As Stars Fall (Christie Nieman, Pan Macmillan)

The fire swept through Murramunda two months ago. For bird-loving Robin, it was the spark that caused her family to fall apart, forcing her and her mum to move to the city on their own. For Delia and Seth, it was the thing that killed their mother during a field trip to study the habitat of bush-stone curlew birds. When Delia and Seth meet Robin, there’s a connection between the three of them that they don’t understand—something bound up in the inexplicable presence of a bush-stone curlew in the parklands, 150 kilometres from where it should be. As Stars Fall is an affecting and very readable first novel about grief, recovery and rare birds. Christie Nieman treats her serious themes—which include drug abuse, self-harm and loss—with sensitivity, but doesn’t allow the story to be too weighed down by them. The narrative moves at a quick and easy pace. The voices and settings are very Australian, and will strike a chord of familiarity with urban as well as rural readers. As Stars Fall will appeal to YA readers who enjoy realistic stories with emotional depth and a bit of excitement.

Jarrah Moore is a primary literacy editor at Cengage Learning Australia