Scan barcode
smitchy's review against another edition
3.0
I has taken me a while to sort out how I feel about Goodwood. My problem with it is that this really is a YA novel trying to pass for adult fiction. At its' heart Goodwood is a coming of age novel. The protagonist, Jean, a 17-year old in her final year of school, is trying to sort out her attraction to the new girl in school and is obsessed with the two recent disappearances in town.
The two people who have disappeared could not be more different: the first is the moody 19 year old Rosie. She works at the local chippy and talked about escaping the town. She goes to bed one night and is missing in the morning. The second person is well-known and well-liked Bart. Middle aged and an essential part of the community. Bart was the town butcher, local councillor, family man and rotary chair. He goes fishing one Sunday and hours later his boat is found floating abandoned in the lake.
Searches for the missing people turn up nothing and speculation is rife. Jean studies every little thing about the people around her searching for answers.
We are almost overwhelmed with detail about the town, the people and life in early 90's rural Australia. There is certainly an element of nostalgia to this story. As a child of the 90's and a small town this is certainly familiar territory.
I think the biggest disappointment for me is the potential mystery turns out to be nothing more than unfortunate circumstance. I mean I read 300 odd pages and studied all the details in the hope of finding a killer (or at least and accidental murder) and nothing.
One of the reviews on the book compared it to Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey and I can see were that comes from, but overall I felt it lacked Jasper Jones' depth. But at least it was without the incessant references to American literature that makes Jasper Jones feel like a homage for the first half of the book.
The two people who have disappeared could not be more different: the first is the moody 19 year old Rosie. She works at the local chippy and talked about escaping the town. She goes to bed one night and is missing in the morning. The second person is well-known and well-liked Bart. Middle aged and an essential part of the community. Bart was the town butcher, local councillor, family man and rotary chair. He goes fishing one Sunday and hours later his boat is found floating abandoned in the lake.
Searches for the missing people turn up nothing and speculation is rife. Jean studies every little thing about the people around her searching for answers.
We are almost overwhelmed with detail about the town, the people and life in early 90's rural Australia. There is certainly an element of nostalgia to this story. As a child of the 90's and a small town this is certainly familiar territory.
I think the biggest disappointment for me is the potential mystery turns out to be nothing more than unfortunate circumstance. I mean I read 300 odd pages and studied all the details in the hope of finding a killer (or at least and accidental murder) and nothing.
One of the reviews on the book compared it to Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey and I can see were that comes from, but overall I felt it lacked Jasper Jones' depth. But at least it was without the incessant references to American literature that makes Jasper Jones feel like a homage for the first half of the book.
polllydarton's review against another edition
3.0
I was really excited before diving into this book, but unfortunately it just didn’t click with me at all. Bits and pieces of the local commentary made me giggle, but I wasn’t invested at all. It felt as though the main plot line was more of a mini plot. Ending felt really odd being an intimate scene.
thetashc's review against another edition
3.0
In the small town of Goodwood, things rarely change and nothing exciting ever happens. Until two people go missing. Two seemingly unconnected people. The town reels as everyone tries to figure out what happened and young Jean tries her best to figure herself out, too.
This book felt a little confused. It was a mystery, a comedy, and a coming-of-age story. The comedy and coming-of-age felt underdeveloped but the mystery was quite engaging and satisfying when it all came together. I was confused about the protagonists’s for the first half of the book. The book says she’s seventeen but it’s written like she’s twelve.
This book felt a little confused. It was a mystery, a comedy, and a coming-of-age story. The comedy and coming-of-age felt underdeveloped but the mystery was quite engaging and satisfying when it all came together. I was confused about the protagonists’s for the first half of the book. The book says she’s seventeen but it’s written like she’s twelve.
graceroonie's review against another edition
3.0
I absolutely loved the first half or three quarters of this book - I loved the characters and the town of Goodwood, it was very nostalgic and made me laugh a lot. There were so many fantastic characters and many moments that took me back to my youth in a (less small) country town in NSW.
What I didn’t like was the end. I felt really down after finishing the book and like this fantastic book was kind if ruined by such a depressing ending. It sort of felt like... what was the point of getting to the end, I could have stopped at the 3/4 point.
I just feel like there was such a great and interesting build up for it just to feel like actually what happened was a series of really unfortunate events and crap that led to no good resolution at all.
So I’m very torn about this!
What I didn’t like was the end. I felt really down after finishing the book and like this fantastic book was kind if ruined by such a depressing ending. It sort of felt like... what was the point of getting to the end, I could have stopped at the 3/4 point.
I just feel like there was such a great and interesting build up for it just to feel like actually what happened was a series of really unfortunate events and crap that led to no good resolution at all.
So I’m very torn about this!
desterman's review against another edition
2.0
As a big fan of Holly Throsby's music, I jumped at the chance to read her debut novel. Set in the fictional regional town of Goodwood, the small town's array of characters are disrupted by the disappearance of not one, but two prominent members of the town community - young, elusive teen Rosie and charismatic, community focused butcher Bart. Throsby has a lovely turn of phrase in her exploration of the simple, yet complex, caring, yet gossipy members of the town, but ultimately this novel plodded along with a mystery that failed to deliver.
rukmini's review against another edition
2.0
Well, that’s four hours of my life I’ll never get back. Extra star for a good concept and some nice character beats.
ruthie_'s review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
fi293's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
starness's review against another edition
4.0
A charming small town cosy mystery set in a NSW coastal country town. It’s not a fast read but what I enjoyed was getting to know the many different characters. Set in the 90’s I loved all the little references dotted around, it felt like I was reliving parts of my own childhood, many references making me smile with nostalgia. My only criticism was that there was a host of characters to keep track of and at times I had to really concentrate to remember who was who in the zoo. I did really enjoyed Holly Throsby’s witty observations, so quaintly spot on and so authentically Australian.
essjay2023's review against another edition
1.0
Too many characters doing things of no consequence. Shame, because the writing is good, and the plot decent...the folks in Goodwood are just a bit too blurry, making me turn back the pages to see who was who, and who did what.