Faber Children's Books, 2012. ISBN 9780571282890.
(Age: 12+) Recommended. Sixteen-year-old Adelice is a Spinster.
This means she can weave time and matter, but she is more talented
than most girls her age. Since a young age, her parents have forced
her to hide her talent, because the girls who are best at weaving
time and matter are taken from their families and forced to join The
Guild, where they look after the day-to-day matters of the world.
They live a secluded, lonely life and are never allowed to see their
families again. Everyone at The Guild has secrets, but Adelice is
about to uncover the deadliest one of all.
Crewell fits comfortably into the popular genre of teenage dystopian
fiction. It has futuristic technology, an oppressive government and
a whole differently styled world. It's fairly well-written, and the
world and characters are well-developed, with a realistic, though
fantasy style about them. Although the book may be slow to start
with, as it delves into more action it becomes more exciting.
It's an interesting, futuristic dystopian novel, with a
highly-developed world and characters.
I recommend this book.
Rebecca Adams (Student)
Fever by Lauren DeStefano
(Age: 14+) What if you know exactly when you would die? After fleeing from her forced marriage, 17 year old Rhine Ellery starts the long journey home in hope to be reunited with her twin brother. But the journey might be longer than expected, as Rhine and her fellow escapee and lover, Gabriel, stumbles onto a twisted carnival where all is not what it seems. The bizarre ringmaster plans to turn Rhine into her star attraction while Rhine's sinister father-in-law, Vaughn, is determine to bring her back to the mansion by any means necessary. But in a world where time is precious and women die at 20 while men die at 25, can Rhine and Gabriel escape the ringmaster and Vaughn in time? This novel follows on from Lauren DeStefano's first book, Wither, where DNA technology has been used to cure all diseases in the first generations but at a great cost . . . all children from the first generations die at a premature age. While the human race struggles for survival, the rest of the world is dying around them, while they come up with a possible cure. Fever has the same easy flow as the first book while being fast pace, keeping its readers capture until the very end. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in biological science or just looking for a great book to read. I can't wait for the final instalment of The Chemical Garden Trilogy and well done to DeStefano for writing such a wonderful trilogy. Lauren Pfeiffer (18 years old)
Barefoot kids by Steve Hawke
Fremantle Press, 2007. ISBN 978 1920731533.
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Environment, Aboriginal themes.
Written after living in the Kimberley for 15 years, Hawke has
created a telling story of life for kids in the remote north west
Western Australia. A family group along with a few friends have
formed a local band, the Barefoot Kids, which plays in the
pubs and clubs. They get to hear of the local developer pushing
through plans for a resort at nearly Eagle Beach. This is an area
many people know and love, some more so than others as they are the
custodians of this particular piece of land, and have been given the
task of looking after it for the next generations.
The story builds up as the developer and the local community, lead
by the kids, tries to stop the plans for the resort going ahead,
clash. Involved within this story is another of a stolen black pearl
which has a bearing on the fate of the land being sought by the
developer.
Rather neatly resolved, Barefoot kids is nevertheless a fascinating
story about Aboriginal people's struggles for their land, alongside
the non indigenous populations who see that the future of this pristine
site is at risk. The environment is beautifully presented, the
issues at stake tellingly told and the characters well developed,
making this a good read which will enable its readers to have a
sound grasp of the issues involved.
Fran Knight
Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman
Bloomsbury Childrens, 2012. ISBN 9781408828205.
(Age: Mature secondary - adult) Highly recommended. Shortlisted for
the Man Booker Prize and now embraced by young adult readers, Pigeon
English pays homage to a young boy who author, Stephen Kelman,
heard about on the London news. This boy was stabbed and killed.
Kelman lived on a similar rough estate and has crafted an authentic,
chilling story from a melange of his experiences and a fictional
young protagonist. Eleven year old Harri is an exquisitely developed
character - we discover his honorable yet boyish personality and
background in expertly unfolded increments. He is an ingenue in
spite of his tough environment. He loves and protects his family,
takes God seriously, and his speech hints at his background.
Harri and his friend, Dean, act as detectives to find the dead boy's
killer. They observe others on the estate through Harri's new
binoculars, ask questions and take fingerprints with Sellotape. No
one expects that the police will have any success in such a place.
Life at school and on the estate provides rich, although often
hard-to-stomach, verisimilitude. Young boys spit and mess around;
older boys play much harder games. Harri likes beautiful Poppy and
becomes her boyfriend. He is relieved he doesn't have to kiss her
after practising with his older sister's hard-as-nails friend,
Miquita, or burn her like Miquita's boyfriend does to her. He just
has to be himself and make Poppy laugh to keep her happy. Moments of
humour, as well as the joyful depiction of Harri, especially when he
runs, keep much of the book hopeful.
