The past lives of Bess Gray catch up with her in this passionate YA story by a NZ Post Children's Book Award-winner.
On the night of her seventeenth birthday Bess Grey sees images of a witch-burning unfold in front of her as if in a movie. She also sees images from a different time — lovers, and the girl, she’s sure is — was – herself.
When she meets Nick she recognises him as the boy. There’s an immediate connection. However when her father nearly dies from a heart attack there’s no time to brood as Bess tries to save her father’s business. She falls in love with Nick but her difficult mother interferes, forcing Bess to make the hardest decision of her life. She must decide whether to lose her mother or the boy she loves.
Fleur Beale, winner of the 20123 Margaret Mahy medal, weaves Bess's mysterious past lives into her very realistic current-day life. The result is a beautifully told love story.
Behind The Book…
I came across a book about people having past lives. Aha, I thought, what if a past life starts leaking into a present life? What a great way to create havoc for a character. I also gave Bess, the protagonist, a terrible mother so life isn’t easy for her and she has a lot to struggle with. All good grist for a story!
- Fleur Beale
Reviews For The Boy In The Olive Grove
This is a story of past and present lives and how they can interconnect. Fleur Beale’s characters are real, the emotions raw and the conclusion reactive.
- Adele, GoodReads
I always look forward to a Fleur Beale novel and this did not disappoint. It is a love story of sorts but there is more to it than that. There is much in this novel for teenagers to get into and I will leave you with a bit of advice from the book… “Tragic heroines are all very well in opera… but very tedious in real life”. There is a bit of both in this novel.
- Bob Docherty, Bob’s Books Blog
I found the story quite unusual (it’s quite different in a way from Fleur Beale’s previous books), but the more I read, the more intrigued I became and wanted to find out how it would end. Fleur Beale always gets inside her characters heads so we know everything that they’re thinking and feeling. If you like contemporary Young Adult fiction that stands out from the crowd, The Boy in the Olive Grove, get a copy now. If you’re a fan of Fleur Beale then this is one not to be missed.
- MyBestFriendsAreBooks.com
Teachers Notes
Download the PDF with the Teachers Notes for The Boy In The Olive Grove here.