Reviews
Reviews and praise for Runaways
“This book is a soul-searing love letter to the power of friendship in the face of entrenched oppression. The adversity faced will speak to all women, to the indigenous, to the disenfranchised. “
Good Read Reviews. Read more…
”This is undoubtedly one of the best books I have ever read. I know that’s a big statement, but I’m going to be thinking about Runaways for a long time. A story of countries, cultures, religions, friendship and perhaps most of all a story of women.“
Good Read Reviews. Read more…
“This book broke my heart over and over again. There are far too many words I could use to describe it, so I will narrow it down to these three: inspiring, emotional and honest. There were multiple occasions where I was brought to the verge of tears learning about the things these brave women had gone through. I learned so much about culture, tradition and perspective while reading this book. “
Good Read Reviews. Read more…
Reviews and praise for Shadow Sisters
“Davidow’s memoir is not only a vivid, stark and resonant reminder of those days, but a rites-of-passage tale about growing up in the midst of violence and killing – as well as experiencing the pangs of first love.”
The Sydney Morning Herald. Read more…
”Shadow Sisters is (an) absorbing memoir of life in an activist family under the Apartheid regime in the 1970s and 80s. It is an extraordinary story.”
ANZ litlovers Review. Read more…
“Shelley Davidow distils the tragedies of a nation down to the relationships within her very home.”
Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen
Reviews and praise for Fail Brilliantly
Fail Brilliantly is not the usual pablum about embracing failure as part of the process or ignoring failure entirely in order to craft some oblique optimistic worldview. Instead, this is a book about acknowledging that there are different kinds of failure, figuring out how to handle them, and reframing the idea of failure itself. After all, who the hell wants to go through life if “pass/fail” is the only metric to be graded by?
A quick read but a worthwhile one, Fail Brilliantly not only helps tackle the problem, but it helps you develop the skills to provide better solutions in the future.
Reviewed By: Glenn Dallas
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Reviews and praise for Raising Stress-Proof Kids
“While (Davidow) argues it is important to prepare children for the challenges in the world, this is best done by giving them the skills to cope rather than parachuting them into stressful situations and hoping for the best. The most salient lesson (she) pushes home involves parents, who have a responsibility not to transfer their stress levels to their children.”
The Weekly Times – May 21, 2014.
“Positive Emotions and Stress”
MyBaba, November 3, 2014
“Toughen Up Kids”
The Daily Telegraph – KidsSpot review, May 10, 2014 (PDF).
Get Ahead Kids magazine review, March/April 2014
“The Latest Word in Parenting”, The Advertiser – Lifestyle section review, 4 April, 2014
‘How to Stress Proof Your Child’,
Daily Life review – March 2014.
Gym-Link magazine review, May 2014 (PDF).
Raising stress-proof kids, Families Pennines (East Lancs & West Yorks) – July 2014
Reviews and praise for Spirit of the Mountain
A fine, strong, delicate story of a girl in mortal danger, who is saved because she brings herself to ask help from powers she does not understand. Emily lives in South Africa, but the voice in her diary is utterly recognisable half the world away — funny and agonisingly true.
Ursula K Le Guin (2003)
Spirit of the Mountain is a beautiful and moving story about human strength and fragility, told with wit, intelligence and compassion. Davidow is a remarkably gifted writer.
Molly Gloss, author of Wild Life
Sometimes you find secrets where you least expect them. But what can a baby know, or an old man on a mountain? Can Emily learn to listen in time? Shelley Davidow’s Spirit of the Mountain will take you on a journey you won’t forget… Bette Lynch Husted, author of Above the Clearwater
Shelley Davidow combines a lively and sensitive imagination with an exceptional mastery of the language . You’ll want to follow these characters on a journey to places that are both strange and familiar. You’ll get to know them and care about them and be sorry when, at the end, you cannot embark right away on another journey.
Judith Barrington, author of Lifesaving – A Memoir.
Engrossing. The eye-opening diary entries reveal the self-deceiving and destructive inner dialogue of the anorexic […] but the book does offer essential hope that a way out is possible. This story deserves to be read by thoughtful readers for its haunting, magical realism, compassionate telling, captivating characters and important issues. A useful discussion starter too for PSHE.
Eileen Armstrong, School Librarian, Autumn 2004
A realistic and empathic depiction of a young girl’s struggle with an eating disorder and how she overcomes it. Intriguing and topical. Recommended for readers aged 10-13.
Maire Ni Dhonnchadha, Inis: the Children’s Books Ireland magazine, Spring 2004.
Part of the book is written in the form of Emily’s diary, and some of it is quite funny. This book was really good and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was quite scary when Emily wasn’t eating. It made me understand anorexia more, and sure that I never want to be anorexic. I would say it’s for ages 11 and up.
Jenny, age 11, Education Otherwise, February 2004.
Reviews and praise for Whisperings in the Blood
Shelley Davidow has written a lyrical and completely absorbing generational memoir shaped by the 20th century’s darkest hours, from the pogroms in Lithuania, to the Holocaust, to apartheid. Whisperings in the Blood is wise, beautiful and impossible to put down.’
Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen
‘This stunning book is the story of Shelley Davidow’s family. Their stories span four continents and 100 years, and their individual stories are like musical notes, all coming together to make a beautiful symphony.’
Annie Grossman at Annie’s Books on Peregian
‘Shelley Davidow has skilfully captured the migrant experience of Lithuanian Jews who, in four generations, escape the pogroms of the early 20th century and end up in Australia via New York and South Africa. It is a story which will resonate with many of our South African Jewish population although perhaps not with quite as much tragedy…The author skilfully layers the histories of four generations creating a complex family history struck by joy and hope, failure and grief.’
Oscar & Friends Booksellers, Staff Choice
‘Ancestral Whispers‘ – Courier Mail Feature Interview with Phil Brown
The Age Review, March 2016