A Place Like This [Paperback]

Steven Herrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2004

I want to leave town

I want to leave town

I want to leave.

Jack and Annabel have decided to put off university and drive around the country. It all seems wildly romantic, but when their car dies two days into the trip, they end up at George1s apple orchard, figuring it1s just a temporary place to stay and earn some money.

And at first it is. They fill bins with tart, crunchy apples all day, and drink cold beers while snuggling in the hayloft at night. But then Jack recognizes something in George1s family that his own family suffered from. So Jack and Annabel decide to stay for a while. They1re not sure how to help, but the know they want to try¨

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Reviewed with Steven Herrick's Love, Ghosts, & Facial Hair .

Gr. 9-12. In publishing these novels by an Australian poet as original paperbacks, Simon Pulse combines the slick packaging of series fiction with rich, layered verse reminiscent of works such as Sonya Sones' Stop Pretending (1999). The narrative rotates among several characters, but the primary speaker is Jack, who is 16 at the start of Love, Ghosts, & Facial Hair. Jack is an aspiring poet who falls in love with another soulful teenager, Annabel. Their intense connection, as cerebral as it is lustily sexual, soothes Jack's grief over the loss of his mother seven years earlier, a loss Herrick captures in shifting, raw emotion--from nihilistic bitterness ("They said it was a harmless lump / it wasn't") to brooding melancholy ("There's a ghost in our house / in Mum's / red evening dress"). A Place Like Thi s follows Jack and Annabel on a postgraduation road trip, tapping into a Kerouacian fantasy that will resonate with many teens. This novel lacks the immediacy of the family tragedy found at the heart of Love, focusing instead on the pregnant, 16-year-old daughter of the apple farmer who gives Jack and Annabel a job. Both books, however, speak with sincerity and sensitivity to the "quiet revolution in every family." Billed as "companion novels," this pairing evidently does not represent the beginning of a Jack-and-Annabel franchise, though YAs touched by the couple's sweet, redemptive relationship may wish it were otherwise. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (May 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689871120
• ISBN-13: 978-0689871122
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,575,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Herrick is an Australian poet and author who has published twenty books for children and young adults. His books have twice won the NSW Premiers Literary Award (2000, 2005) and have been shortlisted six times for Book of the Year in the Children's Book Council of Australia Book Awards.
He regularly tours throughout Australia, Asia and Europe performing his work in schools and at festivals.
He is an avid football (soccer) fan and bicyclist who lives in the Blue Mountains with his wife, Cathie, a bellydance teacher. They have two adult sons, Jack and Joe.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A verse novel for teenagers., July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Place Like This (Uqp Young Adult Fiction) (Paperback)

This book has been shortlisted for numerous awards in australia, and it's easy to see why. It's an easy-to-read verse novel for teenagers dealing with love, and self-image. This book is highly recommended for anybody who thinks that teenagers can't be excited and motivated by poetry. Well worth reading aloud to school classes. A unique and original novel for young people.

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit of a letdown, May 2, 2006

By 

Sabby "<33FallOutGirl" (Aussie) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Place Like This (Paperback)

this book is a bit of a letdown after love ghosts and nose hair. i didnt find the characters fresh, instead they were simply 2D cardboard figures. but the story deals with lifes problems, the ups and downs and its an ok book to read. i suggest u borrow it from a library