Better Reading Preview: The Girl With the Violin by Shelley Davidow

Better Reading Preview: The Girl With the Violin by Shelley Davidow

A powerful love story in which one woman’s quest for identity and healing also becomes the single way she can honour her grandparents, whose lives were irreversibly shattered by the Holocaust. Perfect for readers of Anna Funder and Megan Rogers.

It’s 1989 and for a young Jewish-Australian violinist, a scholarship to Berlin is the chance of a lifetime. Germany is on the verge of change as the wall is torn down, and Susanna is swept along by the tumultuous event. Under the careful guidance of Stefan Heinemeyer, her renowned violin teacher and the grandson of a Nazi, she begins a composition in memory of her grandmother, Mirla, who died in the Buchenwald concentration camp during the Second World War, and Susanna is inspired to retrace Mirla’s final footsteps.

It’s a journey that reconnects Susanna to her heritage and propels her musical gift to extraordinary heights. Yet as a forbidden yearning for Stefan begins to unfurl, Susanna’s life is forever changed, and the repercussions will echo through decades and across continents.

In a world where history, society and inherited traumas threaten to silence Susanna and prevent her from ever becoming her true self, can she find the courage to reclaim her power as a woman, a musician, and a composer, and in so doing, lay her haunted past to rest?

We have 75 copies of this book to give away. For your chance to Preview this book, click on the link and fill in the registration form.

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This Preview sign-up period has now closed. Keep an eye out for future Previews being announced!

Better Reading Preview: An exclusive chance to read and review free books before anyone else

We invite our trusted community to engage directly with the nation-wide conversation about books by registering for Preview, our new crowd-sourced book review platform. Due to the insight and perceptiveness of our readers, we are launching a platform that allows your voice to be heard.

How do I express interest in reviewing a book?

Like us on Facebook AND subscribe to our newsletter (if you haven’t already!) to hear about the next Preview campaign. You must subscribe to our newsletter to hear about the latest Preview campaigns.

When a campaign is launched, readers will have 24 hours in which to send through their expression of interest, by filling in the registration form above. After 24 hours, Preview readers will be randomly selected from the pool of those who expressed interest in receiving and reviewing a free advance copy of the specified book. Usually these advance copies are printed three to four months before they hit bookshops, making Preview a great way to find out about upcoming titles before anyone else.

But be warned – there are only limited copies of each Preview book available for review.

You will only be contacted if you were successful in being selected.

When you register you are expressing interest for the following:

A free advance copy of the specified book sent to your postal address, in exchange for a brief review of the book that may be used for promotional purposes by Better Reading and the relevant publisher.

Important details:

– We need all your details, including your email address and postal address, for your expression of interest to be successful.

– Preview is currently only open to Australia-based readers.

– A successful registration to review a Preview book is for that single title, only. With every new Preview book announced, you will need to express interest again.

– When announced, Preview expressions of interest are open for 24 hours.

– Better Reading and the relevant publisher will never share the details provided by Preview reviewers for any purposes beyond the relevant Preview campaign.

– Preview demand is very high, and there are only limited spots available for each title. To keep things fair, if you fail to provide a review for a Preview title on two occasions, you will unfortunately not be selected for future Preview titles.

What happens after I express interest?

If you have been successful, you will receive a confirmation email shortly afterwards from Better Reading. This will contain a review deadline and a link through which to submit your review. It will also contain other details on the reviewing process.

About your Preview review:

– Preview reviews may feature on the Better Reading website and the Better Reading Facebook page. The relevant publisher may also use the reviews for promotion. When reviews are used for promotional purposes, each reviewer will only be identified by their first name and Australian state. Reviews may be edited slightly, just for the purposes of brevity and clarity.

– Social media posts about Preview may be shared by Better Reading on its social media channels and/ or website.

– All Preview reviews must be no longer than 200 words and must be received by the deadline specified in your confirmation email. You will generally have four weeks to submit your review, from the time you receive your book.

– We want you to have fun with Preview – post photos of your book on Instagram or Facebook when you receive it, and when you’ve read it, share your thoughts using the hashtag #BRPreview. Be sure to tag Better Reading in your posts – we love to hear from our readers! And if you have a Goodreads account, we encourage you to share your reviews there too.

Reviews

Your Preview Verdict: The Girl with the Violin by Shelley Davidow

Review | Preview

9 July 2024

Your Preview Verdict: The Girl with the Violin by Shelley Davidow

    Unmissable, Inspiring and Gripping: Read Our review of The Girl with the Violin by Shelley Davidow

    Review | Our Review

    2 July 2024

    Unmissable, Inspiring and Gripping: Read Our review of The Girl with the Violin by Shelley Davidow

      Unmissable, Gripping and Inspiring: Read an Extract from The Girl with the Violin

      Review | Extract

      2 July 2024

      Unmissable, Gripping and Inspiring: Read an Extract from The Girl with the Violin

        Publisher details

        The Girl with the Violin
        Author
        Shelley Davidow
        Publisher
        HQ Fiction
        Genre
        Fiction
        Released
        03 July, 2024
        ISBN
        9781867286417

        Synopsis

        A powerful love story in which one woman's quest for identity and healing also becomes the single way she can honour her grandparents, whose lives were irreversibly shattered by the Holocaust. Perfect for readers of Anna Funder and Megan Rogers.

        It's 1989 and for a young Jewish-Australian violinist, a scholarship to Berlin is the chance of a lifetime. Germany is on the verge of change as the wall is torn down, and Susanna is swept along by the tumultuous event. Under the careful guidance of Stefan Heinemeyer, her renowned violin teacher and the grandson of a Nazi, she begins a composition in memory of her grandmother, Mirla, who died in the Buchenwald concentration camp during the Second World War, and Susanna is inspired to retrace Mirla's final footsteps.

        It's a journey that reconnects Susanna to her heritage and propels her musical gift to extraordinary heights. Yet as a forbidden yearning for Stefan begins to unfurl, Susanna's life is forever changed, and the repercussions will echo through decades and across continents.

        In a world where history, society and inherited traumas threaten to silence Susanna and prevent her from ever becoming her true self, can she find the courage to reclaim her power as a woman, a musician, and a composer, and in so doing, lay her haunted past to rest?

        Shelley Davidow
        About the author

        Shelley Davidow

        Shelley Davidow is an award-winning international author who grew up in South Africa. Writing across genres, her 50 books reflect her experiences living and working on five continents over two decades. Recent publications include the memoirs Runaways (Ultimo, 2022), Shadow Sisters (University of Queensland Press, 2018) and Whisperings in the Blood (University of Queensland Press, 2016).

        Her day job is as a senior lecturer in Education at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. She's also a facilitator in Restorative Practice and consults with school communities around the country. In the time that's left over, she runs creative writing workshops, and has made at least one serious attempt to learn the violin.

        Books by Shelley Davidow

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