Van Apfel Girls Are Gone

'We lost all three girls that summer. Let them slip away like the words of some half-remembered song and when one came back, she wasn't the one we were trying to recall to begin with.'

So begins Tikka Molloy's recount of the summer of 1992 - the summer the Van Apfel sisters, Hannah, the beautiful Cordelia and Ruth - disappear.
Eleven and one-sixth years old, Tikka is the precocious narrator of this fabulously endearing coming-of-age story, set in an eerie Australian river valley suburb with an unexplained stench. The Van Apfel girls vanish from the valley during the school's 'Showstopper' concert, held at the outdoor amphitheatre by the river. While the search for the sisters unites the small community on Sydney's urban fringe, the mystery of their disappearance remains unsolved forever.

Brilliantly observed, sharp, lively, funny and entirely endearing, this novel is part mystery, part coming-of-age story - and quintessentially Australian. Think 'The Virgin Suicides' meets 'Jasper Jones' meets 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'

Am pierdut toate cele trei fete in vara aceea. Lasati-i sa scape ca cuvintele unei melodii pe jumatate amintite si cand a revenit una, ea nu a fost cea pe care am incercat sa o amintim pentru inceput. ”Asa ca incepe povestirea lui Tikka Molloy despre vara lui 1992 - vara Van Surorile Apfel, Hannah, frumoasa Cordelia si Ruth - dispar. In varsta de unsprezece si saisprezece ani, Tikka este povestitorul precoce al acestei fabuloase si indragitoare poveste de varsta, situata intr-o suburbiie stranie din valea raului australian, cu o duhoare inexplicabila.