there is no escape.
^^ I loved the main character, Lily, for both her intelligence and naivety. It’s interesting to see how her character strengthens as she builds relationships with different people from all walks of life; people she would never have met had it not been for this trip of a lifetime for someone of her age and background.
^^ Among the many characters that are typical of this time period, we are propelled into a story where people are suspicious of each other, different races are misunderstood and unusual alliances are made. There is distrust and unease everywhere, just bubbling away under the surface.
^^ I thought the author wrote this historical fiction book well, keeping true to style of the era and characterisation, whilst providing enough suspense for the modern day reader. One could say, this story’s pace starts off slow, like the calm before the storm, but picks up, and soon it’s full speed ahead.
^^ I’m wondering if there’ll be a book two, where we find out more about the life of a girl becoming an Australian domestic servant. These were not particularly fun times for all and they worked the girls very hard for very little.
Overall: The beauty of this book is that it reveals as much about life and history of young migrants travelling to Australia, as it does about the claustrophobic life on a passenger ship where everyone, whatever their class, is thrown together at a time where Hitler has invaded Poland and Britain and France have already declared war on Germany. Small ripples develop into huge waves of suspicion during these turbulent times.
Who should trust who?
View all my reviews on Goodreads. Add this book to your Goodreads shelf!
Which books are you reading? Don’t be shy, do say hi!
Rules:
*Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that’s ok.) *Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it) *Post it. *It’s that simple.
Oh I love that first line!
This looks right up my street, just added it to my TBR 🙂
Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Sounds like a good one. This week I am reading Alice & the Assassin by R. J. Koreto – a historical mystery. Happy reading!
How could you read the first line and not want to find out what she did! I’d love for you and your readers to check out mine . . . http://tinyurl.com/LisaKsBookReviewsTTT
Great opening. This would be a great movie! Glad you enjoyed it.
My Friday 56 from H.P. Lovecraft’s Favorite Weird Tales
I love when the opening hooks me. Sounds like a good one.
sherry @ fundinmental Friday Memes
Sounds like a beautifully written novel. Happy weekend!
Thanks for your comments. I had a lot of fun this week!
Great excerpts and review! I’ve heard good things about this book. Thanks for sharing, and for visiting my blog.