Walker Books, 2009.
(Ages 2-7) Recommended. Another charming book in the Elephant and
Piggie series, Watch me throw the ball has careful Gerald convinced
that throwing a ball is very serious business while happy Piggie is
thrilled to just have fun. Gerald is determined to show Piggie the
right way to throw a ball, but Piggie is quite happy with her meagre
throws, convinced that she is Super Pig!
The simple line drawings are an absolute delight, the expressions of
the serious Gerald and the frivolous Piggie exquisitely drawn with a
few strokes. Laugh aloud humour, simple sentence construction, a few
words to each page and repetition make this story an ideal first reader.
Pat Pledger
Gibblewort the goblin series by Victor Kelleher
Illustrated by Stephen Michael King
Random House Australia, 2010.
(Ages 7-10 years) This year sees a new edition of the popular series of
stories featuring an ugly, disgruntled and mischievous goblin,
Gibblewort, who originally posts himself from rainy, soggy Ireland to
Australia, in the hope that life will improve. It does not take long
for things to go wrong as he confronts the climate and wildlife of
Australia; life is better in Ireland he decides!
Throughout the series, Gibblewort makes numerous trips home but is soon
posted back to various parts of Australia by his goblin friends. For
the likes of this goblin, nowhere makes him happy. His looks,
smells, habits and his generally unfortunate nature, mean that he
experiences all sorts of tricky situations and surprising adventures.
The author uses this cleverly constructed early chapter book series to
show the abundance of interesting wildlife, weather and landscapes
making up Australia. Stephen Michael King's delightful black pen
and wash drawings give life to Gibblewort's adventures and add a good
deal of humour and anticipation. The human characters are especially
quirky - snow skiers, surfers, greenies, zookeepers and city folk - all
with their own way of dealing with this menace!
The descriptive writing is excellent, and the style and language will
extend the new reader. The adventures of Gibblewort are sure to please.
The books are Goblin in the Bush; Goblin on the Reef; Goblin
in
the
City; Goblin in the Rainforest; Goblin at the Zoo; Goblin
in
the Snow;
and Goblin at the Beach.
Julie Wells
The Red Piano by Andre Leblanc
Ill. by Baroux. WilkinsFarago, Victoria 2008. ISBN 9780980607017.
(Ages 6-19) Picture book. The stunning front cover draws the reader
into the text immediately, as
a small Chinese girl walks across a cold barren landscape, carrying
buckets on a pole, but with scraps of music flowing overhead. Straight
away the signals are there for repression and struggle. And so it is,
for this is the story of one of China's international concert pianists,
Zhu Xiao-Mei.
Sent to the country during the Cultural Revolution during Mao Tsetung's
time, Zhu was not allowed to practice her piano, as this was seen by
the regime as decadent and foreign. But after many years of practicing
8 hours a day in Beijing, this did not come easily, so she had her
mother send a piano to her on her commune. There with the help of her
friends and an older woman, each day, after many hours working in the
fields, and then hours of re-education, she secretly went to he place
her piano was kept hidden and practiced her craft.
One evening after being discovered, she was held up to mockery and
denunciation, while the piano was smashed. Her re-education now meant
doing the lowliest tasks in the commune, collecting and disposing of
the waste in the latrines. But all the while she kept her music alive
in her head, until, one day when the leadership changed, she was
summoned to Beijing.
For older readers, the story of one girl and the effects of the
Cultural Revolution will add to their study of China. Facinghistory has
a free study
guide for classes looking at
Red Scarf Girl and Mao's Last Dancer, and this guide has
sections which
could be useful when talking about The Red Piano, giving
students some
of the background. For younger reads, the story of bravery and
resilience will be a wonderful book to have on hand in the classroom or
library when looking at other stories that encourage compassion.
Fran Knight
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Scholastic 2008. ISBN 9781407109084.
