Reviews

The Genius Experiment by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein

Max Einstein book 1. Hachette, 2019. ISBN: 9781784759827.
(Age: 10-14) Highly recommended. Themes: Orphans, Gifted children, Inventions, Heroes and villains, Problem solving, Albert Einstein. James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein's The genius Experiment introduces twelve-year-old orphan Max Einstein, an amazing girl who lives by her own rules. She's squatting above the Central Park horse and carriage stables, attending college classes at NYU and supporting the homeless people who live in the building with her. She's used her home-made computer built from discarded parts to hack into the college's systems and add her name to classes she wants to attend. Max relies on Albert Einstein's wisdom to guide her decisions, and all her possessions are carried in a little suitcase filled with her mentor's quotes and memorabilia.
Two organisations are watching her every move, CMI - Change Makers' International and The Corporation filled with shadowy sinister people keen to use Max's genius skills for evil purposes. Typically, they are dressed in black and out to capture and control Max. After a brief time at a foster care facility, Max is rescued by her chess buddy Mr Weinstock and two CMI handlers and whisked off to Jerusalem. Before the flight, Max's able to rescue her suitcase, feed all her friends at the stables and is pleased when she learns they are to be taken to safe houses.
Max is guided by Einstein's wisdom, without any parental advice, she continues a constant inner dialogue seeking answers and advice. 'Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.' The mission of the CMI Institute is to solve some of the world's most serious problems using science. Eight other young geniuses and Max compete against each other to become the one chosen to lead a team tasked with solving these problems. What shines through is Max's ability to face new situations, creatively problem solve and see the world through her scientific understandings. Ever-present are the evil minions of Dr Zimm ready to capture the young girl.
The team's first mission involves a dangerous trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to rescue children forced to work in the cobalt mines. Max and her friends plan to set up solar energy panels in a village setting up an alternate industry. When the Corporation comes in to destroy their work, the young geniuses and their adult helpers stand up and save the day.
The Genius Experiment is jam-packed with exciting adventures, twists and turns, humour and empathy. Max Einstein is a wonderfully resilient individual who faces challenges head on, relying on her own abilities and forward thinking, making the most of her life. Endorsed by The Albert Einstein Archives, the authors have created a tremendous beginning to a new series.
Rhyllis Bignell

Muhammad Ali by Isabel Sanchez Vegara

Ill. by Brosmind. Little People, Big Dreams series. Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781786037336.
(Ages: 5-9) Recommended. Themes: Determination, Persistence. This is just one title in a huge collection of the Little People, Big Dreams series (including Stephen Hawking, Ella Fitzgerald and Coco Chanel). It is a great introduction to the life of Muhammad Ali, told simply but with honesty. It doesn't skirt around the controversial issues or provide a commentary on whether his choices were wrong or right. It just presents the facts of his life and the way he chose to live his life. It does present him as a champion, but not for because of what he stood for but simply because he stood up.
The biography is chronological, beginning with Ali's childhood in Kentucky and his motivation to learn boxing (someone stole his brand new bicycle) then progressing to his boxing career, his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War and his work for charities. We see as he takes his success in boxing and keeps dreaming bigger (from an Olympic gold medal, to world heavyweight champion). His incredible self-belief is illustrated through his rhymes (Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee).
The cartoonish illustrations work really well, especially in the boxing scenes, however, there is one double-page spread that cuts Ali's face in half and ruins what is otherwise a very poignant illustration. The bright colours keep things interesting and fun and the text is a perfect length: short enough to keep young ones engaged but with enough detail to be useful for school research for older children.
The real message in Ali's inspirational story is that he stood up for his beliefs no matter what it cost him personally and that comes through perfectly in this book. It also highlights that one can have a strong sense of self while also being self-sacrificing. This is a difficult to understand but important message for any young person today. Included in the back is a short photographic timeline and slightly more detailed biography.
Nicole Nelson

