Library patrons can read and discuss darkly comic “The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone” ebook for free

 

 

SYDNEY – 17 September 2020 – Hundreds of public libraries and thousands of readers across Australia and New Zealand join together to enjoy the latest Together We Read: AU/NZ digital book club selection. From 17 September-1 October, patrons of participating libraries can enjoy Australian author Felicity McLean’s compelling mystery, The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone, as an ebook for free with no waitlists or holds. Readers can find a participating library and access the ebook by downloading the Libby app, and then take part in an online discussion.

The Together We Read: AU/NZ digital book club connects readers through participating Australian and New Zealand public libraries with the same ebook for two weeks and only requires a valid library card to get started. This free program is facilitated by OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for ebooks, audiobooks and magazines and creator of the award-winning Libby app.

“It feels extra special that my novel has been picked for ‘Together We Read’ this year – above all years,” said author Felicity McLean, who lives in Sydney. “Because, how would we have got through the past few months of the coronavirus pandemic without our libraries?”

The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone tells the story of Tikka Malloy, who was eleven and one-sixth years old during the long, hot, Australian summer of 1992. The TV news in the background chattered with debate about the exoneration of Lindy (“dingo took my baby”) Chamberlain. That summer was when the Van Apfel sisters—Ruth, Hannah, and the beautiful Cordelia—mysteriously disappeared. While the search for the girls united the small community, the mystery of their disappearance was never solved, and Tikka and her older sister, Laura, have been haunted ever since by the loss of their friends and playmates. Now, years later, Tikka has returned home to try to make sense of that strange moment in time.

The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone is published by Algonquin Books and can be borrowed from participating libraries in Australia and New Zealand during Together We Read between 17 September-1 October. The ebook can be read on all major computers and devices, including iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phones and tablets, Chromebook™ and Kobo® tablets and eReaders without waitlists or holds. The title will automatically expire at the end of the lending period, and there are no late fees. Download Libby to get started.

More information about Together We Read: AU/NZ can be found here.

 

 

 

About OverDrive

OverDrive is the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools worldwide. We strive to create “a world enlightened by reading” by delivering the industry’s largest catalog of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and other digital media to a growing network of 50,000 libraries and schools in 78 countries. Our popular reading apps provide best-in-class user experience and tools for staff management: the Libby app for libraries is one of PCMag’s Best Free Software of 2019 and Popular Mechanics’ 20 Best Apps of the 2010s, while the student reading app Sora is one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2019. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA and was named a Certified B Corp in 2017. OverDrive was acquired by funds affiliated with global investment firm KKR in 2020. www.overdrive.com

Contact:
David Burleigh
Director of Brand Marketing & Communications
dburleigh@overdrive.com

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