The writing style expresses the grittiness, as well as the uplifting
qualities of this novel. Parts in italics show a pigeon's 'bird's
eye'perspective. Harri and the pigeon seem to share a bond. This
element increases the value of the novel for close study in senior
English classes. Pigeon English is one of the most
unforgettable, although shocking, YA novels of the year.
Joy Lawn
Editor: The back cover states explicit content.
Puberty Blues by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette
Text, 2012. ISBN 9781742759289 Puberty Blues is a book about how far teenagers will go to
fit in. Deb and Sue, the main characters, don't once do anything
because they actually want to; everything they do is in order to be
popular. Every move they make, from sunbaking, to smoking, to sex
and drugs, is done in order to fit in. The characters don't once
question whether they want to do something: if it will make them
more popular, they do it, like robots on autopilot. If you like a
book which shocks and disturbs you, Puberty Blues is for
you. Or if you think that your peer group is pretty mean when it
comes to peer pressure, have a read of this, it'll make your group
look like pussy cats. There is a big part of me, in fact it's the
part that goes from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, that
wishes I'd never read this book, but sadly I'm sure there are a lot
of teens out there who will relate to it and feel less alone in
their soul-destroying struggle to become, or stay, popular. To these
teenagers I say, popularity isn't worth it. If your group is mean,
don't read this book, just don't hang out with them. Popularity
isn't worth ruining the rest of your life for.
Rachel Brabin
Editor's note: Puberty blues was first published over 30 year ago. Text
Roald Dahl's marvellous joke book
Ill. by Quentin Blake. Puffin, 2012. ISBN 9780141450355.
(Age: 7+) Humour. For those kids for whom Roald Dahl is the ant's
pants, or for those just wanting to read out or learn to say a pile
of very funny jokes (for middle primary people that is) then this
will be a hit.
'What did the bee say to the other bee? It's none of your buzzness!'
And another 110 pages or so of similar jokes to get the kids
laughing in the library, at home or in the classroom.
The jokes will introduce kids to the idea of puns, and word play
with ease, and an astute teacher or parent will be able to use this
book to augment lessons and play time with language extension
work. The last few pages will give an extra treat to Dahl's fans,
with a list of his favourite things along with a 'passport' which
shows his characteristics.
And 'why are witches good at English? Because they are brilliant at
spelling.'
For those wanting a look at some of his other books, there is a list
of his published work in the front of the book which is exhausting
and references to books like The BFG at the back. A treat for his
fans.
Fran Knight
Zoe's Christmas list by Mick and Chloe Inkpen
Zoe and Beans series. Macmillan Children's Books, 2012. ISBN 9780
330 54405 4.
(Age: 6+) Christmas. Zoe has a Christmas wish for a doll in a box,
called Kyle Kurtz. She would really love this doll and so makes up
her mind to go to the North Pole to put her Christmas wish list on
the pole itself for Santa to receive. So they do. Along the way she
and Beans meet a baby polar bear and it tags along with them. They
eat their jam sandwiches, and have a few scrapes in getting out of
the water and ice. When they finally arrive, it is almost
Christmas Eve and so they wonder where Santa has been and what he
has left them.
Beautiful illustrations hold the reader's attention as the two from
the series survive in the hostile Northern Arctic. The book has a
page which opens out making it even more interesting to younger
readers. A definite read aloud, this will intrigue and delight
younger listeners as they see the trio survive the adventures that
befall them. The book will open up all sorts of discussions for
families and classes, Christmas, wish lists, the North Pole, polar
bears and how people survive in such a hostile place.
Fran Knight
One very tired wombat by Renee Treml
Random House, 2012. hbk., RRP $A$19.95. ISBN 9781742755786. Ebook
9781742749013.
'1 very tired wombat, settles down to sleep.The morning is
calm and silent; wombat doesn't hear a peep.'Until. .
. 2 curious curlews, 3 furtive frogmouths, and a host of other birds
come by and disturb the peace. Until there is one feather too
many . . .
Written and illustrated by an artist with an amazing eye for detail
and the ability to be accurate yet quirky at the same time, the
unique illustrations are what set this book apart from others about
creatures trying to sleep; from others about wombats; and from
others that have a counting pattern embedded in them. The
illustrations are 'created using a scratchboards covered in white
clay. The shape of each animal is then blocked out in black ink and,
when this is dry, Renee uses a craft knife to scratch in features
such as faces, fur and feathers'. It's very much the grown-up
version of scratching illustrations into a coloured card covered in
thick, black wax crayon.
The result is a unique picture book that works on every level,
including offering tidbits of information about all the native birds
featured in the story. Something different for your new year's
book display.
