As Stars Fall

A bush fire, and its aftermath, links a Bush-Stone curlew and three teenagers experiencing loss, love and change.The fire was fast and hot ... only days after it went through, there were absolutely no birds left. I should have seen it as an omen, the birds all leaving like that. Robin is a self-confessed bird-nerd from the country, living in the city. On the first day at her new school, she meets Delia. Delia is freaky and definitely not good for Robin's image.Seth, Delia's brother, has given up school to prowl the city streets. He is angry at everything, especially the fire that killed his mother.When a rare and endangered bird turns up in the city parklands, the lives of Robin, Seth and Delia become fatefully and dangerously intertwined ... An intricate love story about nature, grief, friendship and life.Beautiful, poignant, with wonderfully original characters and a unique blend of time and place.MELINA MARCHETTA