Sorry Rock by Thalia Henry

In this well-crafted and beautifully written literary novel, family and place become entangled, and the past finally catches up with the present.

Twelve-year-old Ned lives with his mother, Gwen, on the wild west coast of New Zealand, in a bach above Te Henga’s black sand beach. She is withdrawn and unhappy, and her sister Candice is wild and uncontrollable. Ned quietly yearns for the father that he never knew.

His older sister Alice grew up in Alice Springs, and she is at the age of becoming independent. She lives in Te Henga Beach also, but her memories of her childhood in the Northern Territory are vivid.

Their cousin Hugo, best friends with Ned, is restless and pushes Ned into trouble. When Ned finds an ochre rock in his mum’s possession, that sets off a chain reaction, and eventually the family finds themselves at Uluru, where they uncover the truth of choices made long ago.

The landscapes in this exquisite novel are as important as the central characters, from New Zealand's volcanic shoreline to Australia's red desert.

Interestingly, the title, Sorry Rock, refers to Sorry Rocks, a term used sometimes by people who have taken rocks from Uluru and later returned them out of remorse, often with apology letters.

I look forward to more books by this talented author. Sorry Rock was touching and beautiful.

Reviewer: Karen McMillan

Cloud Ink Press