Reviews

Old Tom's big book of beauty by Leigh Hobbs

When Angela Throgmorton gives Old Tom 'The Big Book of Beauty' little does she realise what he will do with the ideas in it. His stylish new looks included the SHOCKER, the FURBALL, the SHOW-OFF and the FABULOUS. But will he outstay his welcome at the Beauty Parlour and the up-market parties?

Leigh Hobbs continues the story of Old Tom with his delightful, funny drawings of an eccentric cat. Its wonderful prose would be great to read aloud. Children and adults alike will giggle at the adventures of Old Tom and will want to return to the book to seek out the finer details of the hilarious pictures.

Pat Pledger

Dragonskin Slippers by Jessica Day George

Allen and Unwin
(Age 11-14) What would you do if you were an orphan and your aunt decided to give you to a dragon? Instead of waiting to be rescued by a brave knight, Creel, the heroine of this delightful fairy tale, negotiates with the dragon of Carlieff and receives a pair of extraordinary embroidered slippers from his hoard. Journeying to the capital of the land, Creel uses her embroidery skills to make unusual and beautiful ball gowns. When the slippers disappear, Creel realises that they have magical powers and is plunged into amazing adventures trying to save the kingdom being destroyed by dragons.
This story has all the ingredients to appeal to young girls – a feisty heroine who uses her skills to gain employment, a handsome prince, evil princess and several interesting dragons. Mix these up in a fast moving adventure story and you have a winner.
This is an easy to read but quite compelling adventure fairy story. Girls who like this book may also be interested in books by Shannon Hale and Robin McKinley, who both write retellings of fairy stories.
Pat Pledger

The way of the warrior by Andrew Matthews

When Jimmu's father commits seppuku in front of him, giving him to his second in command, Jimmu's path is fixed, he must be trained as a samurai and seek revenge on those who led his father to kill himself, Lord Ankan and his family. His path is one way, kill Lord Ankan and then be ready to be killed himself or commit seppuku, and for this he is trained severely, not knowing the warmth of a family life or comfort from someone who loves him. He gains a foothold in Lord Ankan's household, rising through the ranks to be trained as a samurai.  Slowly he comes to realise that Lord Ankan is not all he has been led to believe, and his daughter, also one of his targets, is a lovely young woman who sees potential in Jimmu's eyes.

An amazing story of the redeeming power of love, The way of the warrior will have instant appeal to people in lower secondary school, as it details Jimmu's training and life being trained, and then his softening as he comes to realise that perhaps he is not on the right path. Much detail is given concerning the samurai and the art of war in Ancient Japan, and the household is drawn with an expert eye. Readers are drawn into Jimmu's life as he grapples with his loyalty towards his parents, and the reality of the life he is exposed to at Lord Ankans.

Fran Knight

You've got blackmail by Rachel Wright

A laugh out loud story about Loz, who with her boyfriend, Dex, try to track down a blackmailer, extorting money form their despised teacher, Mr Barnett. The letter, opened in error, has clues that they follow to hunt down the person involved. But trying to keep the detective work quiet, when the teacher concerned is going out with her mum, and Dex's little brother thinks he is a spy, and Loz's older sister screams for England, and your father has just left home, and the suspected blackmailer works for mum, then things are a little complicated.

Quirky, hilarious and brimful of wonderfully eccentric characters, You've got blackmail is sure to tickle the sensibilities of upper primary and lower secondary pupils.

Fran Knight

Red eye by Susan Gates

Usborne, 2007
(11+) Alfred Hitchcock's, The Birds (1963) is instantly recalled while reading this very frightening book about a group of gulls organized by a much larger than average gull, called Red Eye. They take over the small holiday town of McKenzie Point, until one boy, Danny, escapes, and goes to find help. He returns with two people of his age, Meriel, who can insinuate the minds of animals, and Ellis, an expert tracker.  Together the group evades capture and attempts to foil the efforts of the highly controlled gulls and creepers, the human slaves.

