The Tides Between by Elizabeth Jane Corbett
Publication Date: October 20, 2017
Odyssey Books
Paperback; 300 Pages
Odyssey Books
Paperback; 300 Pages
Genre: Fiction/Young Adult/Historical
She fancied herself part of a timeless chain without beginning or end, linked only by the silver strong words of its tellers.
In the year 1841, on the eve of her departure from London, Bridie’s mother demands she forget her dead father and prepare for a sensible, adult life in Port Phillip. Desperate to save her childhood, fifteen-year-old Bridie is determined to smuggle a notebook filled with her father’s fairytales to the far side of the world.
When Rhys Bevan, a soft-voiced young storyteller and fellow traveller realises Bridie is hiding something, a magical friendship is born. But Rhys has his own secrets and the words written in Bridie’s notebook carry a dark double meaning.
As they inch towards their destination, Rhys’s past returns to haunt him. Bridie grapples with the implications of her dad’s final message. The pair take refuge in fairytales, little expecting the trouble it will cause.
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My Review
Ms. Corbett tells the story of Bridie, who along with her
mother and step father, is on an immigrant vessel travelling from London to
Australia in 1841. “The Tides Between”
does a great job of showing the reality of what life is like on the ship and
the harsh conditions the passengers have to deal with. It is so realistic; I often found some parts
hard to read. This realism is a good
contrast to Bridie’s fairy tales. There
are a lot of hard topics and tough situations in this story. Bridie and her new friend Rhys use fairy
tales and imagination to help each other through the voyage. This really goes along with the quote I have
as the header on my blog by G.K. Chesterton: “Fairy tales are more than true; not because they
tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” I also love this quote from “The
Tides Between”: “Fairy tales aren’t nonsense…they
help us understand our lives.” This is why the world needs
stories, fairy tales and legends and Ms. Corbett conveys that truth so well
through her own story!
There are so
many great themes woven into the fabric of Ms. Corbett’s story. Bridie learns about people–how they are
complex and that everyone has their own burdens to carry and problems to
face. But we can also help one another
and don’t have to face hardship alone.
Ms. Corbett does an amazing job of depicting grief and the way one
processes it. Lastly, Ms. Corbett shows
that sometimes as we get older, the hardships of life crowd in and we lose
ourselves, our innate sense of wonder and the magic of life. Often stories can help us to find ourselves
and the wonder of life again. By reading
about the courage of others, we can find the strength within ourselves to face the
battles and hardships that life throws at us.
Content: I give this book a PG-13 rating and would only
recommend it to adults. This is a very
realistic story. There are a lot of
minor swear words. The Lord’s name is
taken in vain. There is alcohol and alcoholics. There is a character with PTSD. There is physical abuse. There is talk about a woman’s menstrual
cycle. There is talk about magic and
curses. There is an affair. There is mention of sex, things related to
sex and one brief sex scene (without a lot of detail). There is talk of a father forcing himself on
his daughter.
Rating: I give this book 4 stars.
Genre: Historical Fiction
I want
to thank Elizabeth Jane Corbett,
Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and Odyssey Books for the complimentary
copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive
review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance
with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR
16, Part 255.
About the Author
When Elizabeth Jane Corbett isn’t writing, she works as a librarian, teaches Welsh at the Melbourne Celtic Club, writes reviews and articles for the Historical Novel Society and blogs at elizabethjanecorbett.com. In 2009, her short-story, Beyond the Blackout Curtain, won the Bristol Short Story Prize. Another, Silent Night, was short listed for the Allan Marshall Short Story Award. An early draft of her debut novel, The Tides Between, was shortlisted for a HarperCollins Varuna manuscript development award.
Elizabeth lives with her husband, Andrew, in a renovated timber cottage in Melbourne’s inner-north. She likes red shoes, dark chocolate, commuter cycling, and reading quirky, character driven novels set once-upon-a-time in lands far, far away.
For more information, please visit Elizabeth Jane Corbett’s website. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and Goodreads.
Blog Tour Schedule
Tuesday, December 5 Guest Post at Booklover Book Reviews
Thursday, December 7 Review at Faery Tales Are Real
Friday, December 8 Review & Guest Post at Locks, Hooks and Books
Monday, December 11 Review at Creating Herstory
Wednesday, December 13 Interview at Jorie Loves a Story
Friday, December 15 Review at Carole Rae’s Random Ramblings
Excerpt at Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen
Excerpt at Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen
Giveaway
During the Cover Reveal we will be giving away a signed copy of The Tides Between and Bookplate! To enter, please enter via the link below.
Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on December 15th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
Link to giveaway: https://gleam.io/Wufy0/the-
Thank you so much for hosting The Tides Between Blog Tour, Megan!
ReplyDeleteAmy
HF Virtual Book Tours
Hi Amy! Thank you for making it so easy to host and for stopping by my blog today! It's my pleasure, as always : )
DeleteThanks heaps for being part of my blog tour!
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. Corbett! Thanks so much for allowing me to read and review your wonderful story! It was my pleasure!
Delete