Barbara Braxton
Terratoratan by Mac Park
Boy vs beast. Battle of the mega-mutants. Scholastic/Pop and Fizz,
2012. ISBN 9781921931185.
(Ages: 7-9) Another in the Boy vs Beast series finds Kai Masters,
now a Border Captain having to fight mega-mutants in Beastium.
A prologue at the front of Terratoratan summarises the setting and
characters for a reader new to the series, which is aimed at young
boys, just beginning to read. Kai Masters is an intriguing hero and
here he has to assemble a team to fight the mega-mutants and find
ways to save the earth.
It is sure to appeal to its audience. It has large print,
illustrations that boys are certain to like, lots of gadgets,
science testing pest poo, pests making clones and other equalling
entertaining objects to draw the reader in.
Pat Pledger
The Voyage of the Unquiet Ice by Andrew McGahan
Ship Kings, 2. Allen and Unwin, 2012. ISBN 9781742378220.
(Recommended for 13+) We meet our hero Dow Amber at a dizzying
height on the mast of the battleship Chloe as he undertakes
seamanship tests in this second of the Ship Kings series. In The
Coming of the Whirlpool Dow left New Island to follow his dream of
seafaring in the age of sail. Now the alighting of an Ice Albatross
on the crossbars of the mast foreshadows good or bad luck. Dow's
confrontation with an ocean maelstrom had gained him respect and
Captain Vincente has taken him on board the Chloe to meet the Sea
Lord, Ibanez, on the huge floating city, the Twelfth Kingdom. From
here, Ibanez rules the other 11 kingdoms on Great Island. But
trouble is brewing as his son, Nadal, has departed 5 years hence to
discover the riddle of the North Pole and the Ice Wall but has not
returned, and the question of who will succeed Ibanez is pressing.
It is up to the Chloe to discover if Nadal is still alive.
They survive bitter cold to discover the secret of the Ice Wall and
the shifting chasm to the North Pole. They discover what had
happened to some of the earlier explorers and manage to return
almost home before disaster strikes. Dow is facing death on trumped
up charges but fate intervenes, and we leave him facing his next
battle in The War of the Four Isles. Will he reconnect with the
scarred scapegoat, Nell and will his rival, Diego, defeat him?
These swashbuckling books are unpredictable, imaginative and
beautifully written. There are adventures, battles, cannons,
violence, death, mystery, romance, betrayal and cataclysms. The
detail and pace may deter the younger readers but these books reward
those who persevere and adults will enjoy them as well. This is Boys
Own Stuff which girls, too, will love; I can see them as a movie or
TV series.
Kevyna Gardner
Vinni versus Bluebottle by Gerry Bobsien and Shane Von Westernhagen
Walker Books, 2012. ISBN 9781921720413
(Ages: 6-9) Recommended for newly independent readers. Vinni
is down at the beach trying to keep cool. When he spots a bluebottle
things begin to go wrong. He is thrown into a weird world where he
meets creatures from the sea and has to battle the giant Bluebottle
all the while trying to escape back to the beach.
Peopled with believable characters and a great dog, Vinni versus
Bluebottle evokes all the feelings of hot summer days, life at
the beach and the joy of exploring rock pools and cooling off in the
water. Vinni as portrayed in the memorable illustrations by Shane
Von Westernhagen is a solid young boy who is adventurous and
courageous. Cracker his faithful dog is intelligent and brave.
Readers will learn much about ocean life, bluebottles and rock
pools, but it is the adventure under the water that will appeal to
them. They will have fun imagining what it would be like to be
shrunk to a tiny size and to be the prey of a giant bluebottle.
Thrills abound as Vinni tries his best to work out a way to get back
to shore, making an underwater escape vehicle and chatting with
fish.
This is an exciting story that boys will really like but will also
appeal to girls.
Pat Pledger
Burning Blue by Paul Griffin
Text Publishing, 2012. ISBN 1922079146.
(Age: 15+) Burning Blue is a relatable, thrill and mystery themed
novel that is set in the first person of a young adult boy called
Jay Nazarro. Jay is a very intelligent computer hacker who is set
upon solving the mystery of Nicole Castro. Nicole was the victim of
a horrible acid attack that caused half of the most popular girl in
school's face to be burned and because of her high status this
creates a lot of suspects. Jay takes it upon himself to solve the
increasingly difficult mystery as two more girls get entwined in the
solving of the problem: Cherry, a local Starbucks waitress, and
Angela, a punk emo that Jay had encountered in the past.
With Jay's odd and twisted past and his mysterious dad he finds it
comforting to confide in Nicole who also needs a friend and
confidant.
This novel contains characters that are so easy to relate to that
when you put the book down you feel like you know them personally.
The writing technique is easy to understand and the way that Paul
Griffin has written his novel keeps the reader wanting to turn each
page and find out and solve the mystery. This novel is targeted at
an older audience; young adults and late teens would be well suited
to understand themes in this novel.