(Ages 12+) In a future not too far away, when global warming has
destroyed much of North America, the people left huddle between the
Rockies and the Appalachian mountains, vying for food and water. When
one group wins over the rest, they divide the country into 13 districts
around the capitol, where they live. To stop future wars, a reaping is
held each year when 2 children, one boy and one girl, are chosen by
ballot from the names of all 12-18 year olds in each district, to fight
to the death.
This reality game show taken to an appalling level has the children
taken to a studio where they are preened and plumped for the television
show, beamed over all districts continuously while the game is on. Let
loose into the stadium after some training, they are on their own,
having to survive and fight to live. Several of the districts have an
advantage, being career fighters, with money in their backgrounds,
education and cunning, but many are from poorer districts where
survival is a daily grind.
16 year old Katniss sees her sister, 12 year old Prim, chosen, and
without hesitation, Katniss leaps forward to exchange places with her.
She knows her sister will never survive such an ordeal, let alone kill
someone. So the cat and mouse game begins. Television cameras beam what
happens live, and so Katniss becomes aware that she msut play the
audience, fo they will support her and send her gifts when her food and
water runs out. Part way through the game, the rules change and she is
allowed to team up with the boy form her district, Peeta, and together
they are able to outwit some of the others.
An engrossing tale, well told, The Hunger Games was one of
those rare
books that I could not put down. To have children put in this position
was heart wrenching, knowing that eventually they would have to kill
people they know. Surviving with them in the arena made my hair stand
on end, as you realise exactly what they must do to keep alive
themselves. Each character is individual, all 24 combatants
recognisable and different. The heart stopping moments come thick and
fast, but the reader is never aware of being manipulated or pandered
to. It is a most ingenious book, and I was thrilled to get to the end
to find that this is part of a trilogy.
Fran Knight
The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Penguin, 2009. ISBN
9780141325026.
(Ages
11+) Arran,
Freak, Ollie and Achilleus are limping back to their home after a
failed
scavenging raid. They have trawled the area, finding nothing but a dog
they
killed when a pack attacked them. But they are missing one of the
group, and
must explain to the other children what has happened to Deke. The group
at
home, an old supermarket, fortified against attack, also has news:
another
youngster, Sam, was taken that day. Sam and Deke have one thing in
common; they
were taken by the grown-ups, the rampageous, disease ridden remnants of
those
left alive after the plague.
So
begins this breathless story where things have got out of hand. Those
under 14
are generally alive and fighting for survival, where survival means
scavenging
for food as well as being always on the lookout for the grown-ups who
take them
to eat. When a boy is rescued, he tells them of life at Buckingham
Palace,
which he and his group of kids have called their own. They need more
though to
keep the gardens going and he invites Arran's group to join them at the
palace.
So
begins a journey for the group, and that of their neighbours, to find a
better
place to live, a place of safety. But along the route they struggle to
survive
against the seemingly concerted efforts of the grown-ups. Some of their
number
is killed but they reach the palace with high anticipation. Here they
find that
the leader, David, is not all he seems, and when they are asked to kill
another
group of kids in his way, splits develop in the group.In one horrific
scene, a fighter from each
group, face each other in a duel to the death. Gladiatorial in its
scope, the
end result will see Arran's group stay or find somewhere else to live.
A
winning story about right and wrong, survival and friendship, this
dystopian
novel will intrigue upper primary and lower secondary readers, intent
on an
adventure novel with an overlay of moral questioning. Higson wrote the Young
Bond series of books, and this has
a similar level of violence. A most enjoyable read, with echoes of The
Lord
of
the Flies, it is the first
in a series, and has its own website which
will further excite the readers.
Fran
Knight
The Society of S by Susan Hubbard
Walker
Books, 2009. ISBN
9781406314977.
