Vintage Publishing, 2017. ISBN 9781911215127
(Age: Senior secondary to adult) Highly recommended. Themes: Crime
fiction, India, Historical fiction, Racism, British Raj. When
Captain Sam Wyndham and his sergeant Surrender-not Banerjee attend a
local prince who is in Calcutta for talks about cooperation between
the principalities in 1920's India, they did not expect to be
witnesses to the man's assassination. Surrender-not is mystified,
the prince was an acquaintance from school, and he must go to the
funeral in the principality of Sambalpore to ensure that he and Sam
can investigate further.
But the palace is not what they expect: no one can be trusted, least
of all the major in charge of the investigation, having already
seized someone as the culprit.
Wyndham's opium craving comes to the fore, clouding his judgement
and making him impatient and suspicious of those near to him.
His one time lover, Annie Grant is also in the palace, a guest of
the prince's brother, Punit, now heir to the throne, and Sam is able
to use her to get closer to the people he wants to question: the
women within the court closed to him, a white male.
These books make fascinating reading, recreating the India of the
Raj in the 1920's with a backdrop of unrest, of wanting the British
gone, of racism, the wealth of the principalities and the caste
system. The first in the stories introduced the former Scotland Yard
detective Sam Wyndham and his sergeant, Surrender-not, in A
Rising Man (2016) a duo with underlying tensions as
Surrender-not, the Harrow educated man of considerable depth and
knowledge is subordinate to the flawed Wyndham. Forays into the
zenana, the private world of the harem, a tiger hunt and splendid
dinner with the maharaja with a silver train on the table taking the
champagne to the guests, all add spice to this multi layered story.
For lovers of crime fiction, historical fiction, tales of the Raj or
simply a tale of the tension between the two main protagonists, this
is a treat.
I thoroughly enjoyed every word particularly the foreshadowing of
the eventual demise of British rule in India.
Fran Knight
All the crooked saints by Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic, 2017. ISBN 9781742767611
(Age: 15+) Recommended. Themes: Miracles. Music. A strange, lyrical
and ultimately uplifting story All the crooked saints
follows the fortunes of the Soria family, a family that has a saint
who can perform miracles for the pilgrims who come to Bicho Raro.
There is one catch, the pilgrims receiving a miracle have their
darkness made manifest but then they have to come to terms with it
before it disappears as a second miracle. In the Soria family are
three young people who want to change things: Beatriz wants to be
free to be an intellectual; Joaquin longs to be the Diablo Diablo of
the renegade radio station that he comperes and Daniel, the current
saint, wants to be with the pilgrim, Marisita, but is forbidden to
help her with her darkness.
Stiefvater brings her highly original take on this story, which was
slow to start for me, but as I became familiar with the family
members and the pilgrims who wanted a miracle, it gained momentum
and became a story that I think about often. Its message of darkness
that people have and how they must overcome it alone by themselves
will resonate with readers.
The three young main characters, Beatriz, Joaquin and Daniel are
very engaging, and every person in the ill-fated Soria family is
intriguing and captivates the reader's attention. The beauty of the
setting - the starkness of the desert - gives the story much
atmosphere and the reader is caught up in the tension of Daniel's
disappearance into the desert and fear for his survival. Music too
is so important to the plot ranging from the songs that Joaquin
talking as Diablo Diablo sends out on the pirate radio station, to
the lyrics that give back a pilgrim her voice. All the crooked saints is complex and demanding, but fans of
Maggie Stiefvater will not be disappointed with its rich themes of
redemption and star-crossed romance.
Pat Pledger
Incredible Floridas by Stephen Orr
Wakefield Press, 2017. ISBN 9781743055076
(Age: 15+) It is interesting to speculate about the historical
details, which may have inspired Stephen Orr to write this cleverly
constructed novel. Incredible Floridas is mentioned in a poem by the
revolutionary poet of the 19th century, Rimbaud. The Australian
composer Richard Meale wrote an instrumental piece by the same name;
a homage to Rimbaud. Peter Weir made a short film, also of the same
name, which encapsulated Meale and this music piece. So here is a
writer also drawn to the world of the arts, often intangible and
subtle.
The post-war Australian art scene forms the backdrop to the novel,
and the author himself suggests that the character of Hal's father
is based on Russell Drysdale. The reader senses this, when the
family and Roland's fellow artists discuss his paintings and his
depiction of figures and landscapes.