Sarah Filkin (Student)
Om Shanti, Babe by Helen Limon
Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2012. ISBN 9781847803573
(Age: 11 - 14) Highly recommended. This is a delightful novel on
many levels as a light touch of humour embellishes a story about
family, friendship and the environment. Whilst it is a deserved
winner of the 2011 Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices award, it is not a
didactic book for the many strands of the story are woven together
quite skilfully and with an entertaining flavour.
Cassia is lonely and unhappy and feels the world is against her. She
has lost her best friend before flying out to India and it appears
she is also about to lose her Mum to a new boyfriend. Whilst Cassia
thought that Bollywood had taught her all she needed to know about
India she soon learns that the reality of India is quite different.
One of Helen Limon's talents is that she allows the reader to both
laugh at Cassia but also to sympathise with her, as Cassia realises
that she has been so self-absorbed that she has not seen the world
for what it is, she has only seen her version of it.
It is delightful to read a novel for young teens where parents are
not conveniently absent, but rather are front and centre. Cassia
finds that both her parents and their friends can provide her with
support and guidance as she struggles to make sense of her world. As
the story unfolds, it is also telling that both Cassia and her new
friend, Priyanka, learn that mother-daughter relationships can cause
angst regardless of where you are born!
Frequent references to the Rumer Godden novel The Peacock Spring
add an extra layer to this witty and entertaining novel and
emphasise the substance beneath the surface. The candle factory
thread of the story may stretch the credibility a tad, but given the
intended readership, it adds a sense of adventure which seems
appropriate.
All in all, this is a charming novel.
Deborah Marshall
Skylark by Meagan Spooner
Random House, 2012. ISBN: 9780552565561.
Recommended for older readers, aged 15 and over. The teen fantasy
novel Skylark, written by Meagan Spooner, starts in the
deceptively well-ordered and apparently peaceful post-apocalyptic
world of the only remaining city on earth, a city surrounded by the
legendary Wall, the protective barrier created to stop the reputedly
dangerous horrors of the world beyond. Life for 16 year old Lark
Ainsley is far from ordinary, however; while most children dutifully
attend school and learn their lessons, awaiting their selection for
assignment to a particular occupation on Harvest Day, usually before
their twelfth birthdays, Lark is sneaking into the school through
the sewers to look at the Harvest Day names' list and wondering why
she hasn't been harvested yet. As she has been taught, like all the
other children, to fear the magical power of the Resource, she must
elude the copper mechanical pixies which can sense any use of the
Resource and capture those individuals guilty for Adjustment. But it
is on the day when she knows for sure that her name is not the
Harvest Day list, that her brother Caesar, a Regulator, arrives at
their parents' flat to announce that she has been selected for
harvesting on this Harvest Day list after all.
So begins Lark's journey into the Institute of Magic and Philosophy,
and her discovery that the reason why no-one ever explains exactly
what happens during a harvesting, except for the delectable,
enormous feast which follows it, is because their memories have been
altered by the Institute in their quest for continued power: an
unbelievably terrible truth about what harvesting really means. It
is what Lark learns in the Institute which shows her that her only
possible escape is through the Wall into the world beyond.
For experienced readers familiar with the dystopian fiction of some
of the great writers in English literature - H.G. Wells' The
Time Machine, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and
George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four or fans of The
Matrix film series - Spooner's new novel resonates with all
the distrust of any society, institution or organisation of people
which hides the true nature of their actions beneath a heavy cloak
of secrecy and polite social veneer. However, within the darkness of
a society which does not protect its children, but deliberately and
calculatingly steers them toward a hidden torture and a life of
unthinking compliance with what actually constitutes evil, the
character of Lark is a bright light, shining with the determination
that can only be born of great endurance through a terrible ordeal.
Although her escape is forced upon her under otherwise unthinkable
circumstances, her journey through the Wall takes her into a world
that is peopled with individuals who are far more human than the
monsters in her home-city: the very individuals who will help her in
her fight against the Institute and all it stands for.
Kate Hall
The Death Catchers by Jennifer Anne Kogler
Bloomsbury, 2012. ISBN: 9780802727978.
(Ages: 12+)4 stars. What a book! The Death Catchers is a
thrilling and captivating book about a girl named Lizzy Mortimer who
finds out that she has the power to save innocent lives and
intercept unnecessary deaths. With the help of her formidable
grandmother Bizzy they save three lives, including the life of Drake
Westfall, the last decedent of. . . Not telling! You'll
have to find out for yourself!!!
I really think you should read this book and I would like to
congratulate Jennifer Anne Kogler for her ability to make even the
hair on the back of my neck prickle with horror.
Lilly S. (Student)