You must be Layla by Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Penguin, 2019. ISBN: 9780143788515.
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Themes: Identity, Diversity, Resilience, Moral values, Bullying, Humour. Layla is a very loveable character, full of fun and enthusiasm, highly intelligent, but a person who sometimes lets her spoken words run faster than her thoughts, and then she finds herself in trouble for being too brash. It's hardly a good thing on the first day at a prestigious new school, to put your teacher offside, apologising for yelling because you're used to deaf people, and going on to say elderly people could still be beautiful! Her first day is a disaster, and it ends up with her being suspended before she's even started, because she head-butts the school bully who happens to be the son of the Chair of the school board.
Layla's dreams of being an adventurer and amazing inventor, look doomed from the start. But she is not a person to give up at the first set-back. She knows that she can come up with a brilliant idea that will win the Grand Designs Tourismo competition and re-affirm her scholarship status.
There are some really lovely positive messages in this book: the value of an encouraging teacher, warm and loving parents who provide sound moral and spiritual guidance, the importance of standing strong with true friends, sharing laughter and fun. Layla continually strives to find the right path, find her inner strength, and respect the values of her Muslim religion. Amid the jokes and funny situations, there are some very poignant moments - of an Aboriginal teacher describing the oppression of her people, Layla's own Sudanese family facing racial discrimination, and the sadness of another child struggling with their sexual identity. The way that Layla thoughtfully considers these issues and tries to develop her understanding leads to overall messages that are very positive and life affirming, embedded in a fun easy to read novel.
The novel provides insight into the lives of migrants trying to fit into the dominant culture but still retain the cultural values and beliefs important to them. The daily Muslim prayer rituals are just a natural part of the events of each day, favourite traditional meals are relished, and common Arabic words and sayings are a part of the day-to-day family conversation, supported by a glossary at the end. These things are not the focus of the novel, they are part of the ordinary backdrop, the focus is the issues that all teenagers grapple with, dealing with problems and embarrassments, finding personal values, and trying to work out what they want to do in life. It is a really worthwhile book to offer young readers.
Helen Eddy

Circle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen

Shapes trilogy, book 3. Walker Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781406384222.
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Themes: STEM, Circles, Friendship, Humour. Inventors of the quirky books, Square and Triangle, this Californian duo have collaborated on another book, Circle. As with the others the simplicity of the tale is beguiling; a circle watches on each page, the size and shape of the eyes and the positioning of the iris giving clues as to how Circle is feeling.
He and his friends, Square and Triangle are playing hide and seek together. Circle outlines the rules, and warns them not to go behind the waterfall. Triangle is curious and asks why. They are told that it is dark in there, but Triangle asserts that he is not afraid of the dark. Readers will know that Triangle will not do as he is told, and eagerly prepare themselves for something a little scary to happen. Circle turns her back and counts to ten but when she turns around, Square is still there but no Triangle. Square reports that Triangle has gone behind the waterfall. It is then up to the brave Circle to follow Triangle and rescue him.
The following pages follow Circle's tentative search of the area behind the waterfall. It is dark and gets darker, and Circle calls out for Triangle in the gloom. Eventually they find each other, after bumping into something else in the dark, and they escape, meeting square at the entrance. All is well, a lesson is learnt.
Klassen's illustrations are pared back, using few colours to create the background of the game with friends. His delightful shapes with their big eyes and roaming irises distil the feelings of each of the three friends to the simplicity of the position of the iris. Readers will watch the iris with satisfaction able to tell exactly what the shapes are feeling and compare these with their own feelings as doing something they are told not to do, or being lost in a strange place or having a friend rescue you and welcome you back. Readers will marvel at the pages of black simply showing two pairs of eyes in the dark, laughing with recognition at their own fear of the dark.
Quirky and funny, Circle will be a hit with younger students, and initiate discussions in the classroom about following rules, mathematical shapes, fear of the dark and friendship. An activity kit for the series is available.
Fran Knight

