Into That Forest by Louis Nowra

Any reservations I had about Into That Forest were completely reversed by the time I ventured in a mere handful of pages.

Such beautiful, elegant writing! 

Nowra has written a mesmerising, emotional and powerful story that I feel sure will feature in next year's various book awards.  

The voice of the main character, Hannah, that I thought would be too annoying to read too much of, is elegant and eloquent in its simplicity.

Not only do you get used to her basic language and grammar, you also marvel at how such simple language can convey so much.

Hannah's story is one of loss, identity, nature and nurture. This is a modern day take on the feral child mythology that includes Romulus and Remus and a host of other 'lost children' raised by wild animals stories.

Nowra uses the Tasmanian Tiger and the wilds of Tasmania as a backdrop for his story. So many myths, legends and secrets surround this part of the world at the best of times that it is easy for an author to convince us that wild, marvelous and strange things could happen there.

Into The Forest will no doubt be labelled as a 'green' story as Nowra celebrates the wildness and the beauty of living at one with nature.

This has moved into my top young adult reads for 2012! It is also a story that could be loved by younger teen readers and adults alike.

Happy Reading.