Sparrows of Edward Street. Elizabeth Stead. 2011.

It’s 1948 and Hanora Sparrow and her teenage daughters Aria and Rosy, have fallen on tough times. With little more than the suitcases they carry and a few pounds between them, they move to a housing commission camp on the outskirts of Sydney.

While the prospect of life in a ramshackle tin shed is grim, these women soon learn that they are not alone. As they befriend other camp residents such as Mr Sparkle, who’s had to leave his family to look for work in the city, Mr Gardiner, the war hero who never recovered, and the women of the laundry circle who are the eyes and ears of the camp, the Sparrow women discover that resilience and good humour might just be their salvation.