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The Astrologer's Daughter

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Shortlisted, Prime Minister's Literary Award for Best Young Adult Fiction, 2015
Shortlisted, Davitt Awards, Best Young Adult Novel, 2015
Shortlisted, Aurealis Awards, Best Young Adult Novel, 2014
Longlisted, Gold Inky Award, 2015
Children's Book Council of Australia Notable Book for Older Readers, 2015
Kirkus Best Teen Books, 2015

Avicenna Crowe’s mother, Joanne, is an astrologer with uncanny predictive powers and a history of being stalked. Now she is missing.

The police are called, but they're not asking the right questions. Like why Joanne lied about her past, and what she saw in her stars that made her so afraid.

But Avicenna has inherited her mother's gift. Finding an unlikely ally in the brooding Simon Thorn, she begins to piece together the mystery. And when she uncovers a link between Joanne's disappearance and a cold-case murder, Avicenna is led deep into the city's dark and seedy underbelly, unaware how far she is placing her own life in danger.

Pulse-racing and terrifyingly real, The Astrologer’s Daughter is a stunning, original novel. It will test your belief in destiny and the endurance of love.

Rebecca Lim is a writer and illustrator based in Melbourne, Australia, with a background in commercial law. Rebecca is the author of sixteen books for children and young adult readers, including The Astrologer’s Daughter (a Kirkus Best Book of 2015) and Afterlight. Shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award, Aurealis Award and Davitt Award for best YA, Rebecca’s work has also been longlisted for the Gold Inky Award, the David Gemmell Legend Award and the CBCA Book of the Year Award for Older Readers. Her novels have been translated into German, French, Turkish, Portuguese and Polish.

The Astrologer’s Daughter is compulsively readable. Avicenna is a captivating hero—tough yet vulnerable. This gritty and mysterious love story will stay with me for a long time.’ Cath Crowley

‘Smart and original—a beautifully written mash-up of mystery, thriller and love story.’ Vikki Wakefield

‘A perfect balance of wit, humour, willpower and raw emotion.’ Dolly

‘Refreshingly different—complex and curious and a bit not-of-this-world.’ Steph Bowe, author of All this Could End

‘Lim (The Astrologer’s Daughter) delivers satisfying action and romance throughout, continually raising the stakes on the way toward a chilling, violent ending.’ Publishers Weekly

‘[Lim’s] taut, assured thriller weaves together astrology and mythology, poetry and poverty...Teen and adult readers who like their mysteries gritty and literary, with a touch of magic: seek this one out.’ STARRED Review, Kirkus

‘This is a taut, expertly crafted thriller, but it is also a devastating examination of grief, both the initial, acute pain of loss and the well-worn paths of years of sorrow.’ Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

‘Enjoyable YA mystery from the popular author. Verdict: written in the stars.’ Herald Sun

‘The best aspect of this novel was Avicenna herself...a captivating combination of brazen and terrified.’ Launceston Examiner

‘Lyrical writing and quirky characters, The Astrologer’s Daughter is one of the most moving a books I’ve read...A uniquely magical and evocative book, one I recommend to everyone.’ Speculating on Spec Fic

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    • Kirkus

      Starred review from April 15, 2015
      A fiercely realized teen uses astrological skills to solve a heartbreaking mystery. Joanne Crowe, an astrologer so accurate and empathetic that clients became obsessed with her, knew her days were numbered. She'd always insisted on the truth of her impending "eventuality" to her daughter, Avicenna, but when Joanne goes missing, it's still a shock. As Avicenna embraces her own ability to read destinies in the stars and planets to unravel the mystery of her beloved mother's disappearance, her skills introduce her to both unlikely allies and revolting, violent foes across Melbourne's most luxurious and down-at-the-heels neighborhoods. Avicenna is a revelation: prickly and brilliant-she's the first student in years to ace the entrance exam at a highly competitive magnet high school-she pursues the truth doggedly even as the likelihood of her mother's death forces her to re-experience the physical and emotional trauma of the fire that took her father's life 10 years prior. Lim throws class differences into high relief and highlights the casual, cruel racism multiracial people still face in modern Australia. Her taut, assured thriller weaves together astrology and mythology, poetry and poverty, and several generations of mothers whose love can't protect their children from humanity's ugliest tendencies. Teen and adult readers who like their mysteries gritty and literary, with a touch of magic: seek this one out. (Mystery. 15 & up)

      COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • School Library Journal

      June 1, 2015

      Gr 9 Up-Set in Melbourne, Australia, Lim's novel is the elegantly written story of Avicenna Crowe, following the disappearance of her mother, Joanne. Avicenna is the last in a long line of Crowe women-all gifted astrologers with the ability to read people and see death. While Avicenna is resistant to use her gift, Joanne had dedicated her life to developing and reading her client's astrology charts. Willing to do anything to find her mother, the teen begins to use her gifts in astrology and her considerable intelligence to assist the police in their search and uncovers a link between her mother's disappearance and a decades-old murder. Teaming up with a former foe, Simon Thorn, to solve the mystery, the protagonist discovers that her mother had been living a secret life. Weaving the past and the present seamlessly, the book feels realistic, even as Lim straddles reality and superstition. A winning and relatable heroine, Avicenna's lack of confidence in her appearance, particularly her embarrassment over a facial scar caused by a childhood accident, often overwhelms and detracts from the narrative. Despite this, readers will root for the tragedy-prone Avicenna and her brooding ally, Simon. VERDICT A grim, often terrifying story, this mystery will keep readers guessing until the end.-Amanda Augsburger, Moline Public Library, IL

      Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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