Author: Amanda Ortlepp
ISBN: 9781925030631
RRP: $32.99
Amanda Ortlepp returns after the success of her debut, Claiming Noah, which we read for book club and I loved.
Running Against The Tide sees Erin pack up her sons and leave Sydney for the small town of Mallee Bay on the Eyre Peninsula, she remembered holidaying nearby as a child and the place holds happy memories – and it’s far from the mess that is her marriage.
The house is a little rundown, the town is a little small and Erin begins to wonder what she has gotten herself in for. Her teenaged sons are not thrilled with the move, Mike is happy to make the best of the situation but Ryan is not so accommodating.
Erin arrives in Mallee Bay with more emotional baggage than actual baggage and it is only slowly that events are revealed to explain her move to South Australia.
Her arrival also coincides with a run of oyster thefts and an arson that have fingers pointing in all directions but no real evidence backing up suspicions. The storytelling is compelling with some unexpected twists and enough red herrings to keep you guessing until the end.
The small town characters are engaging and I loved getting to know them. Erin’s neighbours are Jono and Helen, the elderly couple are friendly enough and have always lived in Mallee Bay; Jono is an oyster farmer who inherited the farm from his father. The couple are childless and getting to know them and their story is heartwarming and restores faith in love that lasts forever.
I feel like there are many different character types in the story and it was interesting to see the way they interacted, the way that different people brought out completely different sides to illustrate how multi-faceted most people are and how important it is not to judge on one persons opinion because you may bring out a different side to them.
Fifteen year old Ryan is quite a complicated character and the glimpse we get past his exterior completely changes the perception of him; and he was not the only character I came to question my perceptions of through the storytelling of the talented Ortlepp.
I was captured by the scenery and the characters of Mallee Bay; I wanted to keep reading to find out where we would be taken next. Some of the behaviour of characters didn’t sit right with me but it wasn’t enough to affect my enjoyment of the story.
Running Against The Tide was a compelling offering by Amanda Ortlepp that cemented my opinion of her as a must read Australian author. The book is a gripping tale of addiction, new beginnings, consequences and the danger of perceptions; a book that I enjoyed and would recommend to readers who like a suspenseful family drama.
Running Against The Tide is Book #3 for the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 2016.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster 30 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading Running Against the Tide so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments.
You can follow Amanda on Twitter.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Running against the Tide by Amanda Ortlepp is her second novel, I loved her debut novel Claiming Noah.
This book was very well written and with the descriptions of Mallee Bay, I could picture myself – I lived on the Yorke Penninsular for awhile and the small towns are very similar.
Oyster Farming is a hard Industry to work in and this is described authentically and shows that the Author has done research on the subject.
I like how the story is told from different characters points of view and how they all interact with each other and their different outlooks on what is happening in this small seaside town the family moves too.
It is hard for the family of Mother and two sons to move hundreds of Kilometre’s to a new State where she has fond memories from her childhood, to start afresh. Their new life is not a easy time for any of them, from looking for work, starting a new school and making new friends.
Quite a few different topics are covered in this book, Domestic Violence, Depression, Stalking, Theft and Arson.
There is good description of meeting the new neighbors and the blossoming friendship with them. They do play a big part of the story.
There are a few surprising twists in it.
Very interesting and I found I read the whole book in two sittings as I didn’t want to put it down.
Highly recommend Running Against the Tide and will be looking forward to future works by Amanda Ortlepp.
WOW! What a fantastic book! I loved it and couldn’t put it down (even after being told off by my husband because I wouldn’t turn my bedside light off!). The storyline was completely unexpected and I never thought it would end the way it did. I love books set in South Australia because even if I haven’t been to the place the book is set in, they just feel close to home. I would love to read a sequel to see what happens in the future. I wonder did Erin end up with Puff? Did Jono manage to leave the oyster farming work all up to Puff and relax with Helen? Did Ryan and Erin’s relationship continue to improve? Did Ryan make up with his dad? Did his dad try to contact anyone in the family again? How did Adam manage with the twins?
