NOVEL REVIEW: DI SITU LANGIT DIJUNJUNG BY HANNA ALKAF

Eiyo Fadneiras,

How are you guys doing? Time flies really fast. I can't believe that today is the last day of January already. I hope you guys had a great January and may February be a better month for all of us. 

In today's post, I want to share my review of a novel I just finished reading last week with you guys. The novel is titled The Boy With Blue Trousers. This novel is written by Carol Jones. Now, let's begin this review with Carol Jones' bio...

ABOUT CAROL JONES

The amazing author ~ Carol Jones (Image: caroljonesauthor.com)

Carol Jones is an Australian author. She was born in Brisbane but grew up in Melbourne. She also had experience living in Malaysia. Most of her stories are inspired by Asian history and culture. 

Jones has been a full-time author since 1999. She wrote young adult novels, children's fiction, and non-fiction books. Her first novel was titled The Concubine's Child. The novel was first published in 2018. Most book critiques said that The Concubine's Child is a novel all book lovers must not miss. Before Jones became an author, she was a secondary school teacher (she taught English dan Drama), and an editor for a children's magazine.

ABOUT THE BOY WITH BLUE TROUSERS

The Boy With Blue Trousers (TBWBT) is Jones' second novel after The Concubine's Child. This novel belongs in the historical fiction genre. TBWBT continues Jones' interest in the Chinese and Asian diaspora. The setting for TBWBT took place in 19th century Australia.

The story followed two female protagonists, Little Cat and Violet Hartley. Both protagonists were trying to escape their past.

Little Cat was an 18 years old girl from Southern China. Her family was running a silk business back in their village. One day, Little Cat was called by the village leader, Big Wu. Big Wu was not a good man. He tried to rape Little Cat. To defend herself, Little Cat accidentally killed Big Wu. After killing Big Wu, Little Cat fled her village. She disguised as a boy and joined the huge Chinese workforce on the goldfields of South Australia. But the son of the murdered man, Young Wu was on her trail. Young Wu wanted to avenge his father's death and killed Little Cat with his own hands. 

At the goldfield in Southern Australia, Little Cat met a beautiful English girl named Violet Hartley. Like Little Cat, Violet also had a dark past and secret. Before Violet became a governess in Australia, she had a terrible scandal back in England. The scandal totally compromised Violet's reputation as a young lady. Violet's only goal was to build a new life in Australia and marry a rich man. She had her eyes on Mr. Thomas (a manager at the goldfield). 

Mr. Thomas was a kind-hearted man. He made friends with Little Cat. He was concerned about her situation. Mr. Thomas's kindness towards Little Cat made Violet jealous, suspicious, and uncomfortable with the Chinese beauty. Will Violet be able to understand Little Cat's situation? Can Little Cat escape Young Wu? Can Young Wu kill Little Cat? And will Young Wu find out the real reason why Little Cat killed his father?

MY REVIEW OF THE BOY WITH BLUE TROUSERS

TBWBT is a story about love, friendship, womanhood, hardship, and culture. TBWBT is a very beautiful historical fiction for me. The story was beautifully written. Carol Jones' writing in this novel really captured my heart. And the characters were beautifully created and developed. I can feel the two protagonists while reading this novel. I also like the way Jones described each scene in the story. Jones' description of 19th century Australia and China made it easy for me to visualize the atmosphere in the story.

Besides the storyline, plot, characters, and scene-setting, I also like the chemistry tension between Little Cat and Young Wu. It was so lovely to find out that Young Wu was secretly in love with Little Cat towards the end of the story. Young Wu's love confession to Little Cat was very romantic indeed. It made me feel dreamy. Young Wu actually asked his father, Big Wu, to proposed Little Cat for him. But unfortunately, his father betrayed him.

My fan cast for The Boy With Blue Trousers ^_^

I love this novel a lot. I really enjoyed reading TBWBT and hope to read this novel again one day. I also hope that TBWBT will be adapted into a historical film soon. I believe TBWBT will make a lovely historical film. It will indeed!

Last but not least, I rate this novel 10/10. And I highly recommend TBWBT to my fellow bookworms who are into the historical fiction genre. TBWBT is a novel you must not miss, guys.

Ok, this is all for now. Before I end this post, I would like to ask my readers two simple questions. Have you read The Boy With Blue Trousers? If yes, what are your opinions of the novel and Carol Jones' writing? Please feel free to share your opinions in the comment box below. I'll see you guys again in my next post. Thank you for reading this review ^_^

XoXo,

Fadima Mooneira ^_^

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