100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

Enjoy overnight NZ-wide delivery from our NZ-owned independent bookstore! πŸŽ‰

Skylarking

By Kate Mildenhall
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.82 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 1,371 ratings, 219 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall is set in the 19th century and follows the close friendship between two girls, Kate and Harriet, who grow up in an isolated lighthouse community in Australia. Their bond is tested by the arrival of a mysterious outsider, leading to jealousy and tension. The novel explores themes of friendship, isolation, and the complexities of growing up in a remote environment.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Skylarking. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this story if you are drawn to historical fiction that beautifully captures the landscape and lives of late 19th century Australia. This tale explores the complexities of friendship and the tensions of burgeoning adolescence, centred around two girls whose bond is tested by fate and circumstance.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Inspired by a true story, Skylarking is a stunning debut novel about friendship, love and loss, examining what it means to remember and how tempting it can be to forget.

By the author of The Hummingbird Effect and The Mother Fault

Kate and Harriet are best friends, growing up together on an isolated Australian cape in the 1880s. As daughters of the lighthouse keepers, the two girls share everything until a fisherman, McPhail, arrives in their small community. When Kate witnesses the desire that flares between him and Harriet, she is torn by her feelings of envy and longing. But one moment in McPhail's hut will change the course of their lives forever.

Skylarking is a strikingly real and deeply moving meditation on adolescent friendship in all its complexities - a heart-wrenching work. - Olga Lorenzo

This impressive novel takes a historical case and re-imagines it with such sensitivity and insight that we feel this must be how it truly happened. - Emily Bitto

A brave, beautiful and richly textured book that delicately explores the fault lines in love and friendship. - Lucy Treloar

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall has been praised for its poetic and evocative prose, which captures the wild beauty of the Australian coast. The novel explores themes of friendship, love, and tragedy, set in the 19th century with a gripping coming-of-age narrative. Reviewers often highlight the strong sense of place and the emotional depth with which Mildenhall writes her characters' experiences and inner lives.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781863958301

Publisher: Black Inc.

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 August 2016

Country: Australia

Imprint: Black Inc.

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 24.0mm

Width: 136.0mm

Height: 210.0mm

Weight: 304g

Pages: 288

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Kate Mildenhall Literary Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

Kate Mildenhall is a writer and education project officer, who currently works at the State Library of Victoria. As a teacher, she has worked in schools, at RMIT University and has volunteered with Teachers Across Borders, delivering professional development to Khmer teachers in Cambodia. She lives with her husband and two young daughters in Hurstbridge, Victoria.

Also by Kate Mildenhall

View all
  • The Hummingbird Effect
    An epic, kaleidoscopic story of four women connected across time and place by an invisible thread and their determination to shape their own stories, from the acclaimed author of The Mother Fault. Shortlisted for the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year 2024 Longlisted for the Stella Prize and Indie Book Awards 2024 Sydney Morning Herald Best Reads of the...
    By Kate Mildenhall
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Hannah's Pick Hannah's Pick
    The Hiding Place
    They’re good people. Why shouldn’t they get what they deserve? When Lou sees an ad for a long-abandoned mining town up for sale, it doesn’t take her long to convince her sister and their oldest friends to go in on the idyllic property buried in the bush – a place where the four families can hide away on weekends, get...
    By Kate Mildenhall
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Mother Fault
    The breakout novel called β€˜a triumph’ by Jane Harper, The Mother Fault is the riveting tale of one woman taking on the world to save her own. β€˜A triumph of a novel. Five stars. I loved it. Thrilling, confronting, page-turning and heartbreakingly poignant, The Mother Fault is a remarkable story.' Jane Harper, bestselling author of The Dry Mim’s husband is...
    By Kate Mildenhall
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • To Stir with Love
    Readings Best Books of 2024,Β Picture BooksShortlisted for the 2025 ABIA Awards,Β Children’s Picture Book of the YearShortlisted for theΒ 2025 Indie Book Awards, Children’sFrom the acclaimed author, and bestselling illustrator,Β this beautiful, heartfelt collaboration celebrates the magic of grandmothers (and their secret recipes). Β β€˜It’s my everything cake,’ Grandma says. β€˜My grandmother’s grandmother gave it to her, and my grandmother gave it to me.’...
    By Kate Mildenhall
    Hardback
    $2899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Skylarking
    Inspired by a true story, Skylarking is a stunning debut novel about friendship, love, and loss, one that questions what it is to remember and how tempting it can be to forget. By the author of The Hummingbird Effect and The Mother Fault Kate and Harriet are best friends, growing up together on an isolated Australian cape in the 1880s....
    By Kate Mildenhall
    Paperback
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people β€” but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
    Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $12400
    Elsewhere:
    $15500
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Goal
    Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...
    By Elle Kennedy
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Red Rising
    The first book in the incredible New York Times bestselling series Darrow is a Helldiver, toiling beneath the surface of Mars. As a member of the Red caste, he performs grueling labor in the belief that his sacrifice will enable future generations to one day inhabit the surface of the Red Planet. The Reds are humankind's lowest caste, living in...
    By Pierce Brown
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]
    The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragons… Raeve’s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor – a staunch beacon from a past she’s yet to face. With Rekk’s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...
    By Sarah A. Parker
    Hardback
    $5999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Project Hail Mary
    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...
    By Andy Weir
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Score
    Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...
    By Elle Kennedy
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Golden Son
    ENDER'S GAME meets THE HUNGER GAMES in this, the second in an extraordinary trilogy from an incredible new voice.'I'm still playing games. This is just the deadliest yet.' Darrow is a rebel forged by tragedy. For years he and his fellow Reds worked the mines, toiling to make the surface of Mars inhabitable. They were, they believed, mankind's last hope....
    By Pierce Brown
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    By Allen Levi
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (5)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    On Mystic Lake
    One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • East of Eden
    Set against the backdrop of the fertile Salinas Valley in California, East of Eden is a profound and compelling novel by John Steinbeck, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. This masterful narrative charts the intertwining destinies of two familiesβ€”the Trasks and the Hamiltonsβ€”across multiple generations. Steinbeck's intricate portrayal of human nature and enduring exploration of moral themes...
    By John Steinbeck
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all