But on the way in this fast paced thriller, the birds cause havoc, diving upon people, raking their beaks across the backs of their necks and killing them. Red Eye finds he has power over Meriel and so makes her think she can fly, with almost disastrous results. It is a book with wide appeal for those who love the themes of horror, adventure and survival.  You'll never look at a cluster of seagulls the same way again.  This is the first in a new series called Animal Investigations, and has the first chapter of the second in the series at the end of the book. (11+)
Fran Knight

I, Coriander by Sally Gardner

Orion Children's Books, 2006

Always intrigued with historical novels, this was a revelation, as it mixes fantasy with an historic setting, which is a current trend, many fantasy authors using known settings from the past to set their story. So we have I, Coriander, set in the time of Oliver Cromwell, in London.

Coriander's mother dies in mysterious circumstances, and her father, beset by grief, is persuaded to look for another wife to ensure that his household is not targeted by the Puritans. The woman he chooses turns out not to be what he had hoped for, and bringing her strange preacher into the house with her, turns Coriander into a simpering girl called Ann. Shut into a chest for misbehaviour, Coriander goes to a different world, the one her mother came from, and here learns how to confront the woman in her house.

The stunning story is made more brilliant with the setting of the times. People can be denounced without reason, their house and property taken, or accused of witchcraft if they happen to be a helper in times of illness. The times are portrayed exceptionally well, with the spectre of fear around every corner. A wonderful story, detailed with real historic events and people, this should appeal to middle school girls looking for an adventure with events turning about a highly original and endearing character. (11+)
Fran Knight

Minna's Quest by K.M. Peyton

I am constantly surprised and thrilled at the number of historical novels being published of late, and equally astonished that this one is by K.M. Peyton. Peyton, born in 1929, is an award winning author, whose novels, now about 50, have been read since she first was published when she was 15. Her works have been made into TV series, and are constantly reprinted.

Minna is a young Celtic girl living in a Roman fort in Essex at the time when the capital of the empire was moved to Constantinople. The empire is in decline, but here in Britain, life goes on, but with the added problem of pirates fighting at the edges. Minna retrieves a foal, discarded at birth by her old friend, Theo, now the Roman commander. Raising the foal, she is distraught when her brother, in the Roman army, takes it as his own. But one night when the Germanic pirates sneak ashore to raid the defenseless fort, Minna rides for her life to find Tiberius, the commander of the area and report what has happened, bringing help to the community.

An exciting story, full of the life and times of Roman Britain, Minna's Quest is an engrossing read for middle school readers.

Fran Knight

Andie's moon by Linda Newbery

When Andie and her family move to London, they have a house in Chelsea to stay in while they search for a place of their own. Here Andie and her sister love to roam the King's Road, Prue eventually gaining part time work, but all their dreams are shattered when their parents announce that they are to return to their house in Slough as they cannot find a place to buy. It is the time of the Moon Landing, 1969, and Andie is obsessed with painting the moon, especially after she finds a boy her age in the flats who sneaks up onto the roof at night to watch the moon.

Melded together with lots of information about the swinging sixties, Newbery has created a charming story about a young girl following her dreams. Part of the series called The Historical House, this story about Andie and her sister will have wide appeal to upper primary girls.

Blood red snow white by Marcus Sedgwick

The Russian Revolution has started, people are dying of hunger, many are being killed for their loyalties to the Tsar or to Lenin, and in St Petersburg, an English journalist talks to Trotsky and the men at the British and American Embassies. He moves easily between the disparate groups, unwittingly placing himself in grave danger, unknowingly being watched by all camps. This man is, surprisingly, Arthur Ransome. Having only known about this man as the author of the Swallows and Amazon series of books published in the 1930's, I was intrigued to say the least. My interest and curiosity lasted for the whole of the book and then some.

