Nitty Gritty series
Pearson
Education. 2008.
Suitable for 11-13
year olds. The Nitty
Gritty series claim to have:
High interest,
rich texts with themes relevant and of interest to young adolescents,
Stimulating
and engaging discussion prompts, and activities focusing on key
critical literacy areas including author purpose, power of language,
characterisation, bias, point of view and more,
A range of
genres: mystery, adventure, historical fiction, science fiction,
fantasy and contemporary fiction,
Different
social and cultural perspectives, strong themes and messages to spark
discussion and encourage the questioning, challenging and
deconstructing of texts,
Gatefold back
covers with critical literacy discussion prompts for literature
circles.
The Lost King by Scot Gardner
ISBN 9781869706449.
15
year old Kingy isn't impressed when he's forced into going on an
outdoor-ed
camp with his school. But after he and his 3 companions, a boy and girl
who
were once girlfriend and boyfriend and a girl to whom he is
increasingly
attracted, get themselves lost, Kingy makes some real, and positive,
discoveries. While Sully and Bethany argue about which way they should
go and
make it clear they no longer like each other, Kingy finds an amiable
companion
in Emily. For 2 days and nights the 4 Year 10 students stumble through
the
rugged bush of the Wanoom Peninsula trying to find their way back to
camp.
Their inability to cooperate with each other doesn't help. I liked the
fact that the author kept the
reader guessing as to what would happen next. In the end the rescue is
almost
an anticlimax as each member of the group has come a long way on their
own
personal journey.
The
book looks at themes including relationships, honesty, being positive
and
facing your fears. Survival is another theme and you get the impression
that
the four students all end up a lot stronger for their experience.
The
book would suit students from Years 8 to 10 and would work equally well
as a
class novel - the questions at the back of the book are helpful - or as
an
addition to the library. The survival theme could lead to a number of
activities including linking with the novel Hatchet.
Geoff Gardner
Date of Origin by John
Lockyer
ISBN 9781869706470.
This
strange sci-fi story is set in a mythical future where Earth has been
colonized
by aliens named Aggers. An ugly species, they have furry heads, yellow
eyes and
green tendrils instead of arms. They win approval by clearing up the
mess
humans have made of the planet. Then their real agenda appears - to
enslave
humans to work in the mines for mugatyl - a liquid metal used as
intergalactic
space travel fuel. Humans morph into Agger slaves by means of a virus,
indicated by a wrist scar, which is fully operational by a certain date
tattooed on the wrist. Hence the title. Also on that date a forefinger
turns
golden. However, some humans are immune to the virus and exist as
rebels,
seeking to overthrow the aliens, or as Unattached living on the fringes
of Los
Angeles.
Kesai,
Rezza, Boyd and Mayer with their robot dog, Snake, are Unattached -
scavengers,
living on birds, wild foods and scraps in a disused building. They
become
involved in a rebel plan to disable the mines by means of a mugatyl by-
product
called neura which causes the Guards to collapse.
As
weird and wonderful as this plot is, much of the actual story consists
of the
Unattached gang moving around the area, either escaping the Guards,
meeting up
with the rebels or capturing the neura. Although they have adventures
there isn't enough real action or
originality to maintain interest. The themes here are of exploitation
and
conquest. Abraham Lincoln's vision sustains the heroes, indicating this
book
hopes to capture the American market as well.
The
Time
Stealers
by Glynne Maclean
ISBN
9781869706463.
Set in a
futuristic city where
everyone has access to everyone through a surveillance system, this
should be
an exciting book. As the first chapter describes it, surveillance made
'everything simple; nothing had to be remembered. You could just check
the
record, play it back and no questions remained.' (p1) You can observe
others'
meetings; only in the confines of your own room is there any privacy.
In the city of
Tal teenager Neil dumps
his girlfriend and idly follows a stranger into an old office building.
