Why a Booktrail?
2000s: The children go missing, one after the other…
All Our Secrets
What you need to know before your trail
The River Children — born in the aftermath of the infamous River Picnic. They begin to go missing, one after another.
Gracie Barrett is the naively savvy spokesperson for her chaotic family (promiscuous dad, angry mum, twins Lucky and Grub, Elijah the River Child and fervent, prayerful Grandma Bett), for the kids who are taken, for the lurking fear that locks down the town and puts everyone under suspicion.
Gracie is funny and kind, bullied and anguished, and her life spirals out of control when she discovers she knows what no one else does: who is responsible for the missing children.
Travel Guide
Travel BookTrail style to NSW
Sadly the rather wonderfully sounding village of Coongahoola is fictional. It sits on the banks of the also fictional Bagooli River . Despite the fictional setting, there is a vivid sense of place:
“The River Picnic was one of the biggest events that ever took place in Coongahoola, and even wilder than the street party the night Malcolm Fraser became Prime Minister ….”
“….Imagining kids all over Australia looking at our town: our faded Welcome to Coongahoola sign; our steelworks where my own dad worked; our deep, dark river; the gangly gum trees; the pretty banksias; the fluffy wattle trees; and our wide road, even with all the beer cans and newspapers blowing along the dusty gutters.”
A small town called Coongahoola with the dark Bagooli River running through it. The Bleeders — hundreds of ‘Believers’ who set up on the banks of the river, who start to buy up the town and win souls. The River Children — born in the aftermath of the infamous River Picnic. They begin to go missing, one after another.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: All our Secrets
Destination: New South Wales Author/guide: Jennifer Lane Departure Time: 1984
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