The secret of the youngest rebel by Jackie French

The Secret Histories series book 5. Angus and Robertson, 2019. ISBN: 9781460754801.
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. Themes: New South Wales (1804), Australian history, Convicts, New South Wales Corp, Irish convicts, Castle Hill Rebellion. Young orphan, Frog, is barely surviving on the streets of Parramatta in 1804. Life for this orphan is spent stealing from wealthier inhabitants and giving those spoils to old Ma Grimsby. Ma Grimsby runs a shanty tavern where orphaned children sleep on straw and spend their time stealing from patrons who visit the tavern. If they do not bring home stolen items they do not eat. Life is tough until one day after stealing an apple pie, Frog is followed to a hiding spot and meets Irish rebel Mr Cunningham who talks of freedom from the corrupt and cruel New South Wales Corps. His passion enthuses Frog to join the rebels and follow them to Castle Hill. Unfortunately the rebels are betrayed and the resulting battle is a massacre. Frog manages to escape the soldiers by climbing a tree and is taken in by Barney Bean and his wife. There they discover the truth about Frog and after recuperating and learning to trust, Frog remains in the home of the Beans.
Jackie French has interwoven fiction into a period in Australia's history that has had limited recognition. It was a time when corruption, cruelty and poverty was rife. The Castle Hill Rebellion is not one of the well-known battles in Australian History and to this end the story gives the reader a powerful insight into the desperation faced by the oppressed.
Kathryn Beilby

Four dead queens by Astrid Scholte

Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760524418. 418p; p/b.
In a divided world where citizens of each quadrant must conform to strict societal expectations, outcast pickpocket Keralie accidentally uncovers a plot to assassinate the queens of the realms and must try to stop it. Scholte does an expert job of keeping the reader engaged, with compelling pacing and clever little tricks, for example a unique use of chapter titles.
As characters deal with the burden of upholding and enforcing outdated traditions, struggle to keep their secrets and hide their regrets, there's plenty for readers to relate to, especially younger readers dealing with expectations they're born into. The novel is appropriate for a variety of ages, with the only potentially worrisome content being mildly graphic depictions of violence. This does not mean more mature readers will be bored however, with a complex political plot to get absorbed into.
Fans of crime and suspense novels will find this one intriguing. It has new twists and turns leaving the reader hooked to the very end.
Vincent Hermann

The Skylarks' war by Hilary McKay

Macmillan Children's Books, 2018. ISBN: 9781509894949. 305 pages.
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Costa Book Award 2018. This book brings to mind the stories from earlier times. With shades of Jane Gardam's wonderful evocations of childhood, Sonya Harnett's The children of the king and Philippa Pearce's Tom's midnight garden, this wartime story tells of the loving relationship between three cousins growing up in Cornwall. Their summers leading up to the war are spent with fairly privileged grandparents; every day is a wonderful country experience. Once war comes, everything changes around them, and there is that deep sense of loss that now shadows their days. In particular, the reader learns so much about life at this time - domestic arrangements, boarding school accommodation, wartime communications, war service and essential volunteer work. Family dynamics are interesting with absent parents who still have high expectations of their children, and the young ones live with this day to day.
I really enjoyed this book. It is easy to connect to the children; their lives offer much to consider and Hilary McKay writes with a great understanding of childhood, aging and wartime Britain. She has previously won the Guardian Fiction Prize with The Exiles and the Smarties Prize for Exiles in Love.
Julie Wells

Ozzie goes to school by Jocelyn Crabb

Fierce fragile hearts by Sara Barnard

Macmillan, 2019. ISBN: 9781509852888.
(Age: Young Adult 15+) Recommended. Suzanne is an 18 year old who is trying her best to live an independent life. She has a lot to prove to her friends and family who feel she isn't quite ready to look after herself. Suzanne is now older and has finished her therapy, she is ready to move on. She believes going back to live in Brighton where she belongs, will be the best place for her. Suzanne is looking forward to being there with her best friends Caddy, Rosie and Kel. However, 'moving on' is not how she imagined it, her one room apartment is small and dreary, her closest friends leave to start university, she feels abandoned and alone. Lonely and struggling on the basic wage she earns from a coffee shop, Suzanne develops a warm friendship with Dilys, her elderly neighbour and her dog Clarence. Suzanne looks forward to her weekly visits with Dilys, she uses her washing machine to do her laundry and in the meantime they chat over cups of tea. For the rest of the novel Suzanne takes us with her as she struggles with her past abusive family life, her relationships with her brother, aunt and her new romantic interest, musician Matt. We witness her many moments of self-doubt and self-deprecation.
Sara Barnard has written this book as a sequel to Beautiful Broken Things. The characters in this book are as vivid and convincing as ever. These characters could easily be people one knows and has in one's life. Their interactions are real and natural, as friends, they are there for each other and they have their ups and downs, but they show up when things get really tough. I really enjoyed the way Sara Barnard gave us many examples of true friendships and how strong relationships can withstand some serious testing.
Most of all I enjoyed reading when Suzanne and Dilys were together, their friendship was beautiful, nurturing and life affirming. I loved that they had so much to offer each other in their unique ways, they learned so much from each other without imposing on each other. Those moments in the book were truly touching. Suzanne's relationship with musician Matt was also touching, I enjoyed the musical connections and liked the references to songs and music as chapter titles.
I recommend this novel for anyone over the age of 15+ as some of the content is mature and confronting. It is a book about mental illness and wellness, it is about trust and dependency and the changing nature of relationships.
4 stars out of 5.
Sandra Ciccarello

Long shot : my life as a sniper in the fight against ISIS by Azad Cudi

Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 2019. ISBN: 9781474609784.
(Age: Adult) As a Kurd living in Iran, Azad Cudi was acutely aware of being considered a second class citizen. Conscripted into the Iranian army, life became intolerable when he realised that Kurdish soldiers were being deliberately deployed against fellow Kurds. Sickened by the oppressive system and officers who manipulated Kurds to fight against their fellow countrymen and women, Cudi deserted from the army. A long and difficult journey followed and ultimately he was granted asylum in the United Kingdom where he gradually established himself. Sadly however he missed his family desperately and was fully aware that any communication with them would be monitored by the regime.
Eventually Cudi secured a position as a journalist in Stockholm covering Kurdish affairs. When the Syrian war developed in 2011, he felt compelled to join his Kurdish brothers and sisters in resisting ISIS which was intent on complete genocide.
Having skills developed during his Iranian military service, Cudi offered himself to the Kurdish resistance fighters who had almost no armaments or supplies. Selected for training as a sniper, he devoted himself completely to repelling ISIS jihadists from various places in the Kurdish region of Rojava, between Iraq, Syrian and Turkey.
Cudi's principal service took place in the Northern city of Kobani where he protected his comrades as a sharp shooter, covering their advances and endlessly scanning territory for ISIS infiltrators.
It is hard to image the conditions endured by the very few defenders who courageously occupied destroyed buildings and fought house to house against vastly superior numbers of extremely well-armed and supplied jihadists.
The behaviour of the ISIS militants was unnecessarily brutal. Not satisfied with taking territory, the infiltrators were proud of torturing their captives in the most barbaric, degrading and awful manner possible.
This is a grim book. The content is necessarily confronting in order to convey the desperate circumstances these Kurdish men and women endured and it speaks volumes that they were all volunteers, willingly risking their lives to resist maniacally bloodthirsty invaders.
Being unable to wash for months, suffering malnutrition from inadequate food and hiding in destroyed buildings would prompt the most hardened soldiers to retreat, yet these dedicated volunteers stayed. Their desperate resistance and sacrifice of many lives eventually prevailed and the survivors witnessed the Jihadists abandon the siege and flee for their lives.
There can be no avoiding the fact that Cudi's role as a sniper was to shoot human beings and he was extremely effective in that capacity, killing hundreds. In no way was he safe however. Every day and night he was targeted by opposition snipers and artillery. The relentless daily fight for survival had grave impacts on his physical and mental health, to the point where he had to be evacuated from the front lines as a broken man.
What is clear from Cudi's account however, is that he seeks to tell a story beyond his own. He guides the reader to appreciate the amazing Kurdish community which had developed a new way of life, celebrating gender equality and observing higher principles of care and respect for humanity. Cudi gives high praise to the female soldiers, many of them commanders who capably led their limited forces to drive the invaders out of their homeland.
For those who have returned to the region, there is hope that homes and community can be rebuilt.
Rob Welsh