Hal is an inward looking boy, and this becomes clearer as his
parents observe him at school and with the jobs he takes on as he
moves into adolescence. Hal is frustrated that everything his father
looks at is in terms of a painting. Roland only very gradually
realises that his son is drifting dangerously. Ena, his mother, is
very concerned that Hal knows how to behave; yet she fails to
understand his misdemeanours, until it is too late.
Orr relies on dialogue to explore character; for this reason it is
difficult to visualise the surrounds. Is that important, though, in
a novel, which investigates the elusive?
However I enjoyed the numerous historical references to Adelaide; we
visit Thebarton, Maugham Church and Torrens Road; and the
well-researched fragments of domestic life in the 50s and 60s. These
ground the reader in real time.
Throughout, the story moves from the present to the past and back
again, but any confusion is avoided with cleverly constructed
dialogue.
Julie Wells
Mr Romanov's garden in the sky by Robert Newton
Penguin Books, 2017. ISBN 9780143309307
(Age: 12+) Recommended. I recall being most taken with Robert
Newton's earlier story entitled, When We Were Two. The story
of an unlikely friendship between two brothers, in search of a lost
mother, and a band of men off to join up for the Great War, was
moving and beautifully told. Mr Romanov's Garden in the Sky was inspired by an incident
witnessed by the author when he attended an emergency as a
firefighter. A young girl was left crying on a landing after her
mother overdoses. He wondered for a long time after what had
happened to both of them.
One day, young Lexie, living with her often absent mother in a
council flat, witnesses a dog being thrown off the apartment tower.
The Jack Russell belongs to the elderly Creeper, another tenant who
has a reputation for madness and for venturing out at night. Davey
Goodman also lives in the same block: an engaging and amusing
character. In time he and Lexie befriend the Creeper, and the three
form another unlikely friendship.
Lexie has dreamed of going to Surfers Paradise ever since she and
her late father talked about travelling somewhere exotic.
Predictably, the three set off on an adventure, but it forms a
wonderful tale, bringing life changes for each of them.
I really enjoyed this book. It is funny, poignant, and full of
memorable moments, and written with a great understanding of
childhood, aging and contemporary Australia. Teachers'
notes are available for this novel from the publisher's
website.
Julie Wells
Here we are: Notes for living on planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers
HarperCollins, 2017. ISBN 9780008266165
"Well, hello.
And welcome to this Planet.
We call it Earth.
Our world can be a bewildering place, especially if you've only just
got here. Your head will be filled with questions, so let's explore
what makes our planet and how we live on it. From land and sky, to
people and time, these notes can be your guide and start you on your
journey. And you'll figure lots of things out for yourself. Just
remember to leave notes for everyone else. Some things about our
planet are pretty complicated, but things can be simple, too: you've
just got to be kind."
Written for his baby son, Jeffers tries to offer an explanation of
this planet and how it works so that young Harland (and any other
little children) will be able to negotiate it successfully. Even
though this planet is a complex place, Jeffers manages to extract
its essential elements - there are basically two parts, the land and
the sea - and using direct narrative, his iconic illustrations and
simple labels he explores the concepts of the planet and the people
and animals who inhabit it. Huge ideas reduced to simple but
carefully chosen words that convey both explanation and advice.
"People come in many shapes, sizes and colours. We may all look
different, act differently and sound different... but don't
be fooled, we are all people."
Throughout there is the underlying message of choosing to be kind and
gentle to the land, its people and all its inhabitants, underpinned
by a quote from J.
M. Barrie; as part of the dedication page.
With so much emphasis on the environment in our school curricula
these days, this is the perfect book to create a child's awareness
of their surroundings beyond their immediate self. But there are so
many avenues that could be explored by posing questions such as "Is
there more land that sea?" or "If most of the land is at the top of
the planet, why doesn't the planet roll?" that could lead to
investigations by all ages. Here we are: Notes for living on planet Earth was the No. 1
New York Times Bestseller and voted No. TIME Best Book of the Year
for 2017. It's easy to see why. A must-have in your collection and
one to be recommended to teachers as the staple that underpins all
their lessons this year.
Barbara Braxton
Coco: The essential guide by Glenn Dakin
DK, 2017. ISBN 9780241288412
Hundreds of young people are going to 'Coco' the latest holiday
release from Disney Pixar, the story of a Miguel a young Mexican boy
who loves music even though it is banned in his family. On the eve
of Dia de
los Muertos, the night ancestors return to the Land of the
Living, a magical incident takes Miguel to the Land of the Dead
where he discovers a family secret that explains the ban.
While Miguel doesn't want to fight his family, music is his passion
and he needs to find a way to be able to express it in his home.