Here he
discovers she is a Timer, ie a person travelling to the present from
the past,
and she is on a quest to discover her family history and the true story
of the
founding of Tal. Taleena and Neil enjoy a hair raising ride propelled
only by
wind blasts through tunnels in the building, before accessing the data
from an
old computer. However, there is a sinister agenda to stop Taleena
returning back
to her past. It appears that the Drift-Ins, occasional vistors to the
city, are
not from other places but were the original occupants of the site of
Tal.
The themes of
this book are the
obvious ones of displacement of rightful ownership of land and everyone
owning the past: 'How can you know
where you are going if you don't know where you come from?' (p104).
Plus the disadvantages
of being scrutinized at every step when you question certain power
holders.
There is
suspense and an escape scene
but none of this rather confusing book is very gripping, despite, or
because
of, its worthy themes. Discovering your family history is not a topic
teenagers
are likely to be interested in. The protagonists do not take up the
cause of
the Timers or Drift-Ins and none of the characters are real enough for
you to
care much about. It has a contrived feel
and I can't imagine middle schoolers discussing the questions at the
back with
any real enthusiasm.
Win Win by Diana Noonan
ISBN
9781869706456.
Phoebe is a 15
year old who runs away
from home and hitches a ride to a coastal holiday town in time for
Christmas.
Her mum is distracted by a gambler boyfriend and neglects her. Phoebe
has her
pet rat, Alfie, for company and proves to be a plucky survivor.
Naturally, she
has a lot of luck, eg, discovers a vacant, unlocked caravan to stay in
and
befriends some nice kids. They train for the local triathlon. Her true
identity
is discovered and her mum makes some important decisions.
The themes of Win Win are the
familiar ones of family dysfunction contrasted to stable, caring
families,
survival, trust and integrity. It's an easy read with believable and
likeable
characters. Alfie almost steals the
show.
A useful
addition to the library.
Dogs of the
Hinterland by Tina Shaw
ISBN
9781869706517.
This fantasy
novel finds the teenage
heroine, Vancy, volunteering to return to her evil tyrant father,
Herit, at the
Fortress in order to stop him destroying her adopted village. Lucky she
has done this, as she discovers he
has plans to destroy the village anyway, with the help of ghost dogs.
Just how
ghost dogs would kill is unclear as is how they achieve what they do in
the
climax.
The themes of
loyalty, friendship,
courage and tyranny are explored here, but not in any great depth or
originality. The questions inside the back flap are too difficult or
uninspiring for the age group likely to pick this book up.
A reader new
to fantasy might enjoy
this but to established fans of this genre there is little to excite.
River Rat by
Alison Lohans
ISBN
9781869706418.
Scott
Campbell, a fourteen year old boy visits his Uncle Doug and Aunt
Rachel in
California during summer holidays to help them in their farm. He hates
to be
away from his friends, online game 'Tallinn's Quest' and his computer.
Slowly
he adapts to his new environment, learns how to work in farm, work
ethics and
to make new friends Emily, Paige and Preston.
The
river plays an important role in this story and the reason why his
parents made
him learn to swim. Throughout the story, the mystery of dead twins,
Trevor and
Tim haunts Scott and later he unveils the truth. He dislikes Uncle Doug
for
being uptight and always his way of doing things but eventually starts
admiring
him and wants to stay there. There is also a complete change of Scott's
personality and gets direction in his life and values work more than
play.
This
book is aptly suited for Year 7-9 students and would work equally well
as a
class novel - and brainstorm questions at the back are helpful - or as
a
book for the
library. It talks about the adaptability, sustainability, resilience,
courage
and transformation of young Scott to a mature person. It will fascinate
teens as it has an online
game theme.
Vandana Mahajan
In
summary,
the books in this series
are an uneven bunch. The realistic ones dealing with relationships have
the
most appeal and are the best written. The discussion questions are
fairly
generic and are unlikely to stimulate thinking without teacher
intervention. However,
I believe only River Rats and The Lost King could
aspire to becoming
class
texts.
Teenagers do
chose books by their
covers and these covers do not have enough 'pick me' appeal.
Kevyna Gardner