Arthur has gone to Russia to escape a loveless marriage. He learns Russian within a few months, and writes articles for the major newspapers in Britain about the civil war, interviewing the most important people of the times. While talking to Trotsky, he meets his secretary, Evgenia, and so begins the love affair of his life, a woman he risks his life for. But through it all he seems quite innocent, and only when Lockhart from the British Embassy, asks him to meet some Latvians does he realise that Lockhart and others like him, are spies.

Sedgwick has made this story wholly engrossing, dividing it into three novellas, each adding a layer to the intrigue. Ransome was first known for his volume of Russian fairy stories, and this mythology runs through the book, starting with part one. Part two tells of his time in Russia, exposing the bloodletting which occurred, detailing Ransom's work as a go between and part three is told as a fictionalised biography, telling of Ransome's time with Evgenia and their efforts to be together. Wholly engrossing, astute readers in secondary school will revel in the details of life in such a chaotic time in European history, marvel at the innocent abroad that was Arthur Ransome, and be left with a multitude of questions to enrich their days. A stimulating, thought provoking book of the highest order.

Fran Knight

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli

Orchard Books, 2007.
(Age 9-13) Another one of Jerry Spinelli's wonderful, quirky books, Eggs uplifts the heart and leaves the reader with memories of a tale well told. It tells the story of an unlikely friendship between 9 year old David, grieving after the death of his mother in a freak accident, and Primrose, a 13 year old, who has taken herself away from her clairvoyant mother and lives in a caravan in the yard. The two meet on an Easter egg hunt where David comes across Primrose lying inert under a pile of leaves, pretending to be dead. Their unlikely friendship develops and each helps the other deal with the difficult things in their lives.

Rich characterisation is a feature of Spinelli's work. The reader feels an immediate bond with David, living with his grandmother, while his father works away from home, and with Primrose whose only contact with her father is a photo. Eccentric characters like Refrigerator John and Madame Dufee bring added enjoyment to the story.

Readers will find it easy to identify with the problem that David and Primrose share, each having a single parent and how they shun those who love them. They will delight in their adventures – sneaking out at night, searching for nightwalkers (maggots) and running off to the city. The humour of the dialogue and unusual characters lightens the underlying serious theme of grief and alienation.

I think this book would be a great read aloud and there are many issues that could be discussed: single parents, grief, immature mothers and the symbolism of eggs throughout the book and on the cover. Spinelli has delivered another fine, memorable and enjoyable read.
Pat Pledger

New moon by Stephanie Meyer

Little, Brown and Co., 2006
(Age 12+) More than 6,000 US teens voted Stephanie Meyer's New moon as their top choice for the American Library Association's Teen’s Top 10 so this book is sure to be popular, particularly with girls. It follows Twilight, the first in the series where readers are introduced to Bella, a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire. In New moon, which could be read as a stand-alone, the reader follows Bella and the dangers she faces having a vampire as her boyfriend. When Edward leaves her, refusing to let her become a vampire, she is left devastated
'like a lost moon – her planet destroyed in some catacysmic, disaster-movie scenario of desolation.'

Deeply depressed, her friendship with Jacob Black, a North American Indian with some supernatural powers of his own, helps her regain some interest in living.

Teens will love the idea of a perfect love like Romeo and Juliet and will relate to the obsessive feelings that Bella has for Edward. They will also revel in the fact that Michael, a normal boy, and Jacob with his strange powers, are also in love with her. Dangerous sports like motorbike riding and jumping off cliffs add a sense of danger, as well as a vengeful vampire who is determined to kill Bella and werewolves who come to her rescue!

A cliff-hanging ending will ensure that the sequel Eclipse will have an eager audience. Teens who enjoy this series could be introduced to Westerfeld's Peeps, which has more action and less angst, and older readers would enjoy Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.
Pat Pledger

The road of bones by Anne Fine

Corgi Books
(Age 13+) 'Only a fool cheers when the new prince rises' is a saying not understood by Yuri, living with his parents and grandmother at a time when the ever increasing brutality of the government is something to be seen with guarded eyes. But Yuri, remembering the openness of his youth and the joy of his parents when the new leader took over after years of living under the Czar's autocratic rule, tempts fate and is taken to a gulag where living in appalling circumstances, he learns to guard even his thoughts.

