Tara Button’s mother, Tabitha, is dying. And she wants Tara to tow the family’s rusting yellow caravan across the state to the hospice in which she is residing. Reluctantly, Tara sets off with her troubled – and troublesome – brother, Zac, in the hope that doing so will keep him away from mischief. Instead, it follows them up the coast. But also tagging along is Zac’s childhood friend Danh, who seems determined to help Tara reconnect to long-forgotten childhood dreams.
While Tara has been mostly successful at shutting out her traumatic childhood, the road-trip rekindles memories of a parallel adventure two decades earlier. These flashbacks are told in a non-linear fashion, allowing readers to gradually piece together what has happened to Tara and her family, and to recognise how the impact has reverberated across the years and into the present.
Sasha Wasley has created a cast of characters that readers will warm to even when they’re behaving badly. This is a story about the complicated nature of family relationships, coming to terms with the past and the healing power of the sea. Just as the road-trip involves detours and unexpected changes of plan, A Caravan Like a Canary is filled with unexpected twists and turns that are not fully revealed until the trio reaches its destination. Jump on board for the ride!