Orion Children's Books (11+) A fantasy thriller that had me hooked from the start, My swordhand is singing is a most original look at vampires and the dread they engender. Tomas and his son, Peter are itinerant, moving from one village to another in search of work as wood cutters, always avoiding company and friendship. But Chust is different; the small village adheres to old customs, designed to keep away the vampires, it shows a meanness to strangers, it is isolated and inward looking. Just the place for vampires to feed. Peter is growing up and attracts the attention of a young woman, Agnes, while Tomas spends much of his time getting drunk. But there is a fear abroad which captures the imagination of the village. A wife is convinced that her dead husband returns to her each night, Agnes is chosen as the bride of a man who has died, and when gypsies call on Peter's father to bring out his sword, tension spills over. A breathtaking and imaginative telling of a vampire story, this novel is infused with a plethora of stories gleaned from tales, myths and legends from Europe's forest regions, where people lived their lives in dark and gloomy places, where implausible things happened and were transformed into terrifying stories by scared peoples trying to make sense of it all. I couldn't put it down, and this book will easily find readers amongst all ages in high schools. Fran Knight
Nick & Nora's infinite playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Allen & Unwin, 2007 (15+) Catching sight of his ex-girlfriend on the arm of another guy at the club where his band is playing, Nick asks the girl near him to be his girlfriend for the next five minutes. Norah's answer is to pull his face down to hers. They begin a roller coaster ride through clubs, punk bands, music playlists and falling in and out of love, all taking place in the space of a night. Told in alternating chapters by Nick, written by David Levithan and Norah, related by Rachel Cohn, this is a compulsive story that drags you along through New York's music and club scene. Fabulous dialogue, vivid characters and some very funny scenes make for a memorable read. The strong language in the book may put off some adults but the authenticity of the conversations and the band's lyrics will really appeal to teenagers. The plot and setting should also ensure that this is a book that won't sit on the library shelf. Pat Pledger
The legend of the worst boy in the world by Eoin Colfer
Penguin, London, 2007 (8+) The sight of Will dressed in his rabbit pyjamas strolling down the new road, walking straight along the line in the middle, but unaware that this new road meets the old road is enough to make the reader call out. Fortunately mum is on the run, chasing her 2 year old Will, but he thinks it is a game, so he runs faster. How all of this is involved in a story about a boy talking to his grandfather each weekend, trying to offload some of his worries is a very funny take on families and how they intersect. Fran Knight
Have 'they' finally caught up with Willow? A paranoid survivor of political protests, Willow has always believed that 'they' were out to get her. Now she has disappeared and Sarah is determined to find out what has happened to her. Sent to live with her father and his new family, Sarah has a battle on her hands to find her aunt and save her home.
Told in alternative voices, that of Willow and Sarah the narrator, this thriller takes the reader back to university days in the 1970's in Sydney and gives an insight into hippy culture, anti-nuclear demonstrations and conscription. The author uses a diary format to unfold Willow's story. Her encounters with political activists and drugs are quite compelling and the characterisation of the evil chemist student who pushes drugs and the hippy students is very believable. Sarah's trials of fitting in with her 'stepmonster' and having to babysit constantly add a believable everyday dimension to the story. Sarah is a feisty, loving character and the reader empathises with her dilemmas.
This is a suspenseful read suitable for teens who like mystery and suspense.
Themes Mystery and suspense.
Pat Pledger
The most beautiful lantern by Sally Heinrich
Lothian, 2007. (Age 6+) Beautifully illustrated, this story follows Mei-Ling's quest to have the most beautiful lantern in the Grand Lantern Parade. As she searches the market for the perfect lantern, she is enticed with a sparking fish, a tiger lantern, an iridescent crimson bird, a rocket, a musical rainbow lantern, and a jade rabbit. With each find of a possible lantern, Sally Heinrich includes a description of the mythology behind it. The illustrations are marvellous – on the one hand we see Mei-Ling enjoying her daily life, eating with her grandfather, shopping with her mother and looking at old photos and then her vivid imaginary life is brought alive with wonderful colour, gorgeous swirls and fantastic animals. The story gives children the opportunity to find out about the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, and the mythology and meaning behind many things like mooncakes, how one sun appears in the sky, and why the moon is always bright on the fifteenth day of every month. The visual depiction of a close family life is a joy, and Mei-Ling's final choice of a lantern is delightful. This would be a great addition to a class or school library. Pat Pledger
Guru Guru Pon-Chan by Satomi Ikezawa
Random House, 2006. ISBN: 9780099504825. (Age:11+)
Satomi Ikezawa has won prizes for her Manga series of works. She is held in high esteem amongst Manga artists and illustrators. This story is about a Labrador retriever puppy called Panta, who, on nibbling a bone brought to the house by an inventor, turns into a girl. The illustrations and perspective of the drawings had me reading to the end. Although I found the story line a little lame, it will appeal to kids in lower secondary. Graphic Novels are enjoying a resurgence of popularity amongst a wide audience.
