The Happiest Little Town is a contemporary Australian domestic drama set in the Atherton Tablelands of Far North Queensland. Kate is a 52 year old divorcée who has moved there to escape the scandals and notoriety surrounding her ex-husband. She plans a new life for herself renovating an old van, then an adventurous roadtrip. Her new plans come rapidly crashing down when a stranger drops a teenager on her doorstep. The 13 year old Tilly is a hitherto unknown daughter of her ex, and half sister to her two adult daughters, still grieving the death of her own mother.

The story then expands to include the cast of the local drama group, the aging actress Olivia, and the hot town sparky Liam. There is country town solidarity, a found family and a budding romance. This was a pleasant light read. My main criticism would be that Tilly, after a tiny bit of acting up in her distress, rapidly settled into a paragon of teenage virtue, which seemed rather inconsistent with reality. I am happy to accept an improbable premise, such as being forced to take in an unrelated child, because it is fiction and therefore I suspend my disbelief. However I still like my fictional characters to feel plausible. Nevertheless it was a feel-good easy-read story. ( )

This book was just lovely :O)
Tilly's world has fallen apart. Her single Mum died suddenly & to heap salt on the wound, she has been torn away from everything she knows & loves to a little town a million miles away where she knows nobody.
Kate is trying to move one from her divorce & her dream of doing up her camper van & taking it around Australia is suddenly put on hold by the arrival of an unexpected responsibility has landed in her door.
Former celebrity actress Olivia is used to getting the best roles in her local theatre group but when she takes the term 'break a leg' a little too seriously while exiting the stage, she is relegated to the wings.
These lost souls come together under the roof of Burralea's Amateuer Theatre, just before opening night.....
I loved this. It's a lovely easy to read story with a host of colourful characters, wonderful friendships tragedies & triumphs. The POVs from the vast age differences were pretty entertaining too. This was my first Barbara Hannay book but I don't think it'll be my last. She has a way of bringing the characters to life with her writing & I feel like I've made three new friends. I also loved reading about life in a small country town again, she made it seem so magical. All in all a wonderful, light, entertaining read.