Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781911231332. (Age:16+) Recommended.
This dystopian novel creates a world where eco-cities protect people from a toxic environment. Celia (Cee) and Kasey Mizuhara are sisters who are devoted to each other but very different in temperament. They live in a class structure determined by the degree of environmental damage an individual’s family heritage has inflicted on the planet across their lifetimes.
The reader meets Cee living on a deserted island. She has few memories to rely on yet is determined to find her sister. Kasey is searching for her sister. Cee disappeared in mysterious circumstances and it seems Kasey is the only one looking for her.
The story is expertly crafted to combine science fiction and mystery, revealing a complex world where environments, science, politics and relationships are exploited. Told in alternating narratives each sister adds to a story that reaches an unexpected and apocalyptic conclusion. The reader is offered opportunities to consider: What does it mean to be human? What sacrifices can be justified in the quest to preserve humanity? Are human lives more valued than other life? To what extent do we really make choices? How do we know what is real? There are many questions raised by He in her writing – and not all will be answered. Cee will draw the reader to her because of her zest for life - and this will ultimately provide an exceptional provocation in the end.
The twists and turns of this story are what makes it a page turner. The reader will find themselves reflecting on the intriguing and complicated threading of ideas and issues that support an engrossing read.
Good night, Ivy Bright by Ben Long and Andrew Plant
Ford Street Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781925804720. (Age:3+) Highly recommended.
Ivy cannot sleep. She has tried counting sheep, but her mind is still active and buzzing. She decides that she will paint her dreams, and finding her favourite paintbrushes, begins. She paints the sky the loveliest blue, picking out the stars in yellow; she paints a mammoth whale purple, but finds that when she must complete his tail, her purple paint has all gone. So she sets out to find some more purple, roaming all over the place to find the correct combination of colours. She spots an island where she splashes some white; she mixes in some red to show her the way back home, mixes blue and yellow to make green, and red and white to make pink, then puts red and green to make a silky brown, causing a moose to grow his antlers, before the spring. Then red is mixed with yellow to make orange and as the snow melts away to herald spring, lots of flowers appear, but no purple ones can be seen. The moose tells Ivy to eat the red and blue berries from his antlers, and she discovers that these two colours make purple. She follows her trail of pink back to the whale where she is able to complete his tail.
A beautiful, imaginative, colour filled look at sleep and dreams, the story will help younger readers settle down for the night, using the colours they see in their dreams as a pathway to sleep. Each of the colours of the rainbow is used, and with the bright splashes of colour on each page, will help younger children understand the concept of colour and its use in their environment. Lots of places, flora and fauna are mentioned, adding another layer of interest and excitement to the read. Plant’s use of acrylic and watercolour pencil is mesmerising as colour fills each page, wrapping the reader in its warmth. Children will love following the actions of Ivy in her lemur pyjamas, working to find the correct combination of colour to finish her whale.
Themes Imagination, Sleep, Dreams, Colour.
Fran Knight
Firekeeper's daughter by Angeline Boulley
Rock the Boat, 2021. ISBN: 9780861540907. (Age:14+) Very highly recommended.
When a reader continues to think about the themes in a book and returns to it repeatedly as I did in Firekeeper’s daughter, then it is easy to state that it is outstanding. The awards that Firekeeper’s daughter has won (Michael L. Printz Award (2022), American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Young Adult Book (Honor Book) (2022), Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction and Nominee for Debut Novel (2021), Walter Dean Myers Award, Teen category) also reinforce its excellence.
Told in the first person by Daunis Fontaine, the reader learns about this 18-year-old, a member of the wealthy Fontaine family and an unenrolled tribal member of the Ojibwe tribe. Fitting in has always been a problem for her, never quite accepted by either Ojibwe people or the white people. She is very intelligent and dreams of leaving town to study medicine but has put her life on hold to look after her mother, while her grandmother is in care. When she meets Jamie, an attractive hockey player on her brother Levi's team, she finds herself in the centre of a criminal investigation led by the FBI, working as an undercover agent and looking into murder and drug trafficking.