Fran Knight
The Hunting Forest by Michael Coleman
Orchard Books (11+) The third in the series about bears (The Bear Kingdom) where bears rule the earth and humans, the saps, are their slaves is no less exciting than the first, The Howling Tower. Mops, Benjamin and Spike have escaped their captors and are headed to Hide Park, a place renowned as a safe and secure sanctuary for humans. Once they get there, surviving all sorts of hardship and avoiding capture, they are surprised when the bears bring more humans to its doors, as well as food and water. What is going on?
They find their way to Inspector Dictatum's winter lodge and there, seeing the bloody and torn clothing of their comrades, arranged along the wall like trophies, they realise that they are about to be hunted. They must warn the others. An exciting series, where the tables are turned, the bears being the rulers and the humans, their slaves, should appeal to upper primary and lower secondary kids looking for an adventurous mystery set in a parallel world. Fran Knight
The last days by Scott Westerfeld
Penguin (14+) Cover up your necks, the vampire peeps, parasite positives, are taking over the city. Black water is pouring out into the streets, worms have taken over the subways and cats are gathering to scavenger in alleys. Infected people throw away the things they used to love and Moz and Pearl rescue a 1975 Fender Stratocaster guitar thrown out of a window. Gathering Zahler, Minerva and Alana together, they form a band and build up a collection of weird songs that Minerva composes. And then the Night Watch, an organisation working to kill the parasites, hears them, and they are grabbed to help save the world with their music.
A sequel to Peeps, it is probably best to read the books in order to get a good idea of the background and action. However The last days will stand alone as it has new main characters and action.
It contains all the ingredients for instant appeal – vampires, romance, danger, thrills, action and music – but it also touches on the current fear of epidemics and is not your current run of the mill vampire story. Highly recommended. Pat Pledger
Nemesis: The beast within by Catherine MacPhail
Allen and Unwin What a humdinger. Told from several perspectives, Ram is on the run, but without any idea of who he is or why he is running. On the moors with a beast slathering behind him, he eagerly takes the offer of a lift in a car with a stranger. The man takes him to his isolated home, a farmhouse in the middle of the moors with no neighbours, where he meets the man's smiling wife. Ram is dumbfounded when he is told that he is their lost nephew, Noel. He has run away before, and must be protected lest he do it again.
Uncle William takes him to the isolated school the next day introducing him as his lost nephew. Ram has no idea what is going on, but little by little things begin to fall into place. With the other two in the school, Kirsten and Faisal, the group begins to investigate the murder of a boy whose body is found on the moors. They all believe it to be the abused boy, Paul, one of their former classmates who disappeared several weeks before. Into this mix comes the Dark Man still on the hunt for Ram, and MacPhail cleverly plots the story with a huge number of exciting near misses as the Dark man and Ram seem almost to dance within an eye space of each other.
Nemesis (series) by Catherine McPhail has a boy on the run. I didn't read number one, Into the shadow, but only this second book, The beast within, and found it was so exciting that I will read number one. The first book should give me information about why the boy is running, and clear up some of the mysteries inherent in reading the second in the series, but I found it nevertheless riveting. I'm sure lower secondary and upper primary students will love it. The two books mentioned are now available with two more about to be released. (Sinister intent and Ride of death). Fran Knight
Lonesome howl by Steven Herrick
Louis Braille Audio.
Read by Rebecca Macauley
13+ The howling of a lonely wolf - or a wild dog - entice Lucy
and Jake to take a hike into the hills to see if they can discover the
animal's lair. Lucy is running from an abusive father and Jake wants
the chance to prove the accuracy of his father's story of sighting a
wolf. When bad luck overturns their plans, Lucy is forced to make
difficult emotional decisions and Jake is challenged to overcome
physical hardship.
Rebecca Macauley's reading of this verse novel highlights two very
different families. She manages to bring to life the two main
characters and their families. Lucy's heart-rending voice is captured
as she struggles to maintain her integrity in face of physical abuse
from her father. She mourns the loss of her beloved grandmother and
despises her mother's weakness in not facing up to her father. Jake's
voice, on the other hand, recounts the life of a loving family and
gives the listener a respite from the trauma and fear that Lucy faces
on a daily basis. The character of Peter, Lucy's brother, is caught
beautifully.
The listener is swept along with the adventure on the mountain and
amazed at Lucy's courage and determination. Thankfully the novel ends
on a positive note with hope that Lucy will find family love and
security.
This reading will appeal to both boys and girls and is a good example
of
free form poetry to use in the classroom.
Pat Pledger
ReadPlus
The killer's tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux
Allen & Unwin, 2007. ISBN: 9781741751048. (Age:16+)
Translated from the French, this short read will leave you pondering for a long while about friendship, love and redemption. At the end of the world, far from any town or company, Paolo lives with his parents, scratching a living from the bare rock, visited only by a traveling ornithologist or geographer, interested in mapping or watching birds on the southernmost tip of South America.
