Ironbark Hill by Jennie Linnane is a novel about a girl named Natalie Chapman who has to protect her mother and mentally challenged brother from her abusive and alcoholic stepfather. She has several dreams in life, but she knows that she will do anything, including abandoning her dreams, to keep them safe. It is not easy to keep them safe, but she will do so. At the same time, she wants to avenge the death of her part-aboriginal father, which is why she needs to find out the truth about how he died. When she turns seventeen, she falls for her boss who is a married man, and her life gets even more complicated.
This novel truly delves into the psychological portions of domestic abuse. Natalie hates her stepfather, but she doesn't know how to