Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922330673. (Age:15+) Recommended.
This book appears to be a simple story of a young journalist, Kate Aitken, who has encountered some difficulties in her life in New York. When she is offered the chance to research the life and unexpected death of a famous artistic photographer, Miranda Brand, she moves to California to begin this new work. The story takes the reader into the darkness and the details of Miranda's life, the inconsistencies of the events that occurred shortly before her death, and the legacy that her life's work, and death, has left her family.
Choosing to structure the narrative by interspersing the letters that Miranda wrote, including her personal diary notes, with the story of Kate's new life, Sara Sligar plunges us into the depths of both worlds, and the traumas that have impacted on the lives of both women.pSligar does not let us settle down to a gentle story, rather drawing us into the unexpected and dramatic events of Miranda's life, her emotional traumas, and her family issues. We follow Kate's discoveries, her dawning realization that Miranda's life was not a gentle one, as Sliger unravels the actual details of Miranda's life and death.
This is a powerful narrative, vibrant, compelling and captivating, challenging us to consider how people adapt to deal with the events and people in their lives. At its heart is the notion of truth, and its place in our lives, its frequent absence and its essential role in our ability to understand, respect, and often forgive, the actions and personalities of others. While deftly drawing us into these other lives, Sarah Sliger explores how all of these aspects make people react, respond and trust those with whom they share their lives, prompting the reader to consider similar questions about life.
Themes Adaptation to new lives and difficult choices.
Elizabeth Bondar
What is a Virus? by Katie Daynes. Illus. by Kirsti Beautyman
If there is one word that children of today know as well as their name it is "virus". So much of their lives have been affected by this tiny, invisible thing that has had such huge impact. But what is a virus? Using the successful Lift-the-Flap Q&A format of others in this series, readers can investigate just what a virus is, discovering that there are many more than just COVID 19! They also learn the importance of the rules like social distancing, washing their hands and other personal hygiene issues, important because if they understand the why about the what they are more likely to comply. It also alleviates some of the fear that their imaginations can conjure up. In the past we have been teaching our littlies about why they need to eat well, sleep long and play hard to have a healthy body and preventing illness has been a peripheral, but things have changed and this is an important addition to the collection so they can better understand this thing that is going to shadow their lives for a long time to come.
When two Aussie writers such as Christy Burne (children's author and science communicator) and Denis Knight (Science fiction/ fantasy author and computer programmer) decide to write a book together the result is going to be a cracker.
Wednesday Weeks and the Tower of Shadows is both clever and funny. Told in first person by Wednesday, the book begins in a year six Robotics class where Wednesday's attempts to code a path for a robot to follow is failing spectacularly. Wednesday is, at this stage, not fully aware that she has inherited magical powers and that it is these powers that are interfering with Science experiments. She has been an unwilling apprentice to her sorcerer grandfather who has been coaching her for years although she doesn't know why. She just wants to fit in with her year six group, try to be a normal girl and achieve in Science classes. Her best friend Alfie is a cheerful geek.
Unfortunately, Wednesday's grandfather is captured by a powerful goblin-king and Wednesday is forced, out of love for her grandfather, to discover and unlock her magical power in order to save her grandfather and the world. She is not alone though as Alfie and Bruce (a bad-Dad joke, wise-cracking skull) accompany her through a frightening, fantastic quest. Their lives are in peril time and time again and it is only through a combination of luck, magic, cooperation and application of remembered science and maths formulae that the clever children make it through- or do they...
This book will appeal to clever children. It is about applied maths and science- thank heavens at times that one or other of them remembered what they had learnt at school! This is a book that celebrates children's initiative, cleverness, love and loyalty.
If you are a fan of Nevermoor, Artemis Fowl or the Witching Hour, then the Wednesday Weeks series will be for you. The next book is due to be released in September 2021... sigh! Such a long wait!
Poison War book 1. Random House, 2019. ISBN: 9780552176293. (Age:15+) Highly recommended.
Winner of the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2018) and Ditmar Award for Best Novel (2019) City of lies is a slow burning epic fantasy that is sure to grab the attention of any fantasy reader. Right from the first sentence "I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me . . . " the reader is taken into the world of Jovan, an expert in poisons, trained as a proofer or taster, to protect Tain, the Chancellor's Heir and his life-long friend. His sister Kalinda, her frail physique unable to manage the poisons, has been trained as a spy; quiet and unassuming, she manages to hear and see things that might threaten her city-state. When the Chancellor is poisoned and their uncle also succumbs, the pair find themselves trying to find out who the murderer is, while protecting Tain, now the head of their city. To make things even more difficult, an army has laid siege to their city and it looks as if the assassinations and rebellion are linked.
Written in the voices of Jovan and Kalinda in alternate chapters, the reader gets to know the feelings of both main characters. Jovan is very anxious and manages to calm himself by pacing and counting repetitively, while Kalinda must work very hard to overcome her physical disabilities. However, they are both intelligent and determined and very loyal to Tain and to their city and use their intelligence and resilience for the good of the state.
Hawke has described a very believable world that will resonate with readers as they catch glimpses of similarities to our world today. Silasta is rich and cultured, but the siege of the city reveals the flaws in the way the countryside has been ruled. The Council members have become greedy and the pacts to look after and educate workers, while respecting their religion have been forgotten. Spirituality is not respected and believers in the strength of the land are disregarded.
Readers who enjoy a mystery, sieges and escapes, and compelling main characters with flaws, are in for a treat and will want to move onto book 2, Hollow empire. Other books with poisons and assassination are Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder and His fair assassin series by Robin Lefevers.
Nelson is a loser at school. An unfortunate classroom incident and the departure of his only friend left him wallowing alone. When he dares to ask out a girl, he fears another rejection to confirm his loser status. But then his parents manage the restaurant at a ski lodge and every weekend in the ski season he gets to kill time on the slopes as a reprieve from his normal isolation. On the mountain he discovers that maybe he is not such a loser when two different girls (who visit on alternate weekends) take a shine to him; the young adult staff treat him with respect, and he discovers that his skiing skills are improving too. Unfortunately, the downhill slide juggling two potential girlfriends requires secrecy and lies and eventually there will be a crash moment. The true colour of a white lie is revealed.
This is a teen romantic drama from the perspective of a young male mid-teen. It reveals the consequences of poor choices, living a lie and being too timid to speak the truth before the lie gets out of control. It is a downhill run with obstacles and the result is never going to end well. The lessons that Nelson learns take time, but he will discover that sometimes you have to start afresh and learn from your own mistakes. I am not sure how many mid-teen males will admit to enjoying teen romance, but both male and female readers will relate to the hormone-laced confusion of relationships and maturing, and the struggle of being self-confident when you feel like you have nothing to offer. This book has hints of semi-autobiographical connection and the setting in the ski lodge is obviously well-known to the author.
Themes Teen romance; Lies; Skiing.
Carolyn Hull
Tree Beings by Raymond Huber and Sandra Severgnini
EK Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781925820539. (Age:8+) Highly recommended.
With the tag line 'Books with heart on issues that matter, readers picking up this weighty book will be in no doubt about the expertise being presented to them. An introduction and opening chapter by celebrated environmentalist, Dr Jane Goodall will cement the idea that this book is worth the read.
Divided into four main chapters (Big Ideas), Life in the trees, Trees can save us, Trees are like beings and Trees need our help, each chapter is then segmented into shorter chapters which tell of the anatomy of the tree and its purpose on earth and what it does for us, with smaller sections offering real stories about how some people have worked to save trees. So we read of Tony Rinaurdo who noticed that the stumps of the tees in the desolate land around the village in Niger, Africa where he was trying to grow trees, were still alive. So he set about nurturing these stumps and from these the villagers grew back a forest which helps the soil, reduces carbon in the atmosphere and provides shelter.
Another tale is of Wangari who stood up to her government in Kenya where forests were being cut down. Eventually the Green Belt Movement took hold, planting over 50 million trees, while a young girl sat in a Redwood Tree in California for two years to stop its destruction, so each chapter gives information that is fascinating and enthralling, while paralleling that information with a human story of someone making a difference.
Within the chapters too are full page information sheets about one aspect of the forest: Brazil nuts and Fig trees, for example, while web addresses are given to encourage children to find out more, and specifically, how they can help. A Glossary, Reference list, Index and page of puzzles round off an absorbing book, one the I can imagine will be picked up by kids eager to learn more and help save the trees.
Detailed illustrations greet readers on every page, highlighting the themes of the chapters, adding to the environmental message of the text, and adding eye appeal to the ideas presented. I particularly enjoyed the images of what lies beneath the surface, seeing how the roots travel and make a difference.
Georgie Carrol's nursing experience with patients and also the health systems of both the UK and Australia has become the basis of her humour, her stand-up routine, and now her book.