Confronting themes in this book include racism, drug taking, murder and rape and the meaning of love but what stood out for me was the author’s ability to blend all of these around the character and actions of Daunis. She is a strong young woman who faces difficult dilemmas around her love for her family and her identity as a bi-racial young woman. I was left knowing much more about First Nations People and their justice system and the inequities that women faced when violence or rape occurred. I was particularly taken with the idea of a Blanket Party to help sexual assault victims and the strength and resilience of First Nations women stood out for me. Daunis really loves Jamie but knows that it is important for him to be healthy and strong without leaning on her. Meanwhile the mystery, action and suspense surrounding the murders and running the drug traffickers kept me enthralled and keen to find out who was perpetrating these crimes.
In the Author’s note she writes ”I sought to write about identity, loss, and injustice . . . and also of love, joy, connection, friendship, hope, laughter, and the beauty and strength in my Ojibwe community.” She certainly succeeds. Readers will find the Book Club kit useful particularly as it contains a list of books to read next, and the teachers notes are detailed. This would make an ideal literature circle or class novel.
Themes Love, Mystery, Friendship, Drugs, Sexual assault, Ojibwe tribe.
John Grisham has made a name as a writer of renown, with a number of his legal-world drama stories made into movies. This book takes another of his interests – sport, and specifically basketball, and weaves it around a young talented player from South Sudan. Samuel Sooleyman (Sooley) has made his way on to a youth team representing South Sudan, and able to play in the USA in a competition that might give the team a chance to be noticed by USA scouts that could rescue them from the difficult circumstances of their lives in villages and towns in their own country. While he is in the USA his family are attacked by rebels and eventually become refugees as they escape their own country. Sooley’s life is also turned upside down and the hopes for his future now also include hopes to rescue his family. Amidst the incredible world of the College basketball system and with the wealth of the USA in full view there is an unbelievable trajectory for Sooley as he goes from being an ordinary player from a background of poverty, but blessed with height and a poor shooting record, to become a spectacular game-changer with dreams of an NBA contract.
This book is both uplifting and sad as it paints the incredible disparity between the worlds of Sooley’s homeland and his new adopted country. It also reads like a biography with detail of all the games played and the minutiae of the Basketball world for the young central character and his close friends and team mates. The complications of the draft system for the talented player and the wealth that floods in his direction are also mystifying and confronting. This could easily be a fairytale journey, but Grisham has cleverly made us wonder all the way to the end.
Recommended, for lovers of basketball, aged 15+.
Themes Basketball, South Sudan, Refugees, Professional sport.
The Rock from the Sky is a charming picture book with quite subtle humour divided into 5 stories. They feature a turtle, an armadillo/mole creature, a snake and an alien and explore friendships, emotions, the future and stepping outside your comfort zone.
In the first story the turtle sits in a favourite spot and invites the Armadillo to join him. The Armadillo feels uncomfortable in that spot and finds his own a little further away, where the snake joins him. A little jealous, the turtle tries to get them to come over to his spot without success. All the while the readers see a rock on its way down from the sky, but don’t know where it is going to land. When it does land one of the characters is glad that he followed his instincts.
Each story stands alone so the book would be perfect to read in sections at bedtime or to a young class over a week at school. It also lends itself for readers to try different voices for the characters as the text is written in different tones to show which character is speaking. The illustrations are very muted tones in black, browns, greys and a smattering of red/orange. The characters eyes cleverly convey their emotions when things happen in the story. The animals all wear a hat (of course) as this is Klasson’s first book since his acclaimed Hat trilogy - I want my hat back, This is not my Hat and We found a hat, which will tie this book to that series for young readers.
Joe is playing pirates on the playground equipment and a loud voice calls, ‘You’ve only got one leg!’ Joe and the girl go on to examine the possible reasons for Joe having one leg, and others join in. Perhaps it was bitten off by a shark, perhaps it fell off, or was burgled, or a lion took it. Each time the expression on Joe’s face tells the reader how exasperating these questions can be, especially when they have been heard so many times before. The girl begins to understand.
Using his own experience, Catchpole captures the reality of questions in the playground and a child’s reponses to them.
The next day Joe is playing on the equipment again and this time the girl comes along and joins him in his game. They introduce themselves and she wants to know what he is playing. 'Pirates' he replies, and that is so cool, that Simone joins in, as do the others. This time, no one asks about his leg, and Simone has developed an understanding that perhaps he gets quite bored with people asking about his leg, and decides not to.
This is a very concise, apt and funny look at a problem some disabled people have: that of curiosity. Some people cannot separate the person from the disability, blurting out the obvious, without quietly reflecting that there might be a better way of talking to that person.
Simone develops empathy towards Joe, understanding that he is still Joe, no matter what has happened to him, and deciding it makes no difference anyway.
A very neat solution to a perennial problem: Catchpole reiterates some ways of tackling the issue in the endpaper, where he gives advice to an adult of how to deal with a curious child.
Framed as a letter to his newborn son Kahlil, Bani recounts the story of how he came to meet and love his child’s mother. It is a story of struggle with parental and community expectations. His father had warned him to never marry an outsider, someone who wasn’t Arab Muslim Alawite, a branch of Shia Islam that does not accept converts and can only be passed on through the bloodline. But when Bani falls in love with Sahara, a tomato-faced Lebanese Christian, he comes to realise the one thing his father asked of him, is everything.
Coming to grips with losing his true love, Bani submits to the traditional matchmaking arrangements his parents undertake on his behalf, making for many humorous scenes, along with the explosive tinderbox of male Lebanese aggression around him. This expose of Muslim family and customs is reminiscent of the 2017 Australian romantic comedy ‘Ali’s Wedding’ about a Muslim torn between his father, his community and following his heart. There is a serious undercurrent to Ahmad’s book though, as the setting is Sydney, post Cronulla riots, where young Lebanese men are routinely stereotyped as predators and potential terrorists. Ahmad highlights sexism and racism both within his culture and in the wider Australian community.
Ahmad’s novel reveals the heartache and struggles of the young Bani, a sensitive man who tries to honour his parents but falls in love with the most unlikely people and dreams of being a writer. There is a lot of humour, and also a heartwarming honesty that makes this book a real pleasure to read.
Themes Muslims in Australia, Lebanese culture, Parental expectations, Love, Racism.
Helen Eddy
The king's birthday suit by Peter Bently and Claire Powell
A wonderfully funny take on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy story, The emperor’s new clothes, this verse story will delight new readers as they follow the efforts of a canny pair of tailors aiming to bring the haughty king down a peg or two.
The king with the beautiful name, Albert-Horatio-Otto the Third has an enormous range of clothes. He changes his outfits readily, taking every opportunity to show off. Even going to the loo offers the chance to wear something different.
With his birthday imminent he asks for the very best new suit, rejecting all that he is shown but he is impressed when a pair of tailors arrive, promising the very best he could desire. The cloth they weave is so fine that it can only be seen by the wise and the clever.
They are hired and set about their business. The court, not wanting to be seen as stupid, praise the cloth they see being made. It is indescribable, nothing has ever been seen like it, it is unbelievable. The king likewise says similar things, no-one wanting to appear stupid in the eye of those around them.
The reader of course knows exactly what is going on and cannot wait for the denouement where the king appears naked in front of his whole court.
This rollicking tale beautifully told in rhyming couplets will cause the readers to laugh out loud. They will predict the rhyming word, offering others as suggestions, laugh at the many references to behind and red cheeked, loo and bum. But most of all laugh at the silly king, so wrapped up in himself and his appearance that he is unable to see through the duplicitous tailors and his fawning court.
The hilarious illustrations will entertain the audience as they pick out the huge amount of detail, wonder at the number of clothes he has and the range of people who fawn over him in his court.
I love the different courtiers in their array of costume, and touches of the indolent life led by them all. The endpapers with the headline news and their wonderful examples of puns will give another level of humour to enjoy.
Themes Clothing, Verse, Humour.
Fran Knight
The bark book by Victoria Mackinlay and Beth Harvey
(Age: 2+) Recommended. Children will be immediately drawn to the happy brown and white dog with the bushy tail barking at the tree bark on the cover. After opening the book to the gorgeous double page spread of a lovely tree the reader knows that a treat is in store.
The illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to the sparse text. “Sad bark” sees a mournful face of the little dog peering out a window, “Blue bark” shows him sitting on a sofa waiting, and then the next two pages show a girl coming home from school and an exuberant dog dancing on one leg to “Love you too! Bark.” Children will giggle at the ‘Leg up …” and “Wet bark” and enjoy the word play of “rough bark” on the trunk of a tree as well as “Heal bark” and Heel bark”. And of course, the “time for bed bark” at the end of the book makes it a perfect bedtime story for young children.
The repetition of the word 'bark' will make it an easy book for young children to memorise and enjoy while the expressions on the little dog’s face are just delightful.
The bark book is a keeper for me and is sure to be enjoyed by toddlers and their caregivers.
