Song of the Curlew
Title: Song of the Curlew
Author: Lazaros Zigomanis
Price (Paperback): $25.00
Publication Date: 1 June 2019
Format: Paperback (210x140mm, 298 pages)
ISBN Print: 978-0-6484789-3-5 Ebook: 978-0-6484789-4-2
Category: Young Adult Fiction
Dreams mean nothing unless you have the courage to pursue them.
Luke Miggs wants more than small-town life – the grind of chores on the family farm, playing footy, and drinks with friends. Like maybe doing something about his crush on Amanda Hunt, a barmaid at the local who’s smart, funny, and ambitious. Or playing footy in the big league. At eighteen, it can’t be too late, can it?
There’s the Curlews, at least, although the team’s little more than battlers. If only they could take their footy seriously, like the reigning champions, the Little Reach Scorpions. Under their tyrannical coach, Claude Rankin, the Scorpions have dominated the competition for ten years. It seems nothing will be different this season.
But when Adam Pride emerges from the night and tells the Curlews he wants to play for them, everything begins to change.
Song of the Curlew – a young adult version of Pride (Busybird Publishing 2017) – is a story of friendship and bonds and coming of age, and how the choices of our past can come back to shape our future.
‘Song of the Curlew reminds me of the old country days where you played rough and lived rough too. Unlike any other Aussie Rules story, Song of the Curlew is a hard tackle with an underlying twist that will leave readers wide-eyed, and asking for justice from the barriers. A must-read for all who love a good ol’ game of footy and believe in the unbelievable.’ – Kathrine ‘Kat’ Clarke Writer, Artist, Cultural Advisor
‘Soulful, gutsy, and heartfelt.’ – Dr Laurie Steed Award-winning author of You Belong Here (Margaret River Press 2018)
‘This is an extraordinary book.’ – George Ivanoff Best-selling and award-winning author
‘A gripping read.’ – Ian Banks, Blue Wolf Reviews
‘With powerful subplots of racism, first love and growing up, even those not interested in football will engage with the story.’ – JM Peace, Author of The Twisted Knot (Pan Macmillan 2016), and A Time to Run (Pan Macmillan 2015)
‘There is a lot to like about this novel – it has humour, action, mystery, and football! This is the first Young Adult novel by Zigomanis. Hopefully there’ll be many more.’ – Helen Eddy, ReadPlus