There are keen observations along the way, in particular Georgie's take on allied health carer workers, doctors, administrators, her kids, and Steve (her husband). We become very knowledgeable about some parts of his anatomy.
Much of the health care jargon is explained. This may or may not be reassuring if you find yourself in a hospital bed either listening to it spoken, or taking a sneak look at your notes located at the bed's foot.
Georgie's experiences have exposed her to birth, death and the bits in between, all of which are celebrated with humour and wisdom. There is something comforting about her writing that makes you feel not alone despite the heartache that we all must feel at some time during our lives. And after all is this not the job of being a nurse?
By the end the book the reader should be much more appreciative of the burden nurses carry and hopefully more tolerant when stuck in an emergency department waiting for medical attention. There is good news associated with being left till last. Read the book and you will find out why.
Robert McNair
Themes Comedy, Nursing, Health system, Compassion.
Every second Tuesday is a collection of stories by a group of four writers that could be loosely described as a novelist, memoirist, poet and short story writer but whose work frequently overlaps those genres. The volume collects short stories and poems, often in contrasting pairs, so we have the memory of a family farewell followed by a poem about the new girl in the class; the traumatic struggle of a premature baby like a 'startled, scrawny chicken' followed by a poem revelling in the 'buttery skin of a new-born'; the story of the angry office worker about to explode, followed by the poem about the man trapped in his head, found dead in the forest. They make interesting comparisons of how stories can be picked up from different viewpoints and given expression in genres that add another dimension to each theme.
The volume includes the collection of five pieces written to commemorate the Armistice Day Centenary. One tells of the discovery of a grandfather's memoir of his time as a WW1 casualty doctor encountering the carnage of mutilated bodies; another story describes the struggle of a granddaughter to reconcile her memories of a playful grandpa with the horror of the war experiences collected in his diary; and then there are the more tender stories of a young soldier off to war, the painting of the nude Chloe his only experience of the opposite sex; and the club-footed Eddie awaiting the return of his beloved soldier brother. All are moving accounts that add to our understanding of the impact of war.
There are memories of childhood, recollected experiences, and overseas travel, the tense facing up to teenage thieves with knives, to a baby suddenly slipping over the side of a boat. There is the sharing of the pleasure found in the ordinary task of ironing, to the threatening suspense of 'The interrupter'. All in all there is an amazing variety of snippets of life contained in this slim volume that make for compelling reading.
Themes Grief, Loss, War, Relationships.
Helen Eddy
Infinite country by Patricia Engel
Simon & Schuster, 2021. ISBN: 9781398507142. (Age:Young adult, adult) Recommended.
Talia is being held in detention facility for girl offenders after lashing out at a man who had casually killed a cat by pouring boiling liquid on it. She instigates a dramatic escape from the facility as there is a plane ticket awaiting her from Bogota to the U.S. to join her mother and siblings. The fifteen year old's country, Columbia, is a violent place where a "nameless and tentacled war" (pp. 15) has been waged for years, where fear and danger are never far away and families like Tahlia's struggle to make a living. That is why her mother and sister Karina have made the journey across the border to find safety, better paid work and opportunity in the U.S. She sends home money to help support Talia and her grandmother's laundry business. Even without proper papers, what they earn in a week in the U.S. is more than they made in a month back home. Mauro, Tahlia's father had also gone to the U.S. and a son, Nando, was born there. But Mauro was arrested for a minor traffic infringement and was deported back to Columbia as "undocumented", having overstayed his visa. While life in Bogota is difficult, it is Tahlia's home and she loves her father and grandmother and the traditional stories and the spiritual dimension to their lives. As she makes her way home, she experiences the dangers of travelling in such a corrupt and violent place but also she is touched by the little people she encounters just trying to live their lives meaningfully.
Tahlia's story will speak to immigrants worldwide, living in countries happy to have undocumented immigrants do menial tasks for little pay with no support, treated as enemy foreigners by their host countries. What they gain in financial security is balanced by the loss of their own spiritual home and families left behind. The author's own story is rooted in this one. She is part of the "United States of Diasporica" (pp. 129) and tells her story in the second part of the book. The third person narrative style is infused with beautiful descriptive language and the personal narrative in the second part is particularly insightful. Senior students will gain some perspective on the push and pull that drives "illegal" migration from poor countries to rich ones and the cost to families who make the journey.