(Ages:
Secondary) Ari
lives alone with her widowed father in a Victorian house set away from
the
town. There she is home schooled in the morning, and left to her
studies in the
afternoon when her father retreats to the basement to continue his work
with
blood samples. When their housekeeper suggest that Ari is too isolated,
she is
given permission to take the girl into her home, where she meets her
two
children, Kathleen, a girl of Ari's age, and Michael, several years
older.
Through these two Ari learns more of the outside world. Both teens are
stretching the boundaries imposed by their family, and when Kathleen
takes Ari
to her meetings with her friends, where they play at being vampires,
Ari feels
odd. One night, after Ari goes home because she feels ill, she is
shocked to
find that Kathleen has been murdered, and when the police interview Ari
and her
father, she realises that suspicion is falling on them.
Eventually
Ari's father explains that yes, he is a vampire, and suggests that she
too, may
be headed that way. The Green Cross van that comes to the house every
week,
brings blood for him, as he and his group, do not kill for blood,
taking
vitamin supplements and blood from the mortuary. She wants her mother,
and goes
off to search for her, pursuing the vague clues left by others in the
household.
Her quest leads her to Florida, where she finds that things are not as
they
have been described.
Full
of Gothic romance and horror, The
Society of S will have wide appeal to those lower secondary girls
taken up
with the idea of vampires and lonely teenage girls growing up without a
mother.
Odd house servants, strange happenings, a father with heroic looks, a
mother no
one mentions, suspicions about a dead cat and then a murder along with
blood
samples brought to the door, all have an airing in this scary tale. But
it is
not the vampire tale of old. When Ari's father finally tells her who
and what
she is, the stress all the time is about controlling the urges and
taking
precautions against killing. The vampires in this story must choose.
Fran Knight
Magenta McPhee by Catherine Bateson
Random House Australia, 2009. ISBN 9781741664089
(Ages 10 to 14 years) Highly recommended. Magenta sends off a letter to
Sammi magazine outlining how depressed
her Dad has become after his divorce. Thrilled that her letter is
published, with a commendation about her writing style, she decides to
confide in her best friend. Polly is convinced that Magenta will
make
a writer one day, but, in the meantime suggests that internet dating
may be the answer for Magenta's Dad! The two girls take this on
without telling him!
Lianna is the lady who replies to 'Dad's' emails and a meeting is
arranged, with the consequences proving very interesting! The
human
interest in this story will make it a popular read. Character
backgrounds discovered along the way keep the reader involved.
Magenta is writing a fantasy story and we are given snippets of this as
she uncovers new material for her novel.
I enjoyed viewing the interactions between the variety of realistic
characters and sharing their disappointments and laughter.
Catherine
Bateson has a great turn of phrase; an easy, relaxed writing style, and
her storyline is captivating.
As we have come to expect from Catherine Bateson's novels, the dialogue
is appealing and the themes pertinent to today's teens.
Julie Wells
Fran's dozen (baker's) 2009 (a selection of what I have read and enjoyed in 2009) by Fran Knight
Picture books
Cummings, Phil Wang Wang and Funi (How can anyone
pass up Phil's picture book with his familiar rhyming story inviting
small readers to look for the pandas at the Adelaide Zoo. The
illustrations by Adelaide artist Shane Devries, add to the excellence
of this lovely book, a far cry from the usual book published as part of
a merchandising campaign.)
Thompson, Colin Free to a
good home (Thompson's
unusual look at family life had me laughing at loud. Instead of an
animal following them home, the children have a granny. She is adamant
that no-one is looking for her, and makes herself cheerfully useful in
this house. A wonderful multi layered story to enthrall all kids, big
and small)
Middle school
DiCamillo, Kate The
magician's nephew (Conjuring of an elephant
which
falls into the audience, devolves into
a story about family and obligation, and where a person, or animal,
fits into the scheme of things. Peter knows that his sister is alive
and has been told by the fortune teller that her discovery will be
linked to an elephant.)
Flanagan, John Halt's
peril (The ninth book in the
Ranger's Apprentice series, this one is deliberately mystifying.