This new release from DK enables those young people to explore and
understand the movie more thoroughly as it introduces the settings
and the characters as it moves through the significant parts of the
plot. It even has a double-page spread which sets up Miguel's
dilemma - should he follow tradition or should he follow his heart?
One of the surefire ways to get young children to transition between
screen and print is to offer them resources that feature their
favourite screen characters so there is a feeling of familiarity and
connection already, and when those resources enrich and enhance the
screen experience as brilliantly as DK do, then they have to be
valuable. From the popular sugar skulls which decorate the endpapers
through to the vivid, full-colour illustrations, many using graphics
from the movie itself, through to the enticing layout, small
snippets of information in text accessible to the target audience
and a voice that talks directly to the reader, this is a book that
will extend the movie experience long after its 100 minutes on the
screen.
Common sense media offer a review
of this movie (and many others) so parents can determine if it is
suitable for their child.
Barbara Braxton
Forever Horatio: An actor's life by Edmund Pegge
Wakefield Press, 2017. ISBN 9781743054987
(Age: Adult) Despite obviously having leading man potential, Edmund
Pegge found a career for himself in being a supporting actor -
"forever Horatio, never Hamlet". However that career has been very
fulfilling and it was rare for him to be out of work. Forever
Horatio is Pegge's chronicle of all the amazing experiences,
and the interesting people and places he has been fortunate to
enjoy. Not everyone has to be the star - as Dame Judi Dench comments
"Where would the rest of us be without him?" Someone has to play the
other roles, and Pegge has clearly had a wonderful time in theatre,
in film, and in working with school students. Now he adds author to
his list of achievements. The book provides insight into behind the
scenes preparation, little anecdotes about famous actors and
directors, and much Aussie style self-deprecating humour.
Helen Eddy
Wilbur, Grace and Joe by Phil Cummings
Ill. by Amanda Graham. Little
Book Press, 2017. ISBN 9780994385284
Wilbur the dog is as much in love with the new twins Grace and Joe
as their parents. He becomes their furry, four-legged guardian angel
as he shares the exciting days and the sleepless nights as they grow
from newborns to toddlers with all that that entails.
This is a charming family story with a soft palette that emphasises
its gentleness and which families will relate to as a new baby
enters the world of a couple and their dog. A lovely bedtime story
for a young reader with a faithful dog who will want to know if
that's what their life was like too.
Barbara Braxton
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockheart
Allen and Unwin, 2017. ISBN: 9781760295936
(Age: 12+) Recommended. Jule is a liar. A liar and a thief. She's
gotten by on her wits and her strength defies female stereotypes -
something she is incredibly proud of. She is a dangerous woman and
she loves it. Chance leads her to Imogen, but it is her own guile
which keeps her by the heiress's side, quickly becoming one of
Imogen's closest friends, so close that Imogen lends her the London
apartment, not to mention clothes, money, and . . . identification.
But Imogen's light doesn't shine on any one person for too long and
soon it becomes clear that Jule must go into hiding to avoid
Imogen's other friends, boyfriend, and even the boy, Paolo, who
knows her by Imogen's name. Just when everything was going perfectly
it begins to fall apart and Jule is once again forced to rely on her
own resourcefulness to keep herself and her new life safe.
Power is a strong theme throughout the novel, purporting the message
that women can be just as powerful as men. Jule's power comes from
her unexpected physical abilities and use of her intellect. However,
the novel also shows that power can corrupt as Jule will go to any
lengths to retain the power gained through Imogen's wealth - even if
it catches the attention of local detectives and alerts Forrest,
Imogen's ex, of the possibility she might still be alive.
I would recommend it for people twelve and up looking for an
exciting story with a strong female lead in the style of James Bond
or Jason Bourne.
Kayla Gaskell
Hark, it's me, Ruby Lee by Lisa Shanahan
Ill. by Binny. Lothian, 2017. ISBN 9780734416568
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Humour, Responsibility. When the
teacher, Mrs Majestic-Jones hands out the tasks or the week, Ruby
longs to be the messenger, after all she can say Hark, it's me, Ruby
Lee, very well, and often. But she is always overlooked, getting the
task of being the rubbish monitor instead. One day the messenger is
away and so Ruby gets the job, but in taking what appears to be a
simple message to the front office, Ruby gets waylaid by her
incredible imagination.
Avoiding the speckled forcklewockle, she forgets the message. So Mrs
Majestic-Jones, gives the message on a piece of paper, but Lucy
loses this too when she and George meet the Squinker, then the
teacher gives the message to George who accompanies Lucy but still
it gets waylaid when they run into the shlurgle. Lucy has the
position taken away.
But that very afternoon, a pigeon flies into the classroom, and Lucy
uses her skills to save the day, with funny results.
A warm hearted look at a child's eagerness to help, Lucy's attempts
to do the work stipulated by the teacher seem to end in disaster,
but in the end her skills are used to advantage. Readers will love
the way she uses her skills to save the day, and the position her
teacher gives her as a result will make the readers laugh out loud.
The irrepressible Ruby will worm her way into readers' hearts as she
tries so hard to be useful. They will readily recognise the school
setting and the pitfalls of an overexcited imagination causing
lapses in concentration, but even this flaw in Ruby's world makes
her a necessary part of the class makeup.
Fran Knight
Dinosaur dash by Mo Farah and Kes Gray
Ill. by Marta Kissi. Go, Mo, Go! series. Hodder, 2017. ISBN
9781444934014
(Age: 6+) Recommended. Running, Dinosaurs, Adventure. Mo Farah,
Britain's most successful long distance runner, has worked with
author, Kes Gray to produce a series of books called, Go, Mo,
Go! in which Mo and his four friends find themselves in some
difficulty, and only by running can fin their way out. In this the
first in the series, Dinosaur dash, Mo and Vern, Lily, Banjo
and Lyra, decide to run backwards. They hold each other's hands but
find that by running backwards, have run back in time, to the
dinosaur era. Each time they turn around, they are about to be
trampled or eaten, squashed or flown away by one of the dinosaurs.
Young children will love reading about the dinosaurs as part of the
story which subtly gives information about the dinosaurs' size,
abilities and food they eat. Each time the quintet is found by yet
another dinosaur, they must run to get away. But in finding
themselves atop a mountain feeling safe, the mountain comes alive,
spurting hot lava out of its top, making them run again, but this
time, back home.
Easy to read, with an emphasis on running carefully added to the
plot and the added interest in the dinosaurs, this series will be
readily picked up by younger readers, particularly those who are
newly independent. They will feel at ease with the larger print,
different fonts underscoring the repeated words and phrases, the
many illustrations and readable amount of text on each page. At 70
pages long, this series is most accessible to newly confident
younger readers.
Fran Knight
Jek/Hyde by Amy Ross
Harlequin Teen, 2017. ISBN 9781489243768 Jek/Hyde is a modern retelling of the classic Stevenson novel
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Set in an
industrial town called London, the novel follows Lulu, a
seventeen-year-old who is worried about her best friend and crush,
Jek. Jek is insanely smart for the seventeen-year-old and because of
his mother's position at London Chem he has acquired enough
equipment to have a fully functioning lab of his own. As he grew
older his experiments became less and less family friendly and,
unknown to his mother, his interest in psychoactive drugs grew.
While Jek's science ensures he is a recluse this can be hard for
Lulu who has been pining for him since they were children.
But Jek isn't the only boy around and Lulu soon meets Hyde. He is
thrilling and dark. Completely anti-nice-guy. He's at all the London
Chem Brat parties but also seems to be a friend of Jek. Despite
their apparent friendship they are never seen together. After
catching Hyde emerging from Jek's place Lulu confronts Jek only to
find that, for once, this is not a subject they can talk about.
Hyde's mystery remains and when Jek disappears it's Hyde that Lulu
goes to to find him. But is she too late to save the boy she loves?
While this novel is a way to read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde in a modern setting its introduction of a love
triangle strips back the inner conflict of Jekyll and Hyde. While
the novel does touch on drug addiction it doesn't deal with it. I
wouldn't recommend other than as a more accessible version of the
original text.
Kayla Gaskell
I'll keep you safe by Peter May
Hachette, 2018. ISBN 9781784294946
(Age: secondary - adult) Recommended. Themes: Crime fiction,
Scotland, Outer Hebrides, Harris Tweed, Weaving, Fashion industry.
In the midst of the most important sales fair for his product,
Ramish Tweed, Rory Macfarlane is killed, blown up in his car in the
streets of Paris, with his lover, Irina Vetrov. His wife, Neave who
has accompanied him to the fair, is mind numbingly shocked,
especially when she is questioned as a possible suspect. She is
eventually allowed to leave Paris and return home to the Isle of
Lewis with a child's coffin containing what is left of her husband
of ten years, the man who as a teen saved her life, promising to
always keep her safe.
Upon return, she must put the funeral arrangements in place while
dealing with her always bitter mother in law while an old school
friend, Seonag, initially offering comfort outstays her welcome
after slipping into her bed one night. Neave's parents have refused
to attend the funeral, harking back to an incident which took the
life of their younger son, while the arrival of Lieutenant Braque
from Paris stirs the pot even further, with simmering tensions
between the islanders forming a fascinating part of the mix.
With Braque working with Inspector Gunn on the island, trying to
piece together some of the disparate clues, Neave returns home to
her beautiful house, built by the couple intending to live out their
lives there. Remote, but high on cliffs overlooking the ocean near a
small bothy they built for walkers, the house is a stunning part of
the backdrop to this novel, and it is to this house that Neave
returns after the funeral, there to unknowingly confront the
murderer, a murderer who has already killed Lt Braque.
As with Peter May's other stories, particularly the Lewis
Trilogy and Coffin Road, the setting is tantamount to the
story, the cold and bleak islands of the Outer Hebrides, a metaphor
for the windswept, barren relationship between many of the
protagonists. Readers will get a feel for the weavers in their
crofts, looking back to a time when most crofts had a loom and the
noise of its working would fill the days.
This is a highly readable and enjoyable crime novel, set in the
bleak Hebridean landscape. Full of the sights and sounds of the
people and their customs, language and traditions, I'll keep you
safe is a story bound to further enhance the numbers of crime
fiction tourists now visiting Scotland's shores.
Fran Knight
Margaret and David : 5 stars by Sandy George et al.
Wakefield Press, 2017 ISBN 9781743055137
(Age: senior secondary to adult) Recommended. Theatre, Film,
Critics. When Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton first aired their
new show, The Movie Show on SBS in 1989, no one could have
predicted that the show, now called At the Movies would be
aired on the ABC, or that the presenters, now simply called
Margaret and David by the world of film, would be icons. But their
obsessive knowledge of film and all of its variety has made them
household names and people are now bereft at losing their insightful
comments and commentary about many of the new films released.
It is no surprise that the 2017 Don Dunstan Award, given at the
Adelaide Film Festival was awarded to Margaret and David for their
extraordinary achievement and promotion of the Australian film
culture.
In this book, tributes are penned by many of the bright stars within
our film industry: Fred Schepisi, Geoffrey Rush, Gillian Armstrong,
amongst the nineteen contributors. Each is an outstanding
recognition of the pair, variously thanked for their promotion,
advocacy, criticism and support of film and the host of people who
make up the industry. Adolfo Aranjuez appreciates their ability to
'temper gut-based reactions with critical ones', Sandra Levy gives
the inside story of how Margaret and Dvid came from SBS to ABC, Josh
Pomeranz gives a child's view of growing up with Margaret, Jay
Weatherill loves the 'radically different takes on the films', Cate
Shortland was enthused seeing a woman debating film and being heard.
And Sandy George's contribution of a longer essay encapsulates the
work Margaret and David have done within the whole film industry.
Each writer's contribution in this engrossing publication verablises
for us all why we love these two film critics, evaluating the
contribution made by Margaret and David with love and admiration.
At the end of the book is a list of all the films to which they
awarded five stars, the same number of stars given to them for their
outstanding careers.
For students of film this will be a valuable resource and for the
casual reader a look into how the film industry reveres these
people.
Fran Knight
Close to the flame: The life of Stuart Challender by Richard Davis
Wakefield Press, 2017. ISBN 9781743054567
(Age: Senior secondary - Adult) As a child growing up in
Tasmania, Stuart Challender learnt the piano and the clarinet, but
it was composer and conductor Felix Gethen and his achievements with
the Tasmanian orchestra that inspired Challender and made him
determined to become a conductor himself. Studying first at the
Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and eventually travelling to
Germany to follow his dream, he endured the privations of a poor
student abroad. But his steadfast determination saw him follow his
path to a career as a talented conductor who was able to draw
something extra from orchestras in Europe as well as Australia. On
his return to his homeland, he worked with Opera Australia and the
ABC Sydney Symphony, and became a champion of contemporary
Australian composers, often providing a launch for new compositions
alongside well known favourites.
Despite being diagnosed with AIDS, Challender kept his illness
secret from all but his closest friends and continued to work until
the last. When his illness was finally revealed in the news, he was
amazed and deeply touched by the wave of support from family and
friends and the general public.
Reading this book, readers gain insight into the life of someone
whose path was not easy, but who was determined to follow his dream,
from a small town in Tasmania to the orchestras of Europe and
America; the story of Challender's life can be an inspiration to
others who want to follow a different path.
Helen Eddy