Princesa Anita lives in her palace on the island of the Dominican Republic. She can see dragons over the rooftops of nearby houses. She knows that one day one of them will take her away, but until then she jumps from one cement roof to the next, going to the market and talking to people on her island. But the day comes when she and her family must leave, going to the airport to board the dragon. Her mother tells her of the good things about their new home: electricity to read at night without interruption, restaurants and a dryer. She bids farewell to the people who matter, particularly Abuela but she promises to send many photos.
This story of moving, relocating, of shifting houses will recall incidents in many students' lives, when they too were hesitant about the move their family must make. Anita's fears are reflected in her fear of the dragons she sees in the sky, dragons she knows take people to other places, away from their island. Despite Mum telling her of the good things they can expect after their move, Anita is still scared, and it is only when she realises that the whole family feels as she does, that they board the plane, ready to face a new adventure.
This is a disarming story of overcoming fears and facing up to change, as Anita leaves her beloved island where she has lived all her life to an unknown place far away.
The delightful illustrations give a flood of information about the Dominican Republic, causing me to check it out on a search engine, as I am sure others will too. The warmth of the family centred illustrations underscores the family's going away together, of the family supporting each other in this time when all are feeling wretched about leaving their island and those they love.
Several Spanish words are used in the story, (Abuela, arroz con leche, princesa for example) prompting readers to work out who they mean from the text, say them out loud and learn them.
This fantasy novel follows on from Wicked Fox and is best understood after reading the first book. This novel engrosses the reader in Korean mythology (focussing on Dokkaebi, Gumiho and JeoSeung Saja) having folktales interspersed between chapters. The reading pleasure is supported by a glossary and cultural notes.
Set in the present day, in Seoul, the novel explores the relationships between the four main characters (Somin, Junu, Miyoung and Jihoon). The story continues on from Wicked Fox with the main characters, Jihoon and Miyoung, grieving the loss of loved ones. In this sequel the characters of Somin and Junu are richly drawn as we discover the complex backstory that has formed Junu’s need to protect Somin, Miyoung and Jihoon.
This novel illustrates the ongoing effects of differing parenting styles as Kat Cho expertly integrates the mythology with the present day. These parental relationships are resolved and satisfy the reader who cannot help but be touched by the characters and their struggles. The threats of the supernatural to life, for individuals and the community, creates suspense throughout the story. The writing also contains violence. While most sits well within the realm of fantasy, one scene is graphically depicted and caution is advised for the inclusion of this book in school libraries.
The nature of love (romantic, maternal, paternal, platonic and unconditional) is linked to kindness and forgiveness. It offers the reader the opportunity to experience the various stages relationships as an opportunity to reflect on the attitudes taken between characters throughout the writing.
Trigger alerts: grief, death, violence.
Themes Grief, Supernatural, Korean Mythology, Romance, Betrayal.
Lovers of fantasy are in for a treat with the latest offering from Lynette Noni, author of the wonderful Whisper series. Kiva Meridan is 17-year-old and has been imprisoned in Zalindov, a terrible prison, for the last 10 years. After the death of her father, she has worked as the prison healer while waiting for her family to come and rescue her. When the Rebel Queen is captured, she is instructed to keep her alive and the only way she can do this is by facing the Trial by Ordeal in her place. If she can master the deadly challenges of air, fire, water, and earth, then she and the Queen can go free. Helped by another prisoner, the charismatic Jaren, Naari an enigmatic prison guard and an ever-optimistic young boy Tipp, her courage and intelligence will be sorely tested.
I found it very difficult to put The prison healer down. The world building is intricate and the prison, its forbidding walls, the fate of the prisoners and the cruelty of the guards, is all vividly described and memorable. The tension leading up the Trial by Ordeal was breath-taking. It was impossible to imagine how Kiva would survive the trials as well as the cruelty of the prison. While trying to keep the Rebel Queen alive she must attempt to solve the mystery of the plague that is sweeping the prison, desperately formulating theories about what is causing it and how she can save the prisoners.
Kiva is a strong, determined young woman who keeps to herself. Tipp's positive outlook brings a light into the grimness of the prison and he manages to get under her skin, even though she is determined not to let herself care for anyone. Jaren and Naari prove themselves worthy sidekicks, while the head of the prison is suitably detached and wicked.
The prison healer is sure to be popular with its easy-to-read style and interesting characters. And that cliff-hanger ending will ensure that the next in the series is picked up. An interview with the author can be found here. Fans may like to go onto the more complex historical fantasy Courting darkness by Robin LaFevers.
Themes Prisons, Trials, Survival, Dissent.
Pat Pledger
The gaps by Leanne Hall
Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922330482. (Age:Young Adult) Highly recommended.