Flanagan took great glee in setting up a story which had people
guessing as to who might die, and whether Halt would survive this
episode, and just whose funeral is taking place. See my interview with
him on Readplus.)
Millard, Glenda A small
free kiss in the dark (A
marvelous futuristic story shows war demolishing Sydney and a young
girl, Tia, having to find a safe refuge, along with several strangers
who become like a family. A survival story out of the ordinary, finding
positives where none should be.)
Westerfeld, Scott Leviathan
(SteamPunk at its best
with the story of the beginnings of World War One, with the
assassinations of the Archduke and his consort and what may have
happened to their young son. The creatures created by the author are
fantastic, the intrigue believable, and the history in the background,
most credible. And with all that it is a romp, with plenty of adventure
and a brush of humour.)
Teens
Collins, Suzanne The hunger games (Imagine a future
where there are nor wars! But each year two teens are chosen from each
district to fight to the death on behalf of their home area. Usually
the result is a forgone conclusion as one from the warrior district,
with heavy support and advertising rights, and well trained comes out
on top, but this year is different, as Katniss, a skilled hunter, takes
her sister's place. An amazing story of survival and determination,
along with a sly dig at reality TV.)
Henderson, Don Keepinitreal (an entertaining story
concerning the oddest collection of people coming together to save the
local greyhound race course. Set in the western suburbs, the characters
are very real, without being caricatures, the setting tangible and the
action, hilarious.)
Murray, Kirsty Vulture's
gate (Bo and Callum come
together by chance and survive together in a hostile world where women
have all but died out. Callum has been used as a trained gymnast doing
daring tricks on motorcycles to get money for the men that own him and
Bo has hidden since her grandfather died. Australia in a near future
where Bo has a roboraptor to keep her company and help her survive, but
the pair must move across hostile territory to make it to the city
where they expect to find safety.)
Larbelestier, Justine Liar
(Micah's friend Zach has died, torn apart by dogs in the park. Micah
must search her very being to work out whether she was the culprit, and
the story, divided into three parts, Telling the truth, Telling the
true truth and The Actual real truth, will have readers agog as they
try and work out how reliable the narrator really is. I still don't
know.)
Rai, Bali City of ghosts (The Amritsar Massacre in
1919 was one of those incidents I read about in Yr 11 British
Commonwealth History (albeit from one point of view) but reading about
it in this astonishingly realistic historical novel, where both sides
of what happened are shown through a group of quite different
characters makes this one to read and reread.)
Sedgwick, Marcus Revolver (Sedgwick is one of my
favourite authors, and here he tells a survival story with a
difference. A boy is cornered by a man who wants to kill his father,
but father's body is lying on the table in this tiny cabin, snowbound
near Nome. A life and death struggle between the man with the gun and
the lad captures your attention to the end. If anyone wanted something
for those kids hooked on Hatchet, then this is it.)
Valentine, Jenny The ant
colony (Fleeing to London
Sam finds himself getting involved with the lives of the others in his
building of run down flats. Without realizing it he begins to reveal
parts of himself that he wants to keep hidden, and people begin to care
about him and him about them. A stunning climax sees Sam returning to
the rural area where he was born to confront the reason he fled.)
And of course, several goodies have been missed out, so I must
suggest Anna McKenzie's The sea
wreck stranger and
Catherine Jinks' hilarious take on the vampire genre, The
reformed
vampire support group. And I read several that have been
published
before 2009, The giver
(Lois Lowry) and Here lies
Arthur
(Philip Reeve)
Fran Knight
Conspiracy 365: January by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic,
2009. ISBN 9781741690330.
(Ages 11+) Walking home
one night, Callum is chased by a disheveled
man who warns him that he must stay hidden for 365 days, or else he
would be
killed like his father. Dismissing him as stupid, he watches as the
ambulance
takes him away, but when over the next few days things happen which
alert him
to the possibility of his being targeted by persons unknown, he recalls
all
that the man told him, and strives to keep himself safe.
