The Mimosa Tree (Antonella Preto, Fremantle Press)

Mira’s first year of university has just begun and she is determined it will be a fresh start. The year is 1987 and Mira is seriously worried about the Cold War. She’s so worried in fact that she checks the sky for bomb-dropping planes when she hears the droning of a vacuum cleaner next door. She is struggling to focus in class, something which becomes even more difficult with her mother’s cancer diagnosis. Parts of the story seem more authentic than others. Mira’s constant raging about the Cold War, Ronald Reagan and nuclear power reads just like a young person who has just figured out their opinions on these big events. Unfortunately, the parts of the story dealing with her mother’s illness aren’t pulled off quite as well. This part of the story seems rushed and doesn’t pack the emotional punch it should have. Mira experiments with drug use throughout the story, sometimes willingly, but there are also times when it feels as though she has been pressured into it. The climax of the book is not, as expected, her mother’s death but the acid trip which Mira goes on in her grief. This makes for a messy ending to the story. 

Amelia Vahtrick is the children’s book buyer at Better Read Than Dead in Newtown

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews