A Literature Companion for Teachers by Lorraine McDonald
A Literature Companion for Teachers by Lorraine McDonald Primary
English Teachers Association Australia, ISBN 9781875622863.
192pp., pbk RRP $A42.95 (non-members); $A32.70 (members)
In the foreword to this book, Associate Professor Alyson Simpson
says, 'A companion is someone who travels with you; a guide who has
gone before and therefore knows how to prepare you for the journey
and what to highlight on the way. This companion text shows you the
way to travel in the literary landscape, providing signposts for you
to look around with increased awareness but also stepping back so
you can make your own discoveries.' That statement perfectly sums up
this professional text which explores the English strand of the
Australian Curriculum, particularly the Literature substrand.
Starting with a section on the value of narrative for children and
young adults and the types of literary texts that our students
should encounter, the author (an academic at ACU, Sydney) shows us
how to navigate the literature requirements of the Australian
Curriculum through information, ideas, insight, examples, questions
and tasks that provide a very sound map for the journey. 'It
presents literary writing as both an 'art' and a 'craft' and
explores aspects of the 'craft' of writers' 'artistry'.' (p6)
For example, it explores the importance of the context - historical,
cultural and social - of a text so that as teachers we have that
fundamental knowledge to share with students, and this is supported
with examples of texts, suggested questions to interrogate it,
including sample responses and evidence, as well as tasks that
students could undertake to develop their own understandings.
Subsequent chapters address responding to literature, examining
literature, creating literary texts, figurative language, poetry,
reading and viewing picture books, and literature in a digital age
and each has the ACELT outcome and year level clearly referenced.
While its key focus is the literature strand, the language strand is
interwoven to enable us how to show students how literary language
constructs meaning and how literary texts provide models on which
they can build. Similarly, the tasks which focus on critical
analysis, structured conversations, close reading and guided writing
mean that the literacy strand is also prominent.
This book is going to be the basis on which the leaders of The FIRST
Book Club will base the tasks for students to complete, and
while these will be based on the outcomes for Year 5/6, it would be
an excellent platform for the program of any teacher librarian or
classroom-based teacher from K-10. It is one of the few titles
I've encountered where the contents live up to the blurb on the
back, and which won't just sit on the bookshelf unopened. It
is more than a companion - it is a valued and valuable friend, and
my copy is well-thumbed already.
Barbara Braxton
The People Smuggler by Robin de Crespigny
Penguin, 2012. ISBN 9780670076550.
Recommended for senior readers. At the time of writing, Ali Al
Jenabi is living in Sydney on a Removal Pending Bridging Visa, which
allows him to live here until Iraq is deemed safe enough for his
return. The People smuggler is the story of his life up to this
point. He grew up in Iraq under Saddam Hussein; his father was
arrested and tortured in front of him as an Islamist; he and three
of his brothers were also tortured and spent years in gaol. In 2012
one brother was still imprisoned despite regime change in Iraq. Ali
became responsible for his family and earned money in a variety of
ways, including as a tailor. For a short time he was supported by a
dissident group in the Kurdish area of Iraq. He eventually escaped
into Iran and Turkey, and then Indonesia after hearing about asylum
in Australia. He found the situation for refugees to be unorganised,
and United Nations support to be non-existent. To earn money to help
his family escape he organised boats to carry groups of people to
Ashmore Reef. In return they paid him what they could and he used
that money to buy boats, pay for accommodation and bribe swathes of
officials, including immigration and police. He was a people
smuggler. Betrayed many times he was eventually arrested and tried
in Darwin. He served a gaol term and then was put in detention as an
asylum seeker. In his sentencing comments the judge at his trial
compared him with Oskar Schindler, the German manufacturer who saved
some Jews from the Holocaust, in that he acted for his family and
did not seek to make large sums of money. Some may disagree with
this. However, this is a story of almost unbearable suffering,
betrayal and determination. The use of the first person voice and
the present tense can be annoying, but ultimately the reader is left
feeling grateful that we live here but baffled and angry about our
attitudes to asylum seekers.
Jenny Hamilton
Daisy and the puppy by Lisa Shanahan and Sara Acton
Scholastic, 2013. ISBN 9781742830513.
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Picture book. Pets. Who hasn't had the idea
of getting a pup brewing within the family? That need is behind this
lovely picture book, beautifully told by Shanahan with matching
illustrations by Acton, which will readily tug at the heart strings.
Daisy and her family go to the pet shop every Saturday and look at
the pets. A whole range is offered, but Daisy wants a pup. So
decided is she that she begins to act like a dog, she sleeps
in a wicker basket, adds a tail to her backside, howls at passing
ambulances and fire engines, and washes all the dogs in the
neighbourhood.
Eventually she wins and the family brings home a pup from the pet
shop. But the youngest sibling is not so sure about the puppy in the
household, and several scenes are played out where the
addition of the puppy may be reversed. A funny and neat resolution
to the problem occurs which will brings smiles to all faces.
The charming illustrations, in gouache and watercolour, sweep
easily across the pages, flowing with the movement of a young
family, adding a substantial background to the already endearing
story. A few seemingly simple lines create the faces of the family,
and the pup's movements are beautifully captured with blobs of grey
watercolour, corralled by line drawings. The small things of a
family's life are scattered across each page and the intimacy of
sleeping, bathing, shopping together, all given an outing that
children will love to see.
Fran Knight
Arkie Sparkle series by Petra James
Pan Macmillan Australia, 2012.
Arkie Sparkle 3 White Fright. ISBN 9781742611259.
Arkie Sparkle 4 Treasure Hunter. ISBN 9781742611266.
A recommended series for
primary school. Arkie Sparkle continues her search to find another treasure in a
different continent. She has to succeed in her task in order to save
her parents who have mysteriously disappeared. Yet Arkie Sparkle is
not alone in her quest for she has the help of her brilliant cousin
TJ and Cleo a basset hound.
In White Fright Arkie must travel into the Arctic Circle to visit
the Doomsday Vault, a real life storage facility for seeds from
around the world. It is during her near miss capture inside the
vault that she meets a surprise character and ends up too close to a
very hungry polar bear.
In Ruby Red, Arkie and TJ had to gate crash a party for the
notorious pirate, Blackbeard in order to steal 'The Black Prince's
Ruby'. Things do not go as planned as pirates don't take too kindly
to discovering spies in their midst.
Each book continues the excitement with Arkie and TJ tracking down
the latest treasure and getting out of tight scrapes. The covers and
format are all similar and easy to recognise. At the end of each
novel, relevant true facts are listed as well as a teaser to keep
the suspense going for the next book. With about 100 pages, these
are an easy read for 8 to 11 year olds. A recommended series for
primary school.
Jane Moore
Nora's chicks by Patricia MacLachlan
Ill. by Kathryn Brown. Candlewick Press, 2013. ISBN 978 0 7636 4753
7
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. Picture book. Friendship. Belonging.
Migration. When Nora and her family move from Russia to take up
farming in the American prairies, life is very different from the
life they left behind. Father has his work, mother has her colourful
house, even her baby brother Milo finds a stray dog to adopt, but
Nora is alone. She misses the hills and trees of Russia, her family
and her friends, until one day father brings home a dozen chicks and
2 geese. Nora adopts them immediately, disallowing her father's idea
that they be raised to eat. The birds follow her everywhere, even to
church, and it is after church one day that she finds one chick is
missing.
A neat resolution saves the day and Nora finds a friend in the girl
on the next farm through her chicks.
The sweeping prairies are beautifully drawn by the illustrator, and
bring the vastness of the new land home to the reader. Small things
dot each page reminding us of the isolation of these people, and of
the new life they have chosen to live. That the new arrivals have
come from a vastly different setting is made clear through mum's
pictures on the wall, and the few treasures they were able to bring
with them. Their clothes show them to be different as do their head
scarves and even the way they tie their hair. Details such as these
cry out to be noted and discussed.
This is the story of all who set out to make a fresh start, a new
beginning, finding comfort in the new, making friends and overcoming
loneliness. It is the story of so many of us, and all readers will
find something in the story to identify with and feel part of.
Patrician MacLachlan is the author of the beautiful, Sarah plain
and tall, a Newbery Medal Winner in 1986, which was made into
a film.
Fran Knight
The Mountain by Drusilla Modjeska
Vintage Books, 2012. ISBN 9781741666502.
(Age: Senior secondary - adult) Highly recommended. Papua New Guinea
is often overlooked by Australians in spite of its geographical
proximity and close historical and political ties. Australia was the
colonial administrator whose influence the inhabitants tried to
throw off at Independence. However, the links between the mountain
men and Australian soldiers in WW2 have become further immortalised
by the increasing tourism to the Kokoda Track.
The (fictitious - but representative) mountain of Drusilla
Modjesta's title is set not far from Kokoda on the largest island of
New Guinea. Europeans Rika and Leonard lived in Port Moresby during
the late sixties and early seventies. As an anthropologist, Leonard
spent time on the mountain and his film became a seminal account of
traditional life and its change caused by newcomers. Rika falls in
love with indigenous Aaron, an upcoming leader who is the hope of
Independence. There is foreboding about the length of his life.
Jericho, the child of Leonard and a mountain woman, is given as a
'gift child' to Rika and Aaron, who can't have children. The second
part of the narrative focuses on Jericho, who is the product of a
life brought up in London and the art world but who is searching for
his whole identity. He recognises the quality of the bark-cloth of
the high mountain villages.
The descriptions of art and place are linked with the surrealists.
Walking into one scene is described as being inside a Max Ernst
painting. Modjeska knows her art - she wrote the acclaimed Stravinsky's
Lunch about two Australian artists living at opposite ends of
the world. The Mountain is a rich, sensory epic. It will enlighten those
who know little about Papua New Guinea - a place of contrasts, 'the
treachery of paradise'. The English curriculum encourages the use of
texts which engage with Asia. While definition of the countries of
Asia is contested, the Pacific Islands/Oceania is included by ACARA
and so parts of The Mountain would be useful in schools, although it
is ideally aimed at adults or mature secondary students.
Joy Lawn
Marcy Series #2 by Susan Halliday
Quiz Champs: ISBN: 9781921665721 (pbk.)
Thirteen Dolphins: ISBN: 9781921665738 (pbk.)
Lost Dogs: ISBN: 9781921665745 (pbk.)
Award Winners: ISBN: 9781921665752 (pbk.)
Netball Challenge: ISBN: 9781921665714
Box Set: ISBN: 9781921665882
Ford Street, 2013. 55 pages, paperback AUD $9.95 each . Boxed
set with Toocool: $89.95.
(Age: Beginning readers) Adventure. Just watch the smaller humans
scramble for the shelves when they see these arrive! All those eager
little readers who are beginning their 'chapter' book journeys just
eat up these fun and exciting stories and bask in their success in
doing so. A perfect addition to any school or home library, and
available singly or as a boxed set (both series). As the characters
in both series, Too Cool and Marcy, are the same, both boys and
girls can relate to them and share the laughter which inevitably
results from following their exploits.
After the success of the first series of the Marcy books, Susan
Halliday has provided us with a whole new set of Marcy stories to
entertain and delight young readers, particularly girls. While Marcy
has her fair share of foibles, she is a girl who is ready to have a
go at anything, invariably with great gusto. Marcy's positive
attitude and her self confidence (sometimes a tad TOO much
confidence!) make her an endearing character and the reader is
immensely pleased to read about the success and unexpected rewards
of her ventures. This series has a commendable thread of
responsibility and citizenship running through, which would lend
itself well to a class discussion on these values. I can also well
imagine some enthusiastic girls initiating a staff/student netball
challenge at their own schools! As with Toocool, the books follow
the useful format of glossary and information and similarly these
are handled in a way which is entertaining and engaging.
Ford St has provided a wonderful set of teaching notes (linked to
the Australian curriculum) on its website.
These series would also make an extremely useful addition to any
'home reading' program with far more engagement and potential
'follow on' than the ubiquitous basal reader. Enthusiastically
recommended for readers 7 years and on, for library, classroom or
home.
Sue Warren
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Candlewick Press, 2012. First published 2002. ISBN: 9780763662622.
(Ages: 14+) Highly recommended. A good dystopian novel is
frightening because it feels like a plausible extrapolation of a
real-world situation. Feed goes one step further. Its social
commentary is so incisive that it often seems to show us ourselves
not as we could be, but as we already are. At times, its dire
predictions seem not only plausible, but inevitable, and it is
difficult to escape from the feeling that many of them are already
coming true.
Set in a future where the internet is delivered directly to people's
brains via microchip, Feed follows Titus, a teenager who is partying
on the moon when his 'feed' is unexpectedly shut down by an
activist. Normality for Titus and his friends is a constant stream
of chat messages, videos, games and advertisements that merge
seamlessly with their thoughts. The feed has eliminated the need for
written communication. Thirty pages in, you can feel the narrative
voice fighting against the decay of language itself, as Titus
struggles to find words to express what he is experiencing.
This dystopian scenario is so skillfully explored and so thoroughly
realised that it seems as bottomless as reality itself. There are
upcars, air factories, disposable tables, stacking suburbs, lo-grav
bars and meat tissue plantations, to say nothing of the invented
popular culture and the impressive vocabulary of slang. When kids go
to parties, dance music plays in their heads instead of out loud,
and illegal 'malfunction' websites do the work of party drugs. The
premise never stagnates - new facets are constantly being introduced
- and in the final fifty pages, the dystopia escalates towards a
spectacular conclusion.
The cover calls it satire rather than science fiction, which makes a
lot of sense - as well as being immoderately funny, Feed is
a compelling condemnation of the ways in which consumer culture and
the internet are rewiring our brains, right now. This, perhaps, is
the novel's most terrifying implication: that we might wake up one
day to find that the world has ended without our noticing, because
we had become experts at ignoring anything that our shortened
attention spans were not equipped to handle. And it all becomes
twice as frightening when you realise that this book was first
published in 2002, before the creation of Facebook (2004), YouTube
(2005) and Twitter (2006), whose feed-based models Anderson skewers
with visionary precision. If this one doesn't give teenage readers
something to think about, nothing will.
Samuel Williams
Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil
Hardie Grant Egmont, 2013. ISBN: 9781742973951.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Hardie Grant Egmont seems passionate
about publishing debut novels, and the first book developed for
what's being called The
Ampersand Project is Melissa Keil's novel, Life in
Outer Space.
I had heard nothing about it, no build up or word-of-mouth. I found
it in Big W of all places (although it has since turned up in my ASO
pack), and I just loved it. I think my preferred YA contemporary
novels are those with male protagonists, and Sam is the perfect
example of such a narrator. He is a clever nerd, with only four
friends and a routine life exactly as he wants. It's safe. As long
as the arrogant Justin Zigoni and his group (who Sam refers to as
'the Vessels of Wank') leave him alone.
When bold and unique Camilla arrives at school, his organised world
is turned on its head. Camilla refuses to fit into any group, any
stereotype, any clique, and - horror of horrors! - she invades his
familiar spaces and talks to him, without irony, and without
embarrassment. Admittedly, the friendship begins online behind World
of Warcraft avatars, but eventually their IRL ('in real life')
encounters occur almost daily, and Sam's confusion and cluelessness
is adorable and funny.
Sam only talks to Camilla because he believes there is no way she
could possibly be interested in a romantic relationship. His self
worth, governed by the moronic high school hierarchy, gives Sam the
opportunity to befriend Camilla, although she isn't one to be
refused. She is determined to be part of their group, and her
matter-of-fact way of joining conversations, and ignoring the
possibility of becoming socially outcast, is pure sass and blustery
confidence. I have rarely seen such a genuine character in YA. She's
pretty awesome really. Sam's friends are not shoved to the side. We
see that Mike is struggling with issues, although it takes till the
end of the novel before Sam is able to figure out how to make him
talk. His gayness is dealt with honestly and affectionately. Allison
seems to be smitten with Sam, yet her storyline is resolved
positively, and Adrian, well, he stayed Adrian. Sam is loyal and
cares for his friends, another of his great traits. Hmm, I might be
gushing, a bit.
Keil uses film, specifically the Horror genre, to highlight her main
concerns, to pull the male readers in, and to weave a consistent
theme through her narrative, which is all about self perception and
figuring out who you are. Great to see a positive and fun Australian
YA contemporary. In the vein of Gabrielle Williams and Fiona Wood.
Trisha Buckley
Game over by S. Carey
Eerie Series. Penguin, 2013. ISBN 9780143306689. Paperback, 72
pages. RRP:$9.99.
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended for readers with a taste for the macabre. Cast
your mind back to some of those great series like Deadly and
Wicked (Jennings/Gleitzman) and After Dark (Gary
Crew et al) and think about how popular they were with readers,
particularly boys, of about Year 4/5 level. Quick to read, ghoulish
enough to be creepy but not graphic and written in a quality style -
interesting vocabulary that just stretches the newly independent
reader.
The Eeries series promises to deliver just such a successful
formula. Game Over takes the reader on quite a retro trip back to
the 80s and readers may be slightly baffled at first by the
described desirables - an Atari 2600 for example. However, they will
be familiar (or dare I say, should be!) with others like MAD
magazine, Doritos, Oreos and other American delights which were just
beginning to creep into our collective consciousness back in the
decade of big hair and bigger shoulder pads.
John's new classmate, Samuel, is an unappealing American kid with a
very appealing mother and houseful of goodies - all too tempting for
an average suburban 80s Aussie kid. Lurking beneath this seeming
haven of tempting treats is a sinister fate for those who succumb
(think Lotus Eaters and you're on the right track). Is Samuel really
as indolent and unemotional as he seems? Is his rather glamorous
mother as kind and beautiful as she appears? Hang around, eat enough
goodies and play enough arcade games and you will find out. In fact,
you may find yourself in a very unpleasant situation!
Sue Warren
Chu's Day by Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Adam Rex. Published by Harper Collins, 2013.
Hardcover. ISBN 9780 0620 17819.
(Ages: 3 - 8) Highly recommended. Neil Gaiman has written a book for
his youngest audience yet. This is the tale of Chu, a little Panda
with a big BIG sneeze. Chu's sneezes always lead to trouble. When
Chu sneezes, Bad Things happen.
This is a simple story which is brought amazingly to life by the
detailed and quirky illustrations of Adam Rex. There are small,
delightful details (such as an elephant sized space for elephants at
the library, the aviator goggles, the expression on Chu's face when
he sneezes) which add a huge degree of richness to what is a fairly
straightforward text.
There are many elements of the story which make it ideal for
beginning readers - this is a text where there are many
opportunities to predict what will happen next, to read the repeated
text, and to engage with the bold print. There is also an
accompanying teachers guide, which will assist with lesson planning,
and may guide beginning teachers in their explorations of guided and
modelled reading.
This book is a delight to read aloud, and I found that the more you
build up the 'ah, ah, AH . . . ' the funnier the 'no' becomes. It
has also been suggested that this book immerses children in the
skills required to be 'comic literate' which I found an interesting
perspective. An example of this is the large image of Chu appearing
above the text, in much the same way as occurs in comics. Visual
literacy is such an important skill set, and this book makes the
skill set accessible in an endearingly simple way. This book comes
highly recommended.
Freya Lucas
Pirate gold by Michael Salmon
ll. by Michael Salmon. Ford St Publishing, 2013. Paperback. ISBN
9781 9216 65691.
(Ages: 5-9) Parents and teachers around in the late 70's - mid 80's
will recognise the illustrative style of Michael Salmon from the
Alexander Bunyip show (and toys, boardgames, fabric etc). Salmon
wrote over 160 books including Bobo and The Monster that ate
Canberra.
The latest book from Salmon is a journey to find Captain Porker's
missing treasure. At the beginning of the book we meet the various
Piganeers, including Pigswill the cook and The Ships Rats. We also
meet Admiral Horatio (Pirate Hunter) and Captain Fang (the Pirate
Rival) before going off on a journey over land and sea. Who stole
Captain Porker's treasure? Was it the Froggy Sailors? The Grandee
Goats? Captain Porker's rival Captain Fang? The culprit (or
culprits) will be a surprise, that's for sure.
The book also features a Piganeer photo album and a photocopiable
colouring in page, to continue the joy of the story long after the
book has been read. With its bright and detailed illustrations, this
story is sure to appeal to readers who have moved beyond the picture
book phase, but aren't too fond of chapter books just yet.
This would be a popular choice for 'free reading' in any classroom
library.
Freya Lucas
What the Raven Saw by Samantha-Ellen Bound
Woolshed Press (Random House Australia), 2013. ISBN 9781742757353.
pbk., RRP $A16.95. Ebook: 9781742757360288.
Vain, arrogant and grumpy, Raven lives in the belltower of an old
country church surveying all that goes on below with a very
judgemental eye. He is convinced that the weatherhen who
swings with the wind with a range of rusty tunes is in love with
him, and he is contemptuous of all his other feathered relations,
particularly the pigeons. What Raven does like is the music
which soars from the church during Sunday Mass, so much so that he
has revealed his deepest secret to Father Cadman - ravens can talk
to humans, and so after the congregation has left, he joins Father
Cadman at the ancient organ so he can learn to sing the hymns.
The story opens with Raven watching the funeral of Todd Trebuchet, a
young boy killed by a car after a row with his sister and it is his
conversations with Todd's ghost and the distress of McKenzie, his
sister, that begins Raven's journey of seeing more than that which
physically surrounds him. Making a T of the bottletops (specially
shined with eucalyptus) that are part of his precious, closely
guarded treasure to mark Todd's as yet unmarked grave, is the start.
But it is when, from his perch in the rafters above the Sunday
congregation, he sees Barnabas Brittle pocketing part of the
collection and other treasures, that the journey really
begins. Knowing how he feels about his own treasure, he tells
Father Cadman of the theft, but, to his astonishment, Father Cadman
does not believe him and bans him from the church and his beloved
music.