Yin Mitchell was there and then she was gone. No one knows what happened to her except that she was taken by someone who has taken other girls before. They call him Doctor Calm…
The Gaps, by Australian young adult author Leanne Hall, is very on trend. In a true crime-obsessed literary and dramatic culture, the book features the tragic abduction of a teenage school girl from her home. However, unlike many books with this theme, the plot is not about discovering what happened to the missing girl or who is responsible for taking her. It does not feature an intrepid teenage detective who through grit and tenacity is able to discover what has happened to her friend. That is, surprisingly for young adult crime fiction, left to the police.
Instead, The Gaps focuses on the girls left behind; the friends, classmates, family, school and local community that has to learn how to grieve and cope with such a devastating circumstance. Hall focuses on the after effects, consequences and repercussions of Yin's abduction. The book alternates between the perspectives of two of Yin's Year Ten classmates. Chloe is the new scholarship student at the elite Balmoral Ladies College who did not really know Yin but remembers how kind she was to her. Natalia was Yin's childhood best friend and once closer to her than anyone else but after avoiding her for years, she is wracked with guilt and anger.
The Gaps is a riveting but at times difficult read and the book is more suitable for older teens. However, while the overarching themes may be dark, Hall still manages to convey the hope and potential of young womanhood. The Gaps is a topical and important read, particularly in light of the recent focus in the Australian community on the rights and safety of women and girls. Teaching notes, Book Club notes and a video are available from the publisher.
Superstar is number three in the Carly Mills Pioneer Girl series by Jane Smith. Like all the books in the series, it is a time-travelling adventure where contemporary tweenager Carly Mills travels from present day places in Australia back to the times of significant women of the past. In other books in the series Carly meets Caroline Chisholm, Dr. Lillian Cooper, Florence Nightingale and Amelia Earhardt. In Superstar, Carly and her friends time travel several times from a school choir trip to Melbourne back to the late 1900s/early twentieth century to meet both the young and the grown up, world famous opera singer Dame Nellie Melba.
The books in this series blend fiction with history to bring history to life for younger readers. The books, being short reads with large print and simple vocabulary, should be attractive and accessible to the reluctant reader. The stories are fast paced and full of action and dialogue. The chapters are short and punchy. The illustrations, by Pat Kan are simple pen and pencil sketches. The cover is reminiscent of the graphic novel illustration genre.The stories are based on true stories of inspirational women.
The Carly Mills Pioneer Girl series would be a useful addition to school libraries as it provides in its simplicity combined with solid historical facts, a pathway for less able readers to access history. The series would be a helpful inclusion in a list of resources for Year 5 and 6 History in the Australian Curriculum where Colonial Australia and Federation are studied because they would cater for differentiation for less able readers. An important aspect of the History curriculum is the understanding of perspectives. This series will be helpful for students who wish to explore the female perspective.
Recommended.
Themes Pioneer women of Australia.
Wendy Jeffrey
Rowley Jefferson's awesome friendly spooky stories by Jeff Kinney
Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories joins the ranks of Jeff Kinney's Awesome Friendly series which follows the phenomenally successful Diary of a wimpy kid series.
As with all of Jeff Kinney's books, this book will walk off the shelves to be enjoyed by primary aged children, particularly boys. Characters include Rowan, Gabe, Jasper, Anders, Gunther, Rafe and Robbie (mostly boys) and the situations are typical childhood scenarios and feature daredevilry. This time the action occurs in the intersection of daily school and homelife and the spooky realm of ghosts, vampires and zombies.
The narrator is removed - a storyteller. The stories follow the comfortable story formula . . . "There was once . . . and usually there is a twist to think about at the end. These stories deliver life messages in a humorous manner. Messages include being true to oneself, not taking pranks too far, making mistakes, making the right choices, not asking too many questions, accepting difference and being happy within one's own skin. The messages are only arrived at after the hilarious consequences of wrong choices are experienced; certainly though, Kinney is not "preachy." The reader receives the message naturally.
Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories is in large print with fun cartoon images - at least one/page, simple vocabulary presented on lined paper with the font suggesting that a young boy is writing in his journal. Although there is naughtiness, there is a sense of right and wrong, making these books acceptable to adults; the fun is harmless.
Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories is particulary accessible to reluctant readers as it features short stories. A child can read any story in any sequence. The stories are comically spooky and often end with a twist.
A perfect read for hooking in reluctant readers from aged 7 through the primary years.