A clever idea,
Callum has to remain hidden for a year,
and so Scholastic is publishing a book a month for the year in 2010,
following
Callum's desperate survival as he tracks down his would be killers and
those of
his father and strives to find out why this is happening. Fast paced,
action
packed, with a likeable hero, Conspiracy
365 is a winning formula which will be widely read by upper primary
and
lower secondary kids. A website,(www.conspiracy365.com)
accompanies
the
book and kids will find that they can win prizes by accessing the
website.
A breathless,
easy to read series of novels for the middle
school, there are some intriguing differences used in this series to
make it
stand out. The pagination starts at 188 and counts down: the font used
is more
administrative adding to the feeling of a police report and the pages
are
almost diary entry style, with times as well as dates heading each
entry, all
of which add up to an enjoyable twist on the usual survival story.
Inside the
front cover is a Conspiracy Card asking readers to log on with their
own
number, so enabling them to be in the draw for prizes, and inside the
back
cover is a lsit of all 12 books coming out in 2010. Boys will pick this
up because of the story
and the details, while girls will go for the dishy picture of Callum on
the
front cover. Whatever else this will be a hit.
Fran Knight
Beach break by Meredith Badger
Go Girl! Besties 1. Hardie Grant Egmont, 2009.
ISBN
9781921502989.
(Age 8-10) Beach break is the first book in the Go
Girl!
Besties and will be welcomed by fans of other Go Girl!
series. Mia is
thrilled because her two best friends are coming to stay at the beach
house
with her during the holidays. She is certain that they will have a
wonderful
time and has lots of beach fun planned. But when Shae and Michiko begin
to act strangely
she begins to worry that they may not stay her best friends.
Meredith Badger has written a book about the
familiar theme
of a beach holiday and what happens when more time than usual is spent
with friends.
Young girls will be sure to identify
with the exploration of friendship and its pressures. They will
sympathise with
Shae who is homesick and Mich who is having trouble telling her friends
her
secrets.
Mia's parents are portrayed in a very sympathetic
light,
caring and understanding but firm about rules for Mia's older sister
who wants
to go to a bonfire on the beach. Mia's character develops as she has to
come to
some hard decisions about whether she should tell her parents about
Rose's
decision to sneak out. With some creative planning by the threesome,
all turns
out well.
Girls will be sure to like this series with its
well organised chapters, likeable
characters and engaging
illustrations by Danielle McDonald.
Pat Pledger
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Chris Riddell. Bloomsbury, 2009. ISBN 9780747594802.
(Ages 11- 15 years) This book is highly recommended but probably not
for the faint-hearted. What an unexpected, exciting and intriguing
read. The beginning
of the
story is possibly the creepiest I have read! A toddler narrowly escapes
the murderous intent of a stranger to the house and finds himself in
the safe hands of a community of ghosts in the town's graveyard.
Adopted by these memorable residents, Bod (short for Nobody) grows up
in the graveyard, learning about life and death, yet struggling to
discover facts about his family and background. His adventures
are
exciting and scary, but, though it is implied, the violence is not
directly shown. Bod's world is fantastical but recognisable too -
he
is just like any other child finding his way in the world. There
is
humour in the graveyard - inscriptions on the grave stones are amazing
- and there is wisdom. Enhanced by Riddell's wonderful illustrations,
Gaiman's language is often striking. Consider the description on page
95: 'In the twilight of the graveyard there was a silent implosion, a
flutter of velvet darkness, and Silas was gone.' Silas is Bod's
protector and teacher, a mentor, and one of the most memorable of
players in this great adventure. The Graveyard Book won the 2009 Newbery Award.
Julie Wells
Wishing for tomorrow: The sequel to A Little Princess by Hilary McKay
Hodder, 2009.