Evermore by Sara Holland

Hachette, 2019. ISBN: 9781408359525. 368p; p/b.
In the sequel to Everless, Jules Ember is the last reincarnation of an ancient alchemist being hunted by the vengeful sorceress Caro. Despite being a sequel, the interesting fantasy setting explained itself well enough that it could be followed quickly. Chapters are paced perfectly, between their length and their contents, to keep the reader engaged without making them feel forced to continue by a cheap cliffhanger. Jules' struggle to push away people she loves out of fear she'll hurt them, and regrets over the resulting rash decisions add a relatable side to this fantasy story, drawing you closer to a sympathetic character.
Vincent Hermann

Pages and Co: Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James

HarperCollins, 2018. ISBN: 9780008229863.
(Age: 9-15) Highly recommended. Themes: Books; Reading; Literature; Fantasy; Adventure; Friendship. Pre-teen Matilda (aka Tilly) lives with her grandparents in the Pages and Co Bookshop - a place of mystery, adventure, fantasy and all the other genres as well. The mystery of her absent parents though continues to hang like a dank mist over her life, and some friendship dilemmas makes the 'missing of her mother' into a potent force in her life. When characters from some of Tilly's favourite books start to visit her in the bookshop a world of possibilities open up and adventures follow. Tilly's escape into books grows as bookshops and libraries and the great 'Underlibrary' are revealed as part of the magic of story and literature, and the ability to wander within a book, a skill for a select few, is revealed as a possibility. But there are risks! Fortunately, Tilly finds a friend in Oskar, the boy whose mother runs the cafe across the road, and together they piece together the puzzle of life as a bookwanderer and the mystery of Tilly's mother's absence.
This is an awesome book for lovers of reading. With references to many well-loved books and their characters, particularly Alice in Wonderland, The Little Princess, Anne of Green Gables and with side references to Sherlock Holmes and Pride and Prejudice, this is a book to be enjoyed by those who might already have encountered these classics. However, it may also be an entry point to encourage reading of these books. There are wonderful references to the joy of reading and the capacity for readers to become 'lost' in a book, albeit the author has taken this idea to the more magical extreme. I would think that this book could also make a good shared book as 'a read-aloud' by a teacher, librarian or parent. Getting lost in book together would be a wonderful experience!
Highly recommended for lovers of reading aged 9-15. It is simple enough for young readers, but also enjoyable for those who have always loved reading and may have read the classic stories referred to themselves
Carolyn Hull

The book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Illus. by Ian Schoenherr. Chicken House, 2018. ISBN: 9781911490579.
(Age: 9-14) Highly recommended. Themes: Middle Ages, Plague, Relics, Religion, Disability. Newbery Honor book 2019. It is the year 1350 and Secundus is a pilgrim who is on a quest to collect six relics, 'rib tooth thumb shin dust skull tomb', to put in the tomb of St Peter in Rome. When he meets Boy, a goatherd, he takes him away from the manor where he lives to help him to find the relics. Boy goes along hoping for a miracle at St Peter's tomb, making him a normal boy and taking away the hump on his back. There are mysteries for the reader to solve: Why does Boy give all his food to the animals that he can communicate with? And what is the strange smell that surrounds the key that Secundus uses to open all manner of locks?
Murdock brings her medieval world vividly to life for the reader who is taken through the empty villages and devastated countryside of France, each leaving a picture of the plague killing everyone and farms and houses being deserted. The religious beliefs that underlie every aspect of the period are also described in a matter of fact way as each relic is gathered, with both Secundus and Boy fervently believing that a miracle will happen when the relics are put in St Peter's tomb.
There is humour and pathos in Murdock's writing and it is easy to become lost in her world as Secundus and Boy take on often dangerous challenges in obtaining the relics. Her characters feel like real people with believable fears and dreams, and Boy's generosity and goodness is a delight to read. The woodcut-like illustrations at the headings of each chapter, particularly of the animals that Boy converses with, also add to the charm of the book.
This gives an excellent insight into the effects of the Black Plague and the place of religion in society in the Middle Ages and would be very useful for classroom discussion of Medieval times. However it is the uplifting thought of Boy's spirit that will remain with the reader.
Pat Pledger

Hotel Flamingo by Alex Milway

Piccadilly Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781848127753.
(Age: 6-8) Recommended. Themes: Girls, Animals, Hotels - maintenance and repairs. When Anna inherits the Hotel Flamingo on Animal Boulevard from her great aunt Mathilde she's in for a big shock. Dirty, dusty, with peeling walls, cracked windows and a broken revolving door and only two staff members left, the hotel has fallen on hard times. Anna is a determined girl and with the help of T. Bear the doorman (bear) and Mr Lemmy the lemur who manages the front desk, they start the mammoth task of fixing it.
'All this hotel needs is a little bit of love, and an awful lot of cleaning,' says Anna. With a little help from Mrs Turpington the turtle's three years in back rent, (she'd been hibernating in her room all that time), they are able to hire staff. Stella the giraffe is handy at maintenance, and fixes the revolving door in no time at all. Madame Le Pig takes over as hotel chef, a little fazed by the unusual diets of the animal guests.
Anna's ideas for revamping the hotel are wonderful; Stella paints the facade a beautiful shade of sea blue and all the staff help to make the hotel a bright and inviting place to stay. When a family of sea otters move out of the swimming pool pipes, Anna offers them free board in return for pool maintenance and life guard duties. Ms Fragranti's dancing flamingo troupe provides special entertainment for the guests on the special opening night. Even with a visit by the undercover hotel inspector, Anna and her team rise to the challenge.
Alex Milway's Hotel Flamingo is a gorgeous early chapter book, filled with delightful animal characters and fun cartoon illustrations. It celebrates teamwork, determination, creativity and accepting others - even cockroaches! Just right for a young reader beginning their novel reading journey. Read aloud to a class of Year 1- Year 3s and encourage them to write additional chapters, create and draw new characters and have fun with Milway's story. There are three more novels to come. What's next for Anna and her animal friends?
Rhyllis Bignell

Mallee sky by Jodi Toering

Ill. by Tannya Harricks. Black Dog Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781925381672.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Mallee, Drought, Farming, Australia, Country towns. The brilliantly colourful cover with its vast blue sky overlaid with pink clouds, including touches of browns and red and creams will entrance the readers as they take in the image of a mallee sky just before sunset. With trees outlined against the darkening sky, it is an image at once very familiar and yet drawn by an illustrator with a different perspective, the oils she places upon the page give an unusual freshness to something we all know so well. I marvelled as each page was turned, the strong sweep of images reflecting life upon the land for those who still farm the mallee, a place notorious for its mercurial weather patterns. Those who remain are the toughest of people, watching clouds roll over the hills, bringing nothing but dust storms, mum suddenly a whirlwind herself as she tries to get the washing off the line, and the windows closed before the dust gets there.
Towns along the highway are often just punctuated by silos, those small communities drying with the weather, people moving on, shops closing, teams disbanding, and yet some hold on. Dad watches his crops dry, his hopes fading, the ancient trees become ghosts of themselves, and then one day the clouds roll over and rain starts to fall. The children run out of school and dance in the water puddles, the birds fly back, the trees lose their crust of dirt, and the smell is breathed in by one and all. The drought has broken, under the mallee sky.
A beautiful and timely story to read with children, the towns along the highway are getting smaller as each year passes, highlighting the difficulty of making a living in this marginal land. But the sunsets are amazing, the landscape breathtaking and the wildlife astounding, the images in this outstanding book reflecting the emotional pull of this part of Australia.
Award winning artist, Harricks also illustrated Saxby's Dingo, using that same layered style, building up an image which defies the colours used. Teacher notes are available.
Fran Knight