Those Girls
Age 14+
Historical Fiction
New, from award-winning historical novelist, Pamela Rushby, exploring the roles, and struggles, of women in wartime
The poster had a picture of a tanned, healthy girl, wearing a regulation uniform hat and shorts that were, surely, anything but regulation.
When Hilly volunteers for the Women’s Land Army in 1942, she’s sixteen years old. She expects to be picking sun-kissed fruit and bottle-feeding fluffy white lambs, all while she's wearing a flattering outfit.
Travelling to farms across Queensland, Hilly encounters backbreaking work, but also friendship and fellowship with other Land Army girls, Aileen and Glad, all seeking independence for their own reasons. War is a chance for a life away from family and familiarity, offering adventure and romance. But the poster didn’t mention crutching sheep or 4 am starts. Or the prejudice they would face, and that some men needed to be fought off, rather than fought for. In the midst of adversity, Hilly finds exactly what she is capable of … and it might be more than she ever thought possible. She is one of ‘those girls with grit’.
Creators
Pamela Rushby is the author of over 200 books for children and young adults, as well as children's TV scripts, documentaries, short stories and freelance journalism. Pam has been an advertising copywriter, pre-school teacher, and producer of educational television, audio and multimedia. She has won several awards, including the NSW Premier's Ethel Turner Prize, five CBCA Notable Books – and a bag of gold coins at a film festival in Iran! Pam believes the strangest, most riveting, heart-breaking, laugh-out-loud stories aren't fiction. They're real. They come from history. And she loves tripping over unusual incidents from history – and then writing about them.
Reviews
Those Girls paints an indelible picture of the lives of some women in the Queensland Land Army… for readers aged 14+ who have enjoyed Katrina Nannestad’s and Jackie French’s novels.
Books + Publishing
An easy read, this book reveals an important page in Australian history.
Good Reading
Pamela Rushby’s latest young adult book is another fantastic historical fiction about girls and women, and what their lives were like on the home front during the Second World War.
Ashleigh Meikle
A great read for older children, teens and adults.
Sharon Greenaway
Those Girls is [a] fascinating read that is important for learning about the AWLA and looking at the changing roles of women in Australia during and after World War Two. An excellent resource for Australian Curriculum Year 10 History – World War Two studies.
ReadPlus
