Australia: Allen and Unwin, 2010. ISBN 9781741758801.
UK: Little, Brown, 2010. ISBN 9780316044301.
(Age 15+) Recommended. Ellie Spencer is just an ordinary girl, hanging
out with her best friend Kevin and trying to keep her studies going.
She lives at a boarding school in New Zealand but one day everything
changes. Fog invades the forest near the school and there is a murderer
on the loose. Ellie is frightened by the weird eyes of Reka, a woman
who has a part in the play she is helping with, and Mark, the
mysterious dark boy she has a crush on, seems to be manipulating her
mind.
There are several surprises in the story that set it above other
fantasy stories. Kevin, Ellie's best friend is asexual, and this is
handled sensitively by Healey. The romance between Ellie and Mark grows
slowly and there is an awesome conclusion. The shadowy Reka is a
satisfying villain, and there are shocks in store for the reader with
her character. Best of all, Ellie is a strong girl and I found it very
easy to identify with her problems and cheer along with her as she
found her powers.
This is an original fantasy and its use of Maori myths and legends make
it a welcome addition to other books like A great and terrible
beauty
by Libba Bray, which also delve into the supernatural. Even though I
was not familiar with Maori mythology, I found that I was fascinated
with the idea of a Guardian of the dead and would certainly recommend
this story to lovers of fantasy.
Pat Pledger
Strange angels by Lili St Crow
Razorbill (Penguin), 2009. ISBN 9781921518324.
(Age 14+)Recommended. Dru Anderson is a sixteen year old girl who
has been left alone when her father disappeared while hunting Sergei, a
ferocious sucker, who turned him into a zombie. Intelligent and
capable, Dru finds herself on the run from Sergei. She is befriended by
Graves a boy from school, who takes her to his hideout in a mall, but
he too becomes a target and after being bitten, turns into a
loup-garou, a half werewolf. Christophe, a djamphir, half vampire, who
hunts evil vampires, appears on the scene and more adventures occur.
This is a well-written fantasy that will appeal to lovers of the
Twilight series. Thankfully Dru is a strong feisty heroine, who is not
afraid to plunge into the fray, using her combat skills to defend
herself and her friends. Graves and Christophe provide a touch of love
interest and there is action galore. I particularly found Graves to be
an interesting character. Left alone at a young age, he has managed to
find himself a place to live, attends school regularly and is
determined to use education to get himself out a cycle of poverty.
Whether becoming a loup-garou confounds this worthy aim remains to be
seen in future books in the series.
I eagerly followed the roller coaster action, liked the characters and
found the freezing conditions in the Dakotas an interesting setting.
Dru's often sarcastic and funny monologue provided a break from the
pace of the conflict.
Pat Pledger
Jameela by Rukhsana Khan
Allen and Unwin, 2010. 978 1743272594
(Ages 10-13) When Jameela's mother dies in their small home in a
village in Afghanistan, her father resorts to smoking opium, coming
home a few days later with news of moving to Kabul. Jameela must pack
her few belonging, the rest of the goods and the house having been
sold, and they stay in a friend's house in the city while father finds
work. Jameela's life is in turmoil, but none more so when father
announces he is to remarry. His new wife treats Jameela harshly, and
when she spies a friendship between the disfigured girl and her son,
persuades her father to do something more permanent. On the pretence of
going shopping at the market, Jameela is left by a shop. She waits all
day, only the kindly butcher, realising what her father has done,
offering her food and water, then shelter for the night. He and his
wife cannot keep her and so take her to the orphanage, where a new
world opens up for her.
Here she learns to read and helps the teacher in the classroