Author: Mary-Anne O’Connor
ISBN: 9781489210555
RRP: $29.99
This story opens with 18 year old Junie Wallace in Braidwood, NSW, and with that I was hooked. I am a sucker for a book set in a well known place, and though I have never spent a lot of time in Braidwood it’s somewhere that I have always driven through on family holidays.
I have never really been a huge fan of books set during times of war, though of late there have been quite a few that involve the war and I have really enjoyed them.
Worth Fighting For had quite a slow start and it took me a while to really get invested after being hooked by Braidwood on the first page.
Junie Wallace is a very clever girl who loves her life on the farm, though it’s not quite as carefree as it once was. Her brothers are away fighting the war, her parents are struggling, her father is drinking and Junie has captured the attention of a wealthy local who steps in to keep the farm afloat – for a price.
Ernest Farthington was a detestable character who really just made my skin crawl from the very beginning. He was beyond egotistical and he thought his money could buy him whatever he wanted, and the fact that his mother enabled his belief in himself as the greatest gift to the universe certainly didn’t help.
Very early on I knew what I wanted to happen, how I wanted it all to play out and it wasn’t anything like what really happened which I think is a good thing because it made it much less predictable.
The amount of betrayal and dishonesty and adultery rampant throughout the novel was a little off putting, but it was important to the story. Junie was a very clever girl, she had the book smarts to come first in her year when she left school but she was still pretty naive about the ways of the world.
Junie was in love with a boy who wasn’t quite of her class but he was a good man and he loved her. Unfortunately Ernest had made his decision and put Junie in a position where she didn’t feel that she could follow her heart, for the good of her family she felt she had to make the marriage of convenience and ensure her brothers had a home to return to.
This wasn’t an ideal situation and those who knew were totally against her making the choice to sacrifice her happiness but Junie was known for her selflessness and she wanted to do what she could for her family. As Junie moves towards her future as Mrs Farthington the second world war moves ever closer to home.
Worth Fighting For includes some fascinating historical war facts and detail that allowed me a view of the war that I hadn’t had previously. The bombings of Pearl Harbor, Darwin and Sydney are all included for a look at the ripple effect it had and the way that so many lives from across the world are entwined.
O’Connor starts the novel in Braidwood but being wartime the characters are quite well traveled so we spend time in Braidwood, Sydney, Darwin, Hawaii, Port Moresby and the New Guinea rainforests.
Junie’s marriage is a lie but that is only the beginning of the web of lies she finds herself in. I could understand and empathise with her agreeing to the marriage but after that things seemed to get all a little too tangled even for her. The lies built until they towered over her and she wasn’t sure how to get out. I could understand her getting in the situation but after that she really did make things worse for herself. She may have spent a lot of her life as the very plain smart girl but once she filled out she started attracting attention and it takes her a long time to realise it, some of her predicaments could have been avoided with a little less naivety.
Ultimately Worth Fighting For is a tale of love, of hanging on and holding out hope when all seems lost. A tale of enduring through hardship and learning to live with the nightmares; a tale of hope, of loss, of friendship, betrayal and resilience. It’s also quite the illustration of the difference between the classes.
The world has come a long way since World War II, though at times it doesn’t really seem that far. The racism, the sexism and the ignorance was at times quite irritating to read, to think of the way people were treated because of their differences.
In the end I really loved this book, I enjoyed the way it played out though I did find the ending a little disappointing. There were some great twists that really messed with my emotional equilibrium but I think that’s the mark of a good book.
Worth Fighting For is book #58 for the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 2016.
Available now from Harlequin, Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
You can find Mary-Anne at her Website as well as on Facebook.
Everyone is going to have a different take on this one I think and I will be interested to hear what our readers think.
Thanks to Harlequin 20 of our Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading Worth Fighting For so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
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!
I am extremely grateful to get to read “Worth Fighting For” A very well written and researched book weaving truth and fiction.
From the moment I started reading, I enjoyed the way it was written, the characters and even the ending. Nothing was left to question, it just was and I find that very rare in a book. When reading a book, I actually imagine being at the places and create images of the characters in my mind if I can, of what they would appear to me and in this book, they were vivid and real.
I especially liked at the end how the author explained how she created characters around true life people in her life and wove them into the story and closely mirrored them how their character was represented in the story.
Junie is an exceptionally character of that particular time period. Of course she had to grow up quickly as did most during war but she was lucky. The best bit is that she was not only courageous at a time when women where still consider inferior but she also showed true strength of character. I admire that she proved that you are stronger than you believe and this overcomes many things in life, love and personal development.
Of her first novel, Gallipoli Street I will be hunting down and reading at the first chance I get and thats saying something as I dont normally like war themes. Heres hoping it is similar written and gets a strong emotional reaction as well.
Many thanks Beauty and Lace for the chance and to the author Mary-Anne OConnor
Firstly, I just wanted to thank B&L and Harlequin Aus for the opportunity to read Worth Fighting For; and secondly to put it straight right from the get-go I thoroughly enjoyed the novel by Mary-Anne O’Connor and I recommend it to anybody who likes romance and is interested in reading some Australian work.
At first I wasn’t sure how I would enjoy this book. O’Connors’ writing style is a little different to the usual novels I read, and it took me a few chapters to get into the storyline and wrap my head around the many characters’ names and the way O’Connors’ would jump between each characters’ storyline. Once I started to get used to the flow of her writing I could no longer put the book down, and finished most of the book in a single evening.
Her main character Junie is someone I found myself wishing to be; beautiful, intelligent and spirited. Painstakingly, Junie found herself in an unfortunate run of events that led her to marry the easily despised Earnest because of family debts and with it giving up on her lover Michael Riley. I knew how I wanted the story to end and I desperately kept reading hoping for the best case scenario ending for Junie where they could be together; but I don’t really want to give away any spoilers.
Another massive drawcard for this book to me is that it is set in the historical period of WW2 and I have always wanted to read books based around the era, but have been too worried that they’d be too dry to read. If that is a concern for you as well do not even worry about it! The way the author wrote about Pearl Harbour, Darwin and Papua New Guinea really built up a vivid scenery for me and has left me wanting to learn more about Australia’s’ history and involvement in the war, so I think it’s become a segue into the genre for me, and I hope to find more books alike this one!
The acknowledgements at the end where Mary-Anne wrote about her family’s history were such a beautiful section to include in her book, it was lovely to learn about the people she had found inspiration from and their histories. I will definitely be reading her other novel Gallipoli Street as soon as I get the chance!
Thanks for the opportunity to read this fascinating book Worth Fighting For
Although I don’t like the idea of war I find the history of war quite enthralling as to why these things happen to what end & find that Mary-Anne O’Connor has described the events very well.
The storyline based around Junie was deep & a bit heavy going at some times but also compelling describing what most people would do for their family & the sacrifices they make to keep them safe.I agree that Ernest was a most obnoxious man but this only shows how well the author wrote his character
Fascinating book which I really enjoyed so once again thanks for the chance to read it.
What a fantastic yet unpredictable book, I could not see what was coming towards the end and wondered what Marlon had to do with the story as soon as he was in it. This took me on a rollercoaster of emotions and how hard it was for Junie to be lost and find her way eventually. I was a bit heartbroken at the end as I felt a sense of bittersweet and wanting for more of the story to carry on like…..what went on with her daughter? did Ernest still try to manipulate her?, how Michael`s family reacted when they heard the news about both him and their unknown granddaughter? I would love there to be a sequel as it really left me wanting more but I guess I liked it that much,I didn`t want it to end.
I think there was a spelling mistake on page 169, if you go to the second line where it reads `of silk curtains, and chaise longues`……… was that supposed to be chaise lounges? just a thought 🙂
All in all I did totallt love and embrace this book with my heart and soul and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a great read and I will be now searching for Mary-anne O`Connors other book called Gallipoli Street thats for sure.
Thanks so much Harlequin and B&Lace as I have now come across a book yet that I havent liked.
Thankyou Mary-Anne O`Connor for your wonderful writing talents 🙂
Thank you Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to add another Aussie author to my list of faves. I’m a huge fan of romance war time novels and this one was up there for me with my ultimate favourite by JoJo Moyes.
From the beginning, I felt extremely connected to the main character Junie and was invested in her life throughout the novel. I loved how we experienced war from the perspective of family and those left behind rather than just those in battle. Many times it was confronting, and emotionally draining to read, however such real representations of life during world war 2 is important education for us today and essential in ensuring we remember and honour those who fought for us.
O’Connor proved she is a master in unpredictability and I loved that this book never went in the direction I imagined it would. I’ve already added her other novel to my Xmas wish list and highly recommend this read.
Set in World War II, in Australia, PNG and Hawaii this novel centres around a strong minded young woman called Junie. Being a country girl, I enjoyed this from the start. I was slightly confused initially as it jumped from character to character. This soon fell in to place, and I was then hooked, reading the last third of the tale well into the wee hours.
This is a story of love, of sacrifice, of a woman who made her choices, even when they weren’t in her best interests
It also tells of mateship, of young men making the extreme sacrifice during wartime. The author takes you to Pearl Harbour, to Darwin and to PNG with her descriptive narratives of the people and the scenery
I really enjoyed this book, and will certainly seek out other works by Mary-Anne O’Connor
Right from the start of “Worth Fighting For’ I was hooked. Junie Wallace is an engaging character and following the highs and lows of her life was intriguing, tragic, dramatic and bittersweet. Indeed I was emotionally exhausted by the end of the book! I really loved the book’s exploration of WWII from an insider’s perspective, especially Pearl Harbor. Mary O’Connor skilfully creates a personal experience of these historic world events to bring their impact to an individual level.
I also enjoyed the theme of indigenous peoples woven through the story via Marlon, Marri, Putz and Joseph.
The contrasts of city vs country, upper class vs working class, and women vs men were quite skilfully explored and while certainly some improvements have been made since sadly not all inequalities have yet been resolved. The book covers a vast amount of material and while I would have liked to hear more about Junie’s future and her daughter among other things, perhaps a sequel may be on the cards…?
I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Worth Fighting For’ and will recommend to anyone who’d like to learn more about WWII from a more personal perspective. It really does bring home how lucky we are.
Thanks to Beauty & Lace and Harlequin for the opportunity to read and review this fabulous new book.
Worth Fighting For a novel by Mary-Anne O’Connor is a story which starts in Bairdswood, New South Wales and the main character Junie Wallace a young 18 year old woman who loves life on the family farm. Her brothers are away fighting the war, her parents are struggling to keep the farm afloat as her father has a drinking problem. Junie attracts the attention of Ernest Farthington who offers to keep the farm going but at what cost. The cost is marrying the unscrupulous Ernest and forgoing the love she has for Michael. Once married to Ernest we find that he doesn’t really care for Junie but only for himself and how he can keep climbing the social ladder for the betterment of himself.
As the years go by and living a lie with Ernest, Junie wants to start learning again and attends the Sydney University to study law and thus qualifies as a Lawyer. Ernest then convinces Junie to move to PNG for a period of two years to advance his career, leaving behind their 6 year old daughter in boarding school which Junie is not happy about, but unfortunately she has not choice about Ernest’s decision as he is always threatening her with what he can do to her family. Whilst in PNG Junie discovers evidence that Michael maybe there, he was taken down in a plane during duty in the War in 1943. Now she embarks on an expedition to seek the truth but unfortunately discovers that Michael really does not want to be discovered, and is the damaged shell of a man she once loved and now knows that she has to leave him behind. She now has to make the decision to let her life move forward. She does eventually ask Ernest for a divorce, thus allowing herself the opportunity to give herself the opportunity for happiness with an pilot Marlon also known to her from her past.
The story spans from 1941 to 1949 and goes into details of how the war affected Sydney with men being enlisted and just how many were underage. We read of Pearl Harbour, Darwin and New Guinea during this period. We also learnt of mateship, courage, love, loyalty and how many scarified themselves for Australia.
I found this story to be very well written and descriptions of the settings and surroundings were very descriptive and gave me a real insight as to what it would have been like being there. Mary-Anne O’Connor is to be congratulated on opening my eyes to a new genre as I do not usually read books about the war but I do love a book that involves romance and this had that as well.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Harlequin for the opportunity to read this novel and I would highly recommend to everyone.
This is the first book I have read by Mary-Anne O’conner and I loved it!
War can be a hard topic to read, but from the first page this book had me sucked me in.
This book takes you back in time, while you are reading it. It’s very descriptive, so you have a really good feel as to what the author was imagining and feeling at the time of writing it.
There’s nothing better than reading a book, and feeling like you are right in it.
The book gives you a good insight into WWII, but also adding love, passion and heartbreak.
I would highly recommend Worth Fighting For. Even if you are not a lover of war, you would love this book!
Worth Fighting For, a book written by Mary-Anne O’Connor was definitely not what I was expecting. At times I loved the book and just couldn’t put it down but then I found some parts were more tedious and these I struggled with. The book was incredibly interesting and had a lot of historical facts weaved into the story and although I found this fascinating for the most part I also found some of this hard to follow as I admit I don’t understand a lot of the war terminology. I really did love reading about times back then as I never got to learn much about WWII in history so was happy to stick it out and glad I did. The story definitely had me in suspense with quite a few unexpected twists. The characters were easy to love and hate, Junie was a lovely lead character and although I would get annoyed with some of her decisions or actions I reminded myself that things were different back then and how she acted was actually incredibly brave and it suited well for the time period. I was very upset about Michael and I also felt that maybe there could have been a bit more to the ending, it seemed to wrap up a bit too quickly however, this is a minor detail. I loved the acknowledgements at the end also and thought it was so touching that the author named characters after members of her family and was able to base parts of the novel on their real life experiences.
I thought this would be a light romantic read that I would finish quickly however, it was so much more than that. Thank you for the opportunity to read this compelling story.
PS A very sincere and heartfelt apology on a very late review too…