(Ages 9-90) This will have universal appeal to all who have loved A
Little
Princess. Who wouldn't want to discover what happened after
Sara's dramatic rescue from the horrors of her attic prison. However,
in this sequel Sara plays only a minor role. The main protagonists are
the host of supporting characters from Miss Minchin's Select Seminary
for Young Ladies - the babyish Lottie, the vile Lavinia, the wicked
Miss Minchin, her weak willed sister Amelia, Melchisedec the rat and
Ermengarde, Sara's hapless young friend.
Whereas first time around they were all foils to Sara, here they have
far greater substance. Who would have thought that Lavinia harbours a
secret desire to go to university and Lottie, always so babyish is
actually spirited and courageous, a kind of female William Brown, with
scant regard for rules or decorum. Miss Minchin is a secret alcoholic
(McKay's clues are humorous, but so subtle, I'm not convinced young
readers will make the connection), while her sister, Amelia harbours
well hidden passions for the local vicar.
Ermengarde, bobbing around in a sea of confusion and anxiety, feels
completely abandoned by the perfect Sara. This more than anything marks
the different eras in which the two stories were written. For Burnett,
influenced by Victorian melodrama and the need for little girls to be
perfect, everything is black and white. Miss Minchin is evil and Sara
has the slightly cloying sweetness of a paragon of virtue. McKay's
characters are human and therefore more balanced. We cannot help but
sympathise with the dreadful Miss Minchin, we admire Lavinia's
single-minded determination and become a little frustrated at the
hapless chaos surrounding poor old Ermengarde. Through it all I found
myself wondering whether Sara, in apparently adopting the 'I'm alright
Jack' approach to life, is really so perfect after all.
This is a thoroughly satisfying read. All the plot strands are drawn
together in an exciting and satisfying denouement, and Sara's actions
in the final chapters do much to redeem her in the eyes of the reader.
We learn too, what ultimately becomes of Sara and her devoted maid,
Becky. This is a great read for all ages and perfect to read aloud to
the girls in your life.
Claire Larson
The fairy's return and other princess tales by Gail Carson Levine
HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN 9780061768989
(Ages 8-12) Recommended. Six retellings of fairy
stories by
the Newbery Honor award winning author of Ella Enchanted are
sure to
please all
those who enjoy fractured fairy tales. Ethelinda tries to reward the
good deeds of
one girl while punishing her sister, but her plans go terribly wrong in The fairy's mistake,
based on the fairy tale Toads and
Diamonds.
The
princess test is a hilarious take on The princess and the pea,
where
Lorelei is forced to prove that she is
good enough for the prince. Sleeping beauty will never be the
same once
readers
have been introduced to a princess who is a genius in Princess
Sonora
and the
long sleep. For Biddle's sake sees the green toothed
Parsley turn into
a toad
although she eventually wins the heart of a prince and all ends well.
In The
Fairy's return a baker's son and a princess fall in love. My
favourite
was
Cinderellis and the glass hill, where a farm boy rides
magnificent
magical
horses up a glass hill and manages to win the heart of a princess.
These stories are full of humour and the play on
words is
very entertaining. There are enough elements of the original stories to
sound
familiar but the new twists make them very enjoyable. This book would
be an
excellent choice to read aloud when doing a unit of work on Fairy tales
or
Fractured fairy tales or just to enjoy a good laugh.
Pat Pledger
Arrival by Charlotte McConaghy
(The Strangers of Paragor, Book 1 ) Black Dog Books, 2009.
(Ages 12+) Six young humans leap through a portal into another world,
one they know nothing about, one assumes to find out what lies on the
other side. They land in various places in the other world; two, Mia
and Jack don't take part in book 1, but will pop up later. Since this
is fantasy the world into which they are plunged is one of kings,
princes, princesses, elves, phaeries, amazons, a smattering of gods
from various ancient civilizations and of course the odd evil
power-hungry magician.