This book follows the popular ‘rural fiction’ formula: female protagonist returns to small town, navigates community conflict and deals with love interest. The story is refreshing, honest and undeniably Australian while also being amusing and full of complex relationships and unexpected themes. I couldn’t put it down!
Charlotte ‘Lottie’ Bentz is a 30-year-old actress. She was crowned Peach Queen in her hometown at 18 and since then has been working her way up in her career and faking her way into all the right circles. Everything comes crashing down when her latest celebrity lover drops dead, then just days later a months-old topless photo shoot is published. Lottie flees the big city and returns home for respite.
But Lottie is not as welcome as she’d hoped, with her mother absolutely disgusted with her. Awkward at home, Lottie moves into the caravan of another local family. Here she takes inspiration from Marie Kondo and starts to declutter her life. What follows is a stripping back of Lottie as she drops the actress facade, learns to appreciate simple pleasures, and starts to mend and build relationships.
Speaking of relationships, there is (of course!) the brooding love interest. Angus was Lottie’s Peach King 12 years ago and now he’s a serious young man who seems to be hiding something.
There’s a range of other complex characters and issues too: Lottie’s mother is a committed feminist – will she and Lottie ever understand each other? Angus’s mother gives Lottie the kindness her own mother can’t but is very forgetful – is she okay? Lottie’s oldest friend, Liv, has changed – do they still have anything in common? And then there’s all the other townsfolk, actively engaged in reinvigorating their community after a local crop disaster three years ago.
Sasha Wasley is a Western Australian author with a degree in feminist literature. She writes what she knows in a joyful and engaging way. Note: Spring clean for the peach queen does contain mature themes and a sex scene (neither graphic nor gratuitous) which bumps up the recommended age for this one.
Themes Feminism, Australia, Relationships, Dementia, Marie Kondo.
Kylie Grant
Lilian's story by Kate Grenville
Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922458056. (Age:Young Adult. Adult) Recommended.
First released in 1985, Lilian’s story was adapted for film in 1996 and this edition has a beautifully written introduction, ‘Seen and heard, Noticed and Remembered’ by Toni Collette who played young Lilian in the film. Set in Sydney’s harbour side suburbs in the first half of the 20th century Lilian’s life is expected to follow the normal trajectory of tennis parties and social gatherings followed by a good marriage, settling down to produce babies while the husband takes the ferry to business in the city. But Lilian is different, a sensitive and vulnerable personality whose self-esteem is undermined by her controlling and unstable father and repressed mother who are unable to give her the affection she craves. Her younger brother is quietly supportive but folds his ears closed, turning to his pictures of hands and feet to avoid the conflict in the house. Lilian finds a space for herself in the secret places, under the plumbago, out in a boat on the harbour or up a tree and feeds her emptiness with cream cakes. At school Lilian loves to learn but struggles with relationships. She is cruel to poor shy Gwen to bolster her ambitions to be one of the gang headed by Rick. She dares herself to steal from eccentric old Miss Gash, covertly observing someone else out of step with the world. As a young woman Lilian, “brilliant but unstable” p112 is allowed to go to university and finds companionship with poor F.J. Stroud and “flanneled fool” Duncan but a terrible scene between father and daughter seems to derail her. She thinks about “husbands and wives and wonders if there was any alternative.”p157.
Using richly coloured language and sensual, earthy, intimate descriptions we are immersed in Lilian’s world, seeing her move through life from childhood to becoming an eccentric, deranged old woman. She is not resilient but damaged yet she has a strong sense of self and chooses life, loudly and assertively. This is still a powerful novel which will appeal to senior school readers and adults. The introduction could be used for a close study; this is a great addition to the Text Classics range.
This book has been beautifully crafted with a simple, colourful and modern design that would easily entice a young reader into the world of marine animals. Starting with a rich mix of creatures on the front cover the book presents double-page spreads of information about each of 20 animals.
The information is parcelled in simple easy to understand and interesting segments arranged around a rich and stunning illustration. Everything is provided for a young reader who might need to know about an animal’s individual features eg. size, habitat, weight, diet and lifespan.
From clown fish and hermit crabs to the deep diving narwhal and the blue moon fish, this book will provide much new and interesting information. The size of each animal is presented in an interesting comparison with known objects such as a football, bike or a bus. Also, each animal has a ‘Did you know?’ section with an interesting fact.
The author illustrator provides a rich, modern, simple and bright enticement for the young marine scientist.
Themes Marine animals.
Paul Pledger
Nick by Michael Farris Smith
No Exit Press, 2021. ISBN: 9780857304544. (Age:17+ - Adult) Recommended.
It has been many years since I read The Great Gatsby but the character Nick Carraway remains etched as the watcher, the one who is part of the essence of the story as the one who sees and narrates the excesses and social decline of the American dream amongst Gatsby’s social circle, while remaining firmly fixed on the edge of this life. In this book, Michael Farris Smith has created the prequel to this confronting story as he reveals the backstory of Nick Carraway’s life – a life that is scarred and hurt. Nick is portrayed as having survived the distressing childhood of living with a severely depressed mother and then trying to find his place in the world as an adult as the war breaks out. His war service, in combination with his passive personality, leaves him with psychological scars. A brief romantic interlude in France during the war adds to his wounds and there is more pain post-war as he struggles to find a place to anchor his life. A random choice takes him far from his parents in Minnesota to Frenchtown in New Orleans, into bars and brothels, and into the tortured life of another severely damaged war veteran. All along the journey to the shores of the lake that looks towards Gatsby’s mansion, we become familiar with the way that Nick’s life is moulded by powerful circumstances to create the man who watches in the margins and narrates The Great Gatsby.
This is an evocative journey and a powerful tale that is powerfully-written and reflective of the character of Nick Carraway – the man who watches the world. The journey into his pains and psychological suffering is compelling and insightful as he battles his inner passivity. There is immense power in giving Nick a backstory, and this book will be appreciated by those who have read The Great Gatsby. (This is better read after having read F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, and not before, as this would change understanding of the original Gatsby story.) Farris Smith has created a story that could stand on its own but the insight into Nick’s life adds extra pathos and power.
Themes World War II, PTSD, USA Culture - Post-war, The Great Gatsby.
Carolyn Hull
Malice by Heather Walter
Del Ray, 2021. ISBN: 9781529101287. (Age:13+) Recommended.
Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss. Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. Burdened by the curse. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though a power like mine was responsible for her curse.
The setting and plot of this novel felt like a crossover of Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. There was the wicked fairy, the war between humans and mystical beings, the romance, the wicked “step-family”; everything was there in perfect balance of hope and despair. Alyce was such a strong character, a woman burdened with an evil gift, determined to not become the monster that the people of Briar think she is. The connection between her and Aurora was so gentle and pure. Both finding solace in each other’s pain. The strong feminist trope shone through, women sticking together to take down the cruel men trying to take over the country. Who needs a handsome prince to save the day when you can have two powerful women? That is, until Alyce discovers her true power. The book ended on a big cliff hanger which will leave you desperately wanting to read the sequel. The biggest question is, can Alyce hold onto her humanity long enough to save, and keep, the love of her life?
This is a #ownvoices novel – a book about diverse characters written by an author in that same diverse group. Shirley Marr is a first-generation Chinese Australian who writes about the space where Eastern and Western worlds collide.
This is her second children's novel (after Little Jiang was published 2020). It is written in the present tense and in 2nd person. This can be a challenging point of view to read, but it allows the reader to really become Meixing, a girl who has just arrived in the New Land.
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Your pregnant mother (Ma Ma) and father (Ba Ba) have inherited a house from your late First Uncle and moved to give you and the new baby a better life.
But everything is so confusing and tricky. The house is scary, not just a little bit scary but ‘Big Scary’. You have the wrong bag and shoes for school. You struggle with the language. You meet a girl who pretends to be your friend but isn’t. Your neighbours are helpful but strange. Ba Ba is cranky and tired, and Ma Ma is disconnected and reluctant to leave the house. You think Big Scary has hidden rooms and lurking presences, and it seems to grow and contract depending on the moods of your family.
And just when you already think things are bad they manage to get even worse when tragedy occurs. You take on worries and responsibilities that are too heavy for you.
To escape all the swirling emotions you retreat to an old glasshouse in the garden, where you see First Uncle is still there along with the sun and the moon, and seeds that instantly flourish. You share the glasshouse with others who need a little bit of magic too and hope that somehow things will turn out okay.
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This book is both complex and gentle in its exploration of the emotions, imagination and relationships of an immigrant girl dealing with big changes. A teacher’s resource is available with discussion points including the: 2nd person point of view; immigration experience; cycle of life; and mental health.
