Karen Wood, Under the Flame Tree, Allen & Unwin, September 2015, 304pp., $15.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781760112462
Under the Flame Tree is a modern day love story set in regional Australia. The heroine is sixteen year old Kirra, a high school student who has withdrawn from her secondary schooling to follow her dream of breaking-in horses. As the daughter of the foreman, Kirra expects few favours and knows she has to work hard to keep her position. She is a tough and determined rider with the stamina to remain aboard even the toughest of horses to bring out their best qualities.
Also starting work on Moorinja station is Daniel; a cute seventeen year old bad-boy with a recent three months stay in juvenile detention behind him. He appears unfriendly and defensive but he is appealing, and the reader knows immediately that these two characters are going to be the centre of this romance!
As with all true love there are complications. Kirra is determined to find out the real reason behind Daniel’s stay in juvy, solve the puzzle and keep the mysterious and beautiful blonde Lisa out of Daniel’s life. To do this she must also focus on her job and not allow her concentration to deteriorate. This is harder than she thinks and the boss begins to think unfavourably of her, which has a flow-on effect by threatening her plans to work for the year and then begin agricultural college while the station pays her way. Daniel too must work hard to get himself sorted enough to make a relationship work with Kirra.
Wood has written an easy-to-read teenage romance. The main characters make mistakes and learn from them and we see them mature over the course of the book. It was positive to see that there was more at stake than love for both of the main characters, but I did find the instantaneous attraction Kirra had for Daniel a little disturbing. When friends advise you to steer clear of a boy there are usually very good reasons and Kirra ignores the advice of those around her. She hadn’t yet completed high school, didn’t know Daniel’s surname and yet she was throwing herself at him. Mid-way through the book there was beer drinking episode for Kirra that also felt inappropriate. Perhaps if her character had been even two years older I feel I would have had a different view so I can only blame my mother-instincts that contributed to my prudish detachment from Kirra’s character. While Daniel was the official bad-boy it was hard to resist a character who is essentially a good man. When all is revealed at the end of the story this light romance fiction will leave every reader with that feel-good warmth!
Reviewed by Emily Meldrum