So many questions and no one to answer them 🙁 I was also fortunate enough to read Amanda’s first book, Claiming Noah, which was another excellent read. Amanda Ortlepp is someone who I will be keeping an eye on for her next novel.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for another great read >:o)
in a situation like that I find I sometimes reach out to the author… sometimes they can help shed some light.
I equate the quality of a book to how long it takes me to read it. It took me a while to get through this one. This book, even though the storyline was intriguing and characters complicated, just didn’t grab me from the beginning. For me it wasn’t a book that I just couldn’t put down.
The author described the setting perfectly as I felt I could envisage it so very clearly, however I found it a little slow getting going and gritty. I found the intimate description of the oyster industry a little tiresome. I must admit I had guessed the person responsible for the stalking/fire very early on so it wasn’t a surprise when the person was finally revealed.
The difficulties faced by the younger son Ryan was well portrayed and such a relevant topic – dealing with troubled teens. The single parent role, escaping an abusive/gambling partner and dealing with children’s difficulties with coping with dramatic life changes was very well reflected. I didn’t expect the interesting unravelling of the end and by the end I was drawn in more with the storyline.
Overall I enjoyed this book but for me it wasn’t up there as ‘the best’ but still it was a good read.
Loved it!! Running Against the Tide by Amanda Ortlepp is such a great read! I was hooked from the beginning, and the compelling story of how Erin, and her teenage sons Ryan and Mike become part of a small town in Mallee Bay on the Eyre Peninsula, held my attention right until the very last page !!
Lots of very relatable human drama, covering the full gamut of emotions – from love and friendship, to resentment, anger and obsession; plot twists and turns to keep you guessing what’s going on and why; as well as genuine, fairdinkum characters, all set against a raw Australian background.
This was a very well written book, not only were the interactions between Erin, her boys, her neighbours and the locals interesting and authentic, but the writer also manages to capture the real essence of life in a small town.
I really enjoyed this book, and I’m so pleased to have discovered such an excellent new Australian author. I can’t wait to read what else she has written…impressed.
Running Against The Tide by Amanda Ortlepp is a well written book, but there were so many questions left unanswered that it didn’t feel quite complete to me.
I picked who was doing the stalking from fairly early on in the story (“the past will always find you” on the front cover lead me straight to that conclusion), but the ending was still a surprise and drew me back in.
Ryan’s character was very troubled and I must say I didn’t like his character much, but it was nice to see him making some positive changes towards the end of the book. Erin was quite a nice character, but I feel that her flaw was she seemed to be a little bit of a pushover; she was pretty accepting to the fire that destroyed her most prized things, and accepting of the way she was treated – I didn’t like that about her.
I would like to see a sequel to this book as for me, it feels unfinished. Do Mike and Polly stay together? How is Jono’s health? Does Ryan get any help to control his issues? Does Erin manage to become successful with her paintings? etc etc….
Overall, I did enjoy this book, and I particularly like Amanda’s descriptions of the landscapes of Mallee Bay. And it is interesting enough to keep you turning the pages, so I would recommend it, but must say that I enjoyed Amanda’s other book, Claiming Noah, better than this book. I look forward to finding out whether a sequel will follow. Thanks for the opportunity to review.
Thank you for allowing me to read Running Against the Tide, this was a book I could not put down, excellently written the book flowed, I could imagine myself in Erin’s situation the upheaval of the move with the two boys from the city to a small country town such a big move, I really thought that Ryan was the trouble maker till later on in the story then I thought maybe the x husband Marcus was causing all the trouble I had no idea it was Sully till the sacks were found in the tinny ( bit of a shock) I really hope there is another book written so we can learn what happens to everyone and I really learnt a lot about the oyster industry never realised it was such hard work once again thanks for letting me read
What a delightful book with many layers and expansive character developments. Ortlepp’s descriptive and informative style of writing lends perfectly to the reader being able to realistically imagine the backdrop and scenery.
