The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell

"There are three questions that I need to find the answers to: 

Where am I? 

What am I doing here? 

And... Who am I?" 

When a young girl wakes up in the middle of the desert, she has no idea who she is. She's wearing one shoe, a silky black dress, and she's carrying a strange, heavy case. 

She meets Tarni, who is on a mysterious quest of her own. Together, the two girls trek across the vast and ever-changing Australian Outback in search of answers. 

Except both are also hiding secrets...

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A perfect book for the current cold snap - I felt the heat of the outback sunshine as I was reading!

Zillah clearly loves and respects the Australian culture and all its intricacies. I learned a lot in the course of this book! It's a fantastic read, very atmospheric and rich, a wonderful idea well realised.

I did not guess the big twist near the end, but looking back there were clues spread all the way through. It's such a well done read, I was almost literally glued to it, waiting to see what would happen. The friendship between the girls is wonderful, really touching, and I loved - oops, spoilers! I'd better not say. But I will say it involves a gallery, and when you see it you'll know.

Looking back, this had the potential to be a really spooky book, but it's not; it's lovely and heartfelt and cozy and I really enjoyed it. Highly recommend.

The Song Walker publishes on the 2nd of February, 2023. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.