Bad Hair Days by Pamela Bone

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Genre - Non-fiction


This biography was published in 2007 while Pamela was in remission from cancer. Pamela was a well known Melbourne Age journalist, feminist, human rights champion and a passionate advocate for women. This is not a true step by step account of medical intervention but a journey into an extremely interesting and often sad struggle to awake the Australian public about the reality of the happenings to humans in Africa, especially children and women. A moving look at serious illness and how it affects sufferers and their families. Pamela died on 27 April 2007.

---- Reviewed by Julie, Ferntree Gully

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

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Genre - Fiction

Kate and Tully are two women who have been friends for thirty years. They meet in 1974 as girls in a small country town where Kate feels she is a social outcast and Tully seems to be the coolest girl in the world. One terrible night they make a pact to be friends forever and we follow their lives and loves through the years against a backdrop of popular music from the times. This is the kind of book that is easy to read, with larger than life characters making difficult, wrenching decisions. It reminds us of the importance of friendship in our lives and to appreciate the people who have made us who we are.


---- Reviewed by Sue, Knox

The Spare Room by Helen Garner

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Helen Garner’s first novel in 15 years is a moving, funny account of a woman dying of cancer and her friend, who tries to help her. The novel begins as Helen gets her spare room ready for Nicola, who is coming down from Sydney for three weeks to undergo an alternative treatment in the hope that it will cure her cancer. Helen’s skepticism about this radical treatment which leaves Nicola exhausted and in pain, is contrasted with Nicola’s determined optimism. Helen feels inadequate to cope with Nicola’s pain and helpless in the face of Nicola’s refusal to accept that she is dying. One of Helen’s friends describes the situation when he says, “Maybe she wants you to be the one… The one to tell her she’s going to die.” There’s a lot of humour in the novel and, as always in Garner’s work, beautiful descriptions of domestic life. This book is an emotional journey which raises questions about love, friendship and honesty.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters