The hero - Louise Le Nay

"There are some things that you never talk about, thought Nonie, things you never say even when you want to. There are things you never ask, even when you are old. Only, the questions stay in your head always, and keep on asking inside you."Set in rural Australia during the unsettling years of World War I, The Hero is the story of an adolescent girl's growth towards adulthood and self acceptance. Nonie and her younger brothers and sisters are brought to live with their Aunt Ruth; their mother is dead, their father an absent hero on the Western Front.In the year that passes after arriving at Greystones, Nonie learns how to make sense of the adult world. She pieces together clues about her father and mother and their past. At first a silent observer, Nonie gradually acquires a sense of belonging through which she learns to give and take and to trust and love.The Hero is a novel for all ages, a novel you'll read and remember with joy. Its strength lies in Le Nay's remarkable descriptions, of the bush, the farm and her characters, all unmistakably Australian and yet, with themes that are universal.