Kate Gordon, The Calling of Jackdaw, University of Queensland Press, March 2022, 224 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780702263484
When Jackdaw Hollow is struck by a bolt of lightning as a baby and survives unscathed, he grows up questioning why he was spared and his parents were not. He must be special, he must have a calling. The only problem – he hasn’t quite found it.
Then his friendly team of ghosts introduce him to Angeline. She’s nothing like the orphan girls at Direleafe Hall, she’s wild and determined to follow her own calling, the circus. Drawn to her free-spirited nature, Jack subsumes himself in their friendship, certain that he will find his calling with her.
Soon Jack will discover that on his search for his calling, he has lost sight of who he is and where he belongs.
Author of Aster’s Good, Right Things, CBCA 2021 Book of the Year for Younger Readers, Kate Gordon has told a magical tale in her latest novel. The Calling of Jackdaw Hollow is the companion story to Gordon’s two previous books set in the Direleafe Hall universe. The evocative, lyrical language compliments the mystical cover art to create the fantastical atmosphere.
The story of Jack’s search for belonging is written in a tender and gentle manner, sure to appeal to more timid readers. The words swim with wisdom and invite readers to perhaps, like Jack Hollow, consider their own calling.
Reviewed by Olivia Sammut
