{"product_id":"the-pearl-of-tagai-town-by-lenora-thaker-9781923058392","title":"The Pearl of Tagai Town","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA sweeping, heart-warming and ultimately triumphant story of the life of a young Torres Strait Islander woman from Tagai Town, a shantytown on the northeastern coast of Australia, in the decades before, during and after World War II.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGrowing up in the 1930s, Pearl strives for a place in the wider world, battling deep-seated prejudices. When she rescues a white shopkeeper trapped under a fallen beam, a bond forms between the two women, and Pearl becomes the first \u003ci\u003eAilan\u003c\/i\u003e woman, Islander woman, to work front-of-shop in the nearby white town. Not everyone is happy, of course, least of all the affronted white customers. But Pearl is quietly determined. Her budding romance with the bank manager’s son, though, must always be kept secret for her to retain her position and for the security of Tagai Town. Like Ama Rose says, ‘We leave them \u003ci\u003ekoles\u003c\/i\u003e, white people, alone and they leave us alone!’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen war arrives and Teddy suddenly enlists in the army, Pearl faces a cruel punishment. But her quest to recover the child she had with Teddy reveals much more than she’d bargained for.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLenora Thaker’s debut novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Pearl of Tagai Town\u003c\/i\u003e, brings a fresh angle to Australian historical fiction with a First Nations wartime love story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47082990960876,"sku":"9781923058392","price":40.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/4ece8095bec65ebd672987a11907cd9e.jpg?v=1765311516","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/the-pearl-of-tagai-town-by-lenora-thaker-9781923058392","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}