What a marvellous new addition to this award-winning series this is. With the addition of ‘what happened next’ information, biographical notes, glossary and references for exploring further some of the many related topics this is treasure worth the delving. Just when the situation appears to be at its most dire and unsuccessful with the company resolved to return to Adelaide, it is Will who literally stumbles onto the Stuart Range opal field which remains one of the most valuable in Australia and certainly a location which is totally unique with so many of the dwellings being underground. Their determination to find gold is undaunted by these although Will struggles to stay positive. When Will decides to go with his father on the trip for the New Colorado Prospecting Syndicate he has no idea what dangers and hardships lay ahead. In this latest, the fifth, we are treated to the discovery of opals at what is now Coober Pedy by 14 year old Will Hutchison who accompanied his father, two other men and six camels on an expedition into outback South Australia in a time of pretty basic equipment and the dangers of extreme drought. Each volume has explored the (often unknown) achievements of young Australian people of the past in a fictionalised narrative which is lavishly interspersed with reproduced primary documents and photographs, ephemera, information on related topics such as animals, significant events and people and more.Įach volume is so sublimely presented that it becomes a tactile delight and the joy is not just in the reading but in the holding in one’s hands. I really enjoyed Outback Wonder and recommend it to all lovers of Young Adult fiction.I adore this series! In Heritage Heroes, Reeder not only takes her readers on adventures but provides rich fodder for hunters of history. But Juliet leaves room for your imagination to go on an adventure of its own. I loved reading about their budding romance, and I had hoped to read more about Sam and Hannah when he came to Adelaide. Juliet paints a vivid image of Lake Eyre and the outback. She is reluctant to go at first, but she finally accepts.įrom here, we are thrust into a great journey of not only self discovery, but descriptions of the beautiful Australian bush. Out of the blue, Hannah receives an email from her dad inviting her to spend some time with him in the Flinders Ranges.

I often went through the same feelings when I was Hannah's age. With depression.) I hoped she would pull through. This drew me into the book straight away, as I too have been there (not with my parents separating. She blames herself badly.Īt the beginning she is diagnosed with depression and I really felt for her.

After her parents' separation, she struggles with the fact her father walked out on her and her mother.

Outback Wonder follows the story of seventeen year old Hannah.

Outback Wonder by Juliet M. Sampson