The world is composed of three major countries all separated by sea;
Cynis Witron, Uns Lapodis and Lapis Matyr as well as a couple of minor
ones. Peace has prevailed over the countries for generations, but
Leostrialhas somehow taken over Lapis Matyr with a small band of
followers and no one seems to know where he has come from. With the
arrival of the six (less two) an ancient prophecy seems about to be
fulfilled.
The story line is not new, nor is the climax of the book, nor the final
victory after a bloody battle. There are a few too many unanswered
questions, why on earth did Queen Columba save Satine from her
execution? Indeed why on earth did King Gaddemar order her execution?
There is also a problem with the characters themselves, Jane in
particular, who is the strong female protagonist, is abrasive, priggish
and unlikeable. Fern a half elvish prince who falls in love with Jane
(who knows why?) is typically heroic but the romantic bond is too
juvenile and frustrating to be believable.
McConaghy is a young writer who has drawn her inspiration from many
sources. There are parts reminiscent of The lion, the witch and the
wardrobe, the Indiana Jones stories and Blyton's Famous
Five tales.
I've no doubt the story line will appeal to girls of a certain age,
especially the romantic interludes, and there are certainly moments
when the action moves at a cracking pace, but there is a lack of
cohesion to the whole story. It seems to have grown like Topsy and
needs more rigorous editing to have it reach the widest possible
audience.
Mark Knight
Blood Promise : A Vampire Academy Novel by Richelle Mead
RazorBill, 2009. ISBN 9781921518294.
(Ages:12+) Rose
is feeling unsettled at St. Vladimir's. She's tired of having her life
mapped
out for her. Although she's bonded to her best friend Lissa and is
destined to be her guardian she
feels she has no choice in the matter. She also has other bigger fish
to fry.
She feels she must kill her boy friend Dimitri who has now been turned
into an
evil Strigoi.
Rose
leaps off to Russia, Dimitri's birth place (Siberia to be precise) and
expects
to happen upon him at the airport it seems. Does she know how big
Russia is?
Does she speak any Russian? Does it sound implausible? Does she
succeed? Of
course she does. She kicks lots of Strigoi arse
looking for Dimitri and finds a group of people she didn't know
existed, The
Alchemists. They run around after the dhampir guardians disposing of
the bodies
making sure no nocturnal activities are evident to the human
population. How
they don't notice all these wierdos is beyond me,
but I suspect you're not supposed to do a
lot of thinking whilst reading this series. Rose
of course finds Dimitri's family in a small village in Siberia and is
taken in
as one of the family. Surprisingly they all speak wonderful English so
Rose has
no problems fitting in. She tells the family what happened to Dimitri
and the
village come together for a memorial/funeral service.
Rose
eventually does her usual and treads all over everyone's feelings
whilst
feeling extremely sorry for herself and has to leave the family. She
teams up
with a group of dhampir who hunted Stigoi for kicks. She heads to
Novosibirsk
with them and after becoming leader of the gang and kicking more
strigoi arse
she finds Dimitri, or he finds her and takes her prisoner. Like all
things in
this series her prison is luxurious, beautiful decor, linen,
clothing and food.
Why would a prison be anything else? Rose is caught in a roller-coaster
of
emotions. She knows Dimitri is evil, but does she still love him? Will
he bite
her and turn her into Strigoi as well? I don't need to tell you the
answer,
because you knew what it would be before you read the first chapter.
Similarly
you will be expecting the surprise twist ending!
This
story is riddled with inconsistencies, amazing improbabilities and
unlikely
coincidence but I'm sure it won't matter a jot to the audience this
series of
books has and will continue to hold. Rose like most of her friends and
peers is
brash, spoiled, indulged, beautiful (Rose is more so because she has
bigger
breasts as we keep being reminded all the way through this vampire
soapy) and
to my mind thoroughly unlikeable. It's bound to be popular with the tweenset.
Mark Knight