Told from Yuri's point of view, the reader is drawn into the world of the camps, where people are forced to strip the dead for clothing, where the sound of cracking lice between the fingers is a highlight of a day, where men live and die without anyone taking notice. This brutal world is revealed in vivid detail by Fine as she shows clearly the result of over zealous leaders for whom the end justifies the mean. Yuri in escaping wants to find the resistance group and join them in overthrowing the Leadership, and so the story comes in a complete circle, Yuri now wondering what force he can use and how far he should go in telling the people about the new regime, and bending them to its new ways. With his grandmother's saying ringing in his ears, the reader is forced to ask which way he will go, and by association, how far they would go.

Students interested in politics and history, social issues and those looking for a good read, need look no further than this book for an exercise in what means a leader will use in forming a new government. The parallels to many autocratic governments are clear, but it also raises the issue of how people can be caught up in supporting such regimes, and it begs the question of how far to the right many of our modern governments are going, using nationalist fervor to solve problems peculiar to these times. Highly recommended for students who wish to be nudged into giving some thought about what is going on around them.
Fran Knight

The dreamwalker's child by Steve Voake

(10+) A fast paced adventure sci-fi, The dreamwalker's child teems with exciting action and scary adversaries. After a strange bicycle accident that leaves him in a coma, Sam Palmer wakes up on Aurobon, a world that is oddly like Earth. He discovers that he has been abducted by the evil Odoursin, whose plans threaten not only Aurobon, but also Sam's own world. He faces deadly marsh dogs with human faces and insects that are huge sinister flying machines, piloted by people. Teaming up with Skipper, a fearless girl pilot, the race is on to save his planet.

Voake has written an original and compulsive story, with enough scares and thrills to keep the reader continuing to the end. His heroes are really well developed and appealing, his villains cruel and terrifying. It was great to find such a strong female lead as Skipper, who is a brave and adventurous leader.

Although the nail-biting action is paramount, Voake throws in some thought-provoking notions about love, the environment and war that will give young readers plenty to think about.

This was a thrilling page-turner, and fans will want to grab the sequel, The web of fire.
Pat Pledger

Diary of a CHAV: Trainers v. tiaras by Grace Dent

Hodder Children's Books, 2007.
(12+) Told in diary form, Trainers v. tiaras is an amusing story about a year in the life of Shiraz Bailey Wood who is a CHAV (Charming, Hilarious, Articulate and Vibrant) and just not a chav, into hoodies and hip-hop. It's the year when her sister Cava-Sue fights with her mother, her best friend falls in love and she has to come to grips with what she wants in the future.
Like many so called 'pink books', this explores family, love and friendship while having a close look at teenage angst. Shiraz is a likeable character and the laugh aloud humour in her diary carries the story along.
The easy to read diary style and the humour will appeal to girls who have enjoyed books by British authors such as Sue Limb.
Pat Pledger

The rage of sheep by Michelle Cooper

15 year old Hester is not having a good time. Her best friend has moved to another town, the religion obsessed class nerd (Joshua) keeps talking to her, her father, the bank manager is to present the maths medals, and she is one of the recipients and she is struck by the casualness of the racist remarks of her so called friends, when they talk about wogs, but then hasten to add that they are not talking about her. So all in all, she's not enjoying herself, but then when the science teacher pairs her with Joshua, she is appalled.

Michelle Cooper has written a very witty story about growing up and coping with all that life throws at you, The rage of sheep, concerns itself with the change of attitudes coming to the fore in the 1980's. Being an outsider, not only because of how you look, but your sexuality or your religion is explored in this school based story. Two gay teachers have had enough of the parochial attitudes of some of the staff, rumours spread like wildfire, each version adding more to the tale, and Hester must learn not to follow the sheep. Girls particularly in lower secondary school will enjoy the ride.

Fran Knight