The bleakness of the surroundings is reflected in the confines of Paolo's life as he later reflects that no one ever hugged him or told him he was loved. Into this family comes a man on the run, Angel. He murders Paolo's parents and takes over as the only adult in the house. The two develop a way of living with each other, their dependence on each other increasing as time goes on. But a third man tips the balance of the household and together the three have an uneasy relationship until they decide to travel to the nearest town and buy some lambs. Here their baseless camaraderie dissolves, as Paolo realises that there are other influences that will change their lives.
Themes Redemption, Chile.
Fran Knight
Teeth marks by Rose Moxham
Allen and Unwin, 2007. ISBN: 9781741147711. (Age:14-15)
With all the time in the world, Nick and Robbie head west, intending to do some fruit picking and see what life has to offer. Their aimless drifting sees them interacting with many other people, not least Jude, who Nick falls for. But an accident lands him in the local hospital, where surrounded by people from the next ward, all of whom seem a little unusual, he must reassess what he is doing and how he is getting along with those he loves. Incidents in the hospital are very funny as he constantly makes mistakes through his lack of experience of thinking of anyone else but himself.
This is a road story, fragmented and teasing, as Nick lies in hospital revealing small chunks of what has happened and how he feels. His interaction with those in the ward pushes him to rethink many of his escapades, and the reader along with Nick comes to some understanding of what makes him tick.
Not an easy read, the disjointed story is sometimes difficult to reassemble, but the characters are wonderful, real and whole as we find out what they really want in life, and what motivates them. Kids around year 10 would find this a stimulating read.
The fourth in the Moran Family series by New Zealand author, Ken Catran, Teresa Moran is as exciting and fast paced as the three before it, Jacko Moran, sniper; Robert Moran, private; Jimmy Moran, regular, all showing one person's involvement in the twentieth century wars that Australia and New Zealand have been part of. While telling a personal story of each of the main characters, each tale reveals war and its horror to the reading generation, and shows the moral decisions which countries and participants must make in times of war.
Teresa is a survivor of an incident in East Timor and must now go to Afghanistan and Iraq where she is under some suspicion, and so relegated to a minor role. She bears the brunt of criticism from her comrades and she knows that they all have their own version of what happened to her. It makes her position even more challenging. Meanwhile she has a never-ending stream of advice and criticism from her father, now a member of a committee looking at the effects of Agent Orange on those who served in Vietnam. The stories of Teresa and her father go hand in hand in this examination of the role of combat forces in the defense of a country.
For those who want a good story line, embedded in realistic fighting sequences, this story will go down well. This book could well be presented along with non fiction like Scarecrow Soldiers (Davidson) and Animal Heroes.
Fran Knight
What happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles
Little, Brown, 2006 hbk.
Age 14+. Buried alive in a crate, Cass McBride faces the horror of the words on a suicide note left by David Kirby, 'Words are teeth. And they eat me alive. Feed on my corpse instead.'
David killed himself after reading a nasty note Cass, the most popular girl in the school, wrote about him. His brother Kyle is out to get revenge. He kidnaps her and buries her underground. As she contemplates the truth about her life, Cass, terrified and bloody, fights to use words to stay alive.
This is a tense psychological thriller that was simply impossible to put down. Gail Giles tells the story in three voices, Kyle, Cass and Ben the policeman who is investigating the kidnapping. The portrayal of the characters is a real strength of this novel. Gradually the reader gains an insight into the reasons for David's suicide and why Kyle takes such a drastic revenge on the manipulative and unfeeling Cass. Mrs Kirby is one of the most chilling mothers I have read about.
Chapters are short and the action and tension is almost unbearable. Readers will feel horrified as they identify with Cass as she struggles to stay alive, both physically and mentally. The psychological sell that Cass uses to try and get Kyle to keep her alive is riveting.
This novel has been selected for the ALA Best books for Young Adults and ALA Quick picks for Reluctant readers. Recommended as a compulsive read.
A classic story of co-operation and courage, Colin Thiele's last book tells the story of brave animals that defeat a wicked salamander. The animals live in a beautiful land in the shadow of a mountain but every month they face the threat of a fiery salamander that comes down from his volcano home in search of something to eat. It is not until the animals gang together and show exceptional bravery and cunning that their enemy is overcome.
This is an exciting story with four short chapters that will really appeal to beginning readers and is also ideal to read aloud. The language is vivid and the animal characters are beautifully described. Working together, each group uses their particular skill to bring down the salamander. Spider monkey uses his brains, the cheetah his speed and the elephants, buffaloes and oxen use their strength to kill their enemy. Mark Wilson's pencil drawings capture the characteristics of each animal and enhance the story.
