![The Girl from Snowy River (Matilda Saga, #2)](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357200710l/17162800._SX98_.jpg)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a wonderful book, and I was excited to find that it was part of a series, so my TBR pile is once again going to be massive...
It tells the story of Felicity ("Flinty") McAlpine, the "girl" from the title. Set just after the First World War, in 1919, 17-year-old Flinty is raising her younger brother and sister on the family farm after the death of her parents. Her two older brothers, Jeff and Andy, both fought in the war, but only Andy returns. Although Andy appears physically sound, he has been scarred, mentally and emotionally, by his experiences in the war, and so he leaves Flinty to run the farm while he rides north to go cattle droving.
It's a lot for Flinty to deal with, particularly since her sweetheart, Sandy, has also returned a changed man, and she no longer knows if he still cares for her as he once did.
Flinty is frustrated that nobody will talk to her about what happened in the war as she wants to understand what happened to the men she loves. So, when she comes across a wheelchair-bound soldier at the Rock near her farm, she decides to ask him what the war was like. But there is something strange about him - and it soon becomes apparent that they are talking about two different wars...
The soldier, Nicholas, and Flinty become friends, and she soon begins to rely on him for companionship and advice. And when she needs money to save the farm, Nicholas gives her the courage to do what she needs to do.
Flinty faces her many challenges throughout the course of the book with courage and strength. But she's not perfect, which just makes her all the more real. All the characters are beautifully drawn, the story is gripping, and the author's love for the Snowy Mountains and the surrounding country shines through with every sentence.
I loved it.
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