There’s many twists that keep the reader wanting more and I just couldn’t put this book down. The main character, Erin, decides to uproot her city family to a country town, known for it’s Oysters, after a messy separation. One son grows and flourishes while the other struggles and retreats within presenting another set of issues for the book to deal with.
I don’t want this review to be a spoiler so will only say that it’s a fascinating and insightful look at relationships between parents, children, neighbours and new romantic encounters. It’s the sort of book that could be dissected for study or book clubs because of it’s diverse cross section of characters and the way they interact with one another but also lends itself perfectly as a relaxing weekend read – yes weekend – you will not be able to put it down!
This novel did not take long to finish as I found extremely hard to put out down from the first page. Erin Travers moves away from Sydney to escape from her troubled life with her two sons, Mike and Ryan. They arrive in the small town of Mallee Bay on the Eyre Peninsula where oyster farming is the main industry. Erin’s eldest son Mike ends up finding work at the oyster farm while her other son Ryan finds it hard fitting into a new school with dramatic and then with the unexpected turns and twists around the corner, will this all be okay for Erin?
This book is full of interesting, likeable and realistic characters that are very easy to relate to. You will get to know the gorgeous neighbours Helen and husband Jono and who help Erin settle in a little easier during this turmoil time in her life. It’s eye opening and touches base relating to domestic violence, bullying and surrounding community issues. I do like how the story is based in Australia as I could clearly create the scenes and settings in my mind. This is such a well written book that intrigued me from the very beginning to the very end. Thank you Beauty and Lace for the opportunity in reading and reviewing “Running Against the Tide” by Amanda Ortlepp.
Another great read from Amanda Ortlepp.I truly enjoyed her 1st novel Claiming Noah and I can honestly say the same for Running Against The Tide .
I finished this novel in two evening sessions which is always a good indicator of an enjoyable read for me .
Set on the beautiful Eyre Peninsula, main character Erin and her two sons have moved there from Sydney to escape their troubled lives.
There are many likeable characters in this book which also has just enough twists and turns to keep you interested enough to want to turn that next page in expectation of what is coming next, only for not to be what you expected.
The interactions between not just between Erin and her sons, but of those between her and her neighbours for example, were a joy to read and added the right amount of warmth to the book .
Lots of questions remain to be answered but often you end up making those conclusions in your head , perhaps the author may make a sequel, but it in no way detracted from my enjoyment of what I thought was a great novel.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for the chance to read and review “Against The Tide”.
Please excuse my error in my last sentence I enjoyed “Running against The Tide” (lack of sleep while typing” but I would hate for someone to be looking for it and not have the complete name 🙂
WOW, what an incredible read! From the first few chapters I expected a romantic novel but it is a thriller with excellent build up and a realistic and good conclusion. Running Against the Tide by Amanda Ortlepp is quite different from other books I’ve read and I was totally unprepared for the climax.
I was impressed with the characterisation and the way the story flowed, having me interested from the first page. It was interesting reading about oyster farming, something I knew nothing about and I particularly liked the way the characters interacted with each other. Jono and Helen are beautifully portrayed and believable and even the less likeable characters and the downright horrible people are believable. To give any real account of the story is impossible, I feel because the story is woven so well in the way the suspense mounts that to say anything about the plot would be likely to spoil the story for someone about to read it.
I haven’t read Claiming Noah but if Amanda Ortlepp can produce 2 novels of such high standard, her future is obviously assured. I am always delighted when I read an Australian author’s work that I enjoy as much as I have with Running Against the Tide. I did find parts confusing as I read but the confusion evaporated with the resolutions.
To me, it was an incredibly satisfying book, excellent characters, believable situations and satisfying climax and lovely rounded conclusion. Very much a “pass on to favourite people” book. Thank you so much for the opportunity to review, Beauty and Lace and Simon and Schuster. Highest congratulations to Amanda – a wonderful read that I have no hesitation in recommending.
Trish, definitely get your hands on Claiming Noah. Unfortunately, I passed my copy on. I couldn’t put it down.