While the along-the-lines story tells of how Raven enlists the help
of Todd, McKenzie, the other ghosts and even the pigeon to show
Father Cadman that Brittle is, indeed, a thief so that he can again
enjoy the hymns, it is the between-the-lines story of what Raven
learns from those he considers to be his inferiors, that give this
story its richness.From a suicidal public servant to a
dilapidated, out-dated scarecrow, he learns a little about
compassion and humility, companionship and modesty - Raven at the
end of the story is quite different from Raven at the
beginning. He even views Weatherhen and Pigeon differently.
While younger, independent readers could read and enjoy this story,
as much for its different approach as anything else, I believe
someone with the maturity to be able to view it a little more
objectively to delve into its underlying message will enjoy its
depth. It would be very well suited to a guided reading text
for upper primary students with a teacher leading the way to show
students how there is often much, if not more, to a story if they
take the time to ask the critical questions to prise out the
between-and-beyond the lines story. It would be a great starting
point to help them develop those skills required to interrogate a
story which they will be expected to have when they go to high
school and are confronted by some of the classics that are so much
more than a few hours of entertainment.
This is the author's first published novel but, if this is the
calibre of her storytelling, she is certainly a new Australian
author to look for in the future.
Barbara Braxton
The boy who grew into a tree by Gary Crew
Ill. by Ross Watkins. Penguin, 2012. ISBN 9780670076734.
(Age: 8+) Recommended. An old couple came from the old country and
not finding a warm welcome built themselves a hut in the mountains.
The old man sold ferns for bedding and his wife gathered herbs and
mushrooms from the wilderness. The townspeople bought their wares
but didn't trust them. After a refreshing storm the old woman finds
herself expecting a baby that they called Arbour. He was a strange
child, nut brown, speaking in whispers like the wind in the leaves
and stretching his arms like a tree. Then one day a terrible fire
caused devastation.
I always expect something thought provoking when I pick up a book by
Gary Crew and this is no exception. Themes of prejudice and mistrust
as well as loyalty and love of the bush permeate the story which
reads like a fairy tale. The power of the bush to regenerate itself
after a fire and to renew itself after rain is vividly described.
Ross Watkin's stunning illustrations are like those found in a book
about botany. Beautiful black and white lines and shadings show the
dark forest, mushrooms and plants. The only colour is the red of the
fire destroying the forest. There are beautiful endpaper to examine
as well.
This is a book with themes to think about. Astute teacher and
teacher librarians will be able to use it when discussing the
environment and the power of story telling.
Pat Pledger
Quicksand by Anonymous
Sub-title: A true story of HIV/AIDS in our lives. Candlewick Press,
2012. ISBN 9780763660697.
(Age 12+) The author of Quicksand seeks to promote compassion for
people infected with HIV/AIDS and respect for those who speak openly
about their status. Above all, she wants to 'change the world' so
that people living with this disease do not have to keep their
condition a secret. The experiences of the author's brother-in-law
provide the book with a narrative while information has been gleaned
from reputable publications and medical practitioners.
The content and style of Quicksand can be characterised as 'plain
speaking'. The author has anticipated questions that readers might
ask and answered them in simple, unvarnished prose, interposing
information about the illness with descriptions of its emotional and
physical effects on her brother-in-law as well as its impact on
relatives, friends and colleagues. She writes honestly about how
HIV/AIDS is contracted, diagnosed and treated, and examines the
reactions of friends and colleagues whose unfounded fears contribute
to the social stigma which adds to the distress of sufferers. The
book ends on an optimistic note, reflecting on changes in social
attitudes towards other medical conditions and hoping that
eventually people with HIV/AIDS will be able to reveal their
condition without fear of judgmental assumptions and rejection.
Readers may want to discount both the credibility of an author who
writes anonymously and a mission that sounds like a crusade.
However, the writer's need for anonymity is her message. She would
prefer to use her name but has been asked not to by her
brother-in-law. Her desire to change the world is the only
intemperate statement in an otherwise measured book.
The publisher has recommended Quicksand for readers of 10+.
The text is certainly accessible with nine, succinct, clearly
defined chapters, a question and answer format, a glossary and an
index. However, parents and educators may wish to use their own
judgement given the author's decision to write frankly about some
aspects of sexuality. Quicksand is an informative, enlightening and
thought-provoking book for older children and young adults.
Elizabeth Bor
