GENRE: YA Contemporary
A parcel. A secret. The adventure of a lifetime.
Out one night with friends, Maria Pearce bears witness to something that sparks off a series of events that quickly unravels the life she thought she knew. Angering her father, he takes the one thing she holds closest to her heart: her beloved horse, Indah. Heartbroken, Maria sinks deep in misery, only surfacing twelve months later. When her desperate attempts to locate Indah are fruitless, she swallows her pain and tries to move on.
After her parents divorce, her mother lands a dream job, takes the opportunity to go to Venice for twelve months… and goes missing.
Then the strangest parcel arrives, containing four curious items: a beautiful silver dress, a pile of letters and a note. But it was the last one that caught Maria’s eye: a list setting out a precise, all-expenses-paid trip for her and a friend to Venice, Paris and Palau. It seemed impossible, inconceivable, unbelievable, too good to be true. But when everything is proven to be genuine, the chance to search for her mother would be impossible to pass up.
What neither of the girls realise is that in agreeing to go, they will discover that secrets lurking deep in their mothers’ pasts are about to surface- and change their lives forever.
Out one night with friends, Maria Pearce bears witness to something that sparks off a series of events that quickly unravels the life she thought she knew. Angering her father, he takes the one thing she holds closest to her heart: her beloved horse, Indah. Heartbroken, Maria sinks deep in misery, only surfacing twelve months later. When her desperate attempts to locate Indah are fruitless, she swallows her pain and tries to move on.
After her parents divorce, her mother lands a dream job, takes the opportunity to go to Venice for twelve months… and goes missing.
Then the strangest parcel arrives, containing four curious items: a beautiful silver dress, a pile of letters and a note. But it was the last one that caught Maria’s eye: a list setting out a precise, all-expenses-paid trip for her and a friend to Venice, Paris and Palau. It seemed impossible, inconceivable, unbelievable, too good to be true. But when everything is proven to be genuine, the chance to search for her mother would be impossible to pass up.
What neither of the girls realise is that in agreeing to go, they will discover that secrets lurking deep in their mothers’ pasts are about to surface- and change their lives forever.
KELLY BATTEN'S DREAM CAST
Maria Pearce
The enigmatic narrator is sweet, witty, and
crazy about horses. She’s a normal girl who has relatable family drama and
learns more about herself as the world unfolds around her. She just happens to
go on a trip we’d all love to take; seriously, who wouldn’t jump at the chance
to go to three countries for free? She’s innocent and wise and mature beyond
her years. I found it hard to narrow it down to one option so here are my top
three, in no particular order: Tammin Sursok, India Eisley and Vanessa
Marano.
Maria’s Best Friend, Rosina.
I’ve picked Caitlin Stasey because she’s as
close to the picture I painted in my head; the hair, the eyes, and she’s
straight to the point, honest, funny and I can totally see her pulling it off
perfectly.
Tom
I always kind of based this character on my
brother, and I think Dylan O’Brian is everything I meant Tom to be.
Elizabeth Mitchell has the golden hair and,
especially in this picture, is the artistic, beautiful, sweet, easy-going but
strong-charactered person I imagined Klara to be.
Maria’s father, Damien
I needed somebody who could seem nice and
loving yet end up being cold and mean. Klara and Damien were in love at one
point, and who couldn’t help but love Jude Law?
The cute French girl who’s sweet, adorable,
and has great fashion sense. Put a beret on Sasha Pieterse’s gorgeous head and
picture her wearing red and white stripes… she’s the very image I conjured up
when I created the character in the first place.
Léon
The hot French guy the girls meet in Paris
had to be the very embodiment of Tall, Dark and Handsome, with a “mass of chocolate brown hair that fell to
just above his broad shoulders, his almost rugged features, his faint moustache
and the short beard that defined his jawline, and finally a pair of liquid
brown eyes.” I have no idea who this guy is but he screams Léon.
Jean
The cute café guy, with the artsy, French,
kind, fun personality of the girls’ favourite waiter at their favourite café in
the Indigo Valley (which, to be clear, isn’t actually a place), everything from
the way Cyril Mourali’s hair is styled to the slight scruff along his chin is a
perfect fit for Jean. Who wouldn’t befriend this guy?
Caprice
The Italian lady Maria and Rosina find when
they get lost in Venice went from intimidating to warm and friendly in five
minutes when they first met, and had so much love to give, she took the two
girls in like they were her own. Quick-witted, wise, yet understandably shy, I
can’t picture anyone but Diane Keaton capturing the essence of who Caprice
is.
Carlo
The jovial Italian baker who shows Maria
and Rosina his Italy, from the landmarks to the food to his language. You can’t
help but smile at his character. Robert de Niro is an incredible actor, so
he’ll be able to pull off the happy, sweet, caring, jovial grandfather-like
character. He’s even Italian- perfecto!
Antonio
The fisherman who helps the girls when they
have a gondola incidence is reserved and kind, and still in love with his first
flame, despite life tearing them apart. He’s Italian through and through, and
after spending years on the water, sports a dark tan. Russell Crowe even has
the expression I associated with Antonio.
Josefina
The mystery woman behind the girls’
adventure looks exactly like Blythe Danner, but who she is, well, you’ll just
have to read One Day You’ll Find Me
to find out ;)
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Is it just me or are the images not showing up? :/ What a cast though...of characters and actors! I'm so excited to see all my favorite book blogs launching into Christmas giveaway season after a long November...I was so busy trying to write a novel last month I didn't have a chance to keep up with my reading, let alone my book bloggers!
ReplyDeleteIt should be working - how about now? Sorry you've had troubles! Christmas is the time for giving so I love hosting giveaways. How did the novel writing go? Was it part of NaNoWriMO? :)
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