this was a really good read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed reading it. I really felt for the characters and enjoyed the plot.

A harrowing story that lifts the lid of the type of hardship that children who were sent to the colonies sometimes had to endure. Definitely recommended to those readers who are interested in this era of history and the impact it had on lives afterwards.

I would like to thank Lee Richie, BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for a copy of this book and a chance to review Black Bones, Red Earth.

Lee Richie has written a challenging account of the removal of children from England to Australia during the Second World War, Katherine the protagonist is mistreated; it’s sad and also heartening. The descriptive writing of remote Australia is crafted beautifully. There is comment on the treatment of Australian First Nation people which is distressing. The story jumps to present day England where Katherine relives her traumatic past. Great ending.

This is an excellent story, highly recommend.

Against this backdrop a powerful story of a young girl, orphaned by the blitz, battled her way to womanhood. Powerful and compelling with a satisfying twist at the end. All in all a great read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

World War II leaves young Kate and her older brother orphaned, growing up in a London orphanage. It’s 1951, and adolescent Kate and her brother are plucked from London and dropped in the Australian outback. They are separated, both being adopted by different families. Not to say that these are families looking to provide love, rather families seeking cheap labor. Kate ends up on the sheep station of Lachlan and Daisy Stuart, who provide little for Kate beyond basic food and shelter. Daisy is a mean old woman and it appears Lachlan drinks, perhaps to be rid of her for a brief time.

Kate meets Lou, the hired hand and romance blossoms. I’m not going to go any further so as not to spoil the read. It’s a brief romance that lasts a lifetime, and the story of love, hope and sacrifice is worth the read. The writing is superb.

Very impressive and loaded with poignant moments😪

4.5🌟stars🌿
What a wonderful story! I learned so much about Outback life and the pictures author Lee Richie's words create of the characters and nature are so evocative: I could visualize clearly Kate, Lou, Ellin, Toby, Lachlan and the red earth, vast expanses and colorful wildlife Richie describes. Kate's life story, complete with a harsh, unloved childhood and doomed romance was fascinating, as was the way her tale provided a launch point for illustrating the state of race relations and treatment of the Aboriginal during the period.

I would say the emotional component is what really made this a great story for me. Here's a girl who finally finds her spot of stolen happiness and the consequences are dire, particularly for the people she cares for most. The ending softens the blow but provides lots of retrospection about what could have been: poignant stuff.😪

I did think the book's conclusion took too long to arrive and bogged down when filling in the years after Kate left Australia, but the very end brought all of the emotion front and center, and tears to my eyes. This is not a story I will easily forget.👍👍

Thanks to publisher BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

Interesting storyline as I had no idea that the British government shifted orphans from WWII to Australia or how the Aboriginal people were shunned. Vivid descriptions of life in the outback in the 1950's. The characters are believable and will come to life on the pages. I got a little bogged down in the court proceedings but they offer some humor at human ignorance in a dark time. It takes up a lot of the book and it takes a while to get back to the present time to move the story on. The cover gives an adequate description of the story so I will not dwell on other content. Overall a good read. .
I received this book as a complimentary copy for an unbiased review.The opinions expressed are my own. Thanks to the author,publisher,and NetGalley for the ARC.

Lee Richie's Black Bones, Red Earth not only made me feel as though I'd lived on a sheep station in the Outback but evoked the delicate balance between whites and blacks. Against this backdrop a powerful story of a young girl, orphaned by the blitz, battled her way to womanhood. Powerful and compelling with a satisfying twist at the end. All in all a great read!

I wasn’t sure of what to expect once I chose this book to read but it surprised me with the amount of emotion and pain the book describes with certain characters. Overall I think it was a nice read that kept me in suspense as to what was going to happen when I got to the next chapter. I would recommend this to anyone to read. It won’t disappoint you just keep reading it until it’s finished.