Boring cover which is a real pity as parts of this book are great. Tells of the Sixties childhood of Star and Sunshine, the daughters of Petal an indigenous girl and Dinny the son of a cattle station owner. For most of their lives, the two girls live in Gundagi with their Nan and two Aunties Boo and Bubby on a small run down farm surrounded by sheep farms, and rarely see their mother. Then one day both Petal and Dinny turn up and take the girls away to Dinny's family in far north Queensland. There, the girls are in a foreign world - far away from their caring aunties and under the nose of strict Sister Bernadette and their white Grandmother.
There is a lot of description of the land which can get a little boring at times but the characters are lovely and Leane's descriptions of events such as the Murrumbidgee River flooding are quite captivating. The story where the local hunter's wife comes to their farm covered in blood in the middle of the night is riveting.
Very interesting as looks at indigenous people without talking about the old ways...these three older half-caste women are all fairly European in their upbringing and outlook with the 2 Aunties able to read, write and talk ( trick) themselves out of any sticky situation involving men.
Not sure I can sell this one to the students though.. ( )

Set of connected short stories about a female-dominated family in rural New South Wales, by an indigenous Australian writer. It has humour and bite, and is well worth reading. For my full review, see Whispering Gums: http://whisperinggums.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/jeanine-leane-purple-threads-revi... ( )