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A Beautiful Family

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A Beautiful Family

By: Jennifer Trevelyan
Narrated by: Ruby Hansen
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About this listen

As the long summer holiday stretches ahead, with her older sister more interested in boys, her mother disappearing on long walks and her father, beer in hand, watching the cricket, the youngest in the family often finds herself alone. At the beach, she meets Kahu, a boy who tells her a tragic story. A couple of years ago, a little girl went missing, presumed drowned. But no one ever found her body.

Suddenly, the summer has purpose—they will find the missing girl and become local heroes. With her family caught up in their own intrigue, she is free to diligently search for clues with her new friend. It also means she is the only one to notice her next-door neighbour, in turn, watching them. Among dips in the ocean, afternoon barbecues and lazy sunbaking, their detective work dislodges and brings to the surface shocking discoveries that will change all of their lives forever.

This thrilling debut is an assured, nostalgic meditation on growing up. A time where the space between what is observed and what is understood holds an innocent truth, on the cusp of being overtaken by an adult knowing, seen through the eyes of a brave and funny protagonist, who is worthy of a place in the pantheon of beloved child narrators.

©2025 Jennifer Trevelyan (P)2025 W.F. Howes Ltd Coming of Age Genre Fiction Funny
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Beautifully written, with rich content woven through a tapestry of interconnected stories and characters. I was disappointed that none of the stories had a conclusive ending. For me the narrative invites many complex endings or interpretations than are perhaps presumed. I can’t help but feel there may be more beneath the surface. The end left me unsatisfied. But the book is worth it regardless

A very interesting book

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Dislike,the story was weak, rambled on, sorry to say but nothing exciting about this read for me

Nothing really, not my sort of book

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.