Life Song

Overview: Mavis was born to be a songbird. Her parents named her after one, a bird with a distinctive song worthy of poetry. With her wings clipped by circumstance, Mavis spent six years of her life grounded and her dream of soaring flight almost forgotten. Unexpectedly, Mavis discovers she has a choice: accept a life that is ordinary or be among the one percent that shine. It is a long way to the top in the Australian music industry and more than a name needs to change in order to succeed. It is a gruelling challenge with exhausting demands and subtle traps for the uninitiated. Can Mavis make it? Can she build a better life for herself and her son? Can she have it all?

Readership (ages 16+): Every generation that has faced life's challenges and who has tried to find the balance between career, parenthood, and having it all. The themes are discovery, triumphing against the odds, reinvention, disparate families, parenting, friendship, and the nature of love; themes that resonate with all ages.

Editorial Review: Christine M Knight's second novel LIFE SONG is a joyfully triumphant confection that resonates with layers of interest. The core of this novel centres on Mavis Mills' resolve to be in charge of her life and captain of her creativity. It is a story that celebrates the power of belief in oneself and of friends and supporters.

In terms of its chick-lit appeal, LIFE SONG ticks all the boxes. It is a blend of wry humour and vivid storytelling and the outcome is satisfying without being cloying. There is sizzle but no awkward sex scenes to navigate. Relationships are deftly drawn and realistically portrayed reflecting the passion with which people live life. The story draws from three generations of women who learn to make their own brave, sometimes foolish, sometimes late-applied choices to achieve a better life. Male characters are as diverse and complex as the female characters.

LIFE SONG is a story which can be read as an adventure with a wonderfully funny, distinctly visual narrating style. It can also be reflected on as a snapshot of Australian lifestyle and culture in the 1990s. The author has some great insights about the emergence of women who lead their own bands.

This is the sort of novel that delights on a day when the sofa calls. Its appeal is universal.

To paraphrase Ian 'Molly' Meldrum - readers should do themselves a favour and go out and buy it. This is a winner for booksellers.