Cirrus@Austlit

'After the end of a long-term relationship, Alicia's life is at a crossroads when news that her mother is critically ill takes her back to her childhood home of Alice Springs.

'Though she hasn't consciously intended to remain in central Australia, when Alicia is offered a job setting up a school on an Indigenous outstation she decides to stay. Surrounded by the mesmerising beauty of the desert, Alicia takes charge of the new school, and though the challenges are substantial, she finds the work deeply fulfilling.

'When Alicia meets Patrick through her work she's instantly attracted to him. Patrick shares much of Alicia's outlook on life and their relationship flourishes until they hit a crisis regarding their future together...

'From Alice With Love is both a beautiful love story and a thought-provoking novel set in the exotic red centre of Australia.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Three generations of women search for love and acceptance

'Daughter of Italian immigrant Eve, and mother of beautiful Jasmine and headstrong Ella, Nina’s life has always been bound to those of other women.

'For the girl who longed for freedom and art, her dreams seem distant when she finds herself raising her daughters with only her mother’s support. Out of Place charts Nina’s course through life, from her girlhood, when her mother’s European ways are a puzzle and an embarrassment, through her troubled marriage to a man who is always looking elsewhere for happiness, to her struggles as a mother.

'But just when these three generations of feisty women seem to be pulling together and looking to a happier further, where their lives and loves can be balanced by distance and independence, a tragic accident tears them apart.

'Set against the beaches of Perth and the searing heat and harsh beauty of Central Australia, Jo Dutton delicately illustrates the frustrations, problems, joy and love that each of these generations gives and takes from each other as Nina learns, through heartbreaking lessons, that come what may, her life will always be touched by these three amazing women.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2013 ed.).