Esty is clever and fiesty. She needs to be – living in Ireland in the 1840′s isn’t easy. But Esty has it better than most, being a middleman’s daughter protects Etsy and her family from most of the hardship. But when her father is killed, fighting for his people’s right to a place to live and something to eat, Esty has to learn to fend for herself. She is sent to work in the household of a wealthy woman and it is there she learns what hard work really is. As Esty works her fingers to the bone for next to nothing, sending everything she earns back to her Mama and Grandpa, she starts to dream of something better. She reads about Australia, a place people go to find gold and strike lucky. Esty and her family risk everything to travel to this unknown land and when they arrive, they find a place full of sun, heat and dangerous bushrangers. But as they struggle towards Ballarat, they never give up hope they’ll find gold too.
This is a great tale of life in another time and a girl who learns to cope with everything life throws at her.
Recommended for girls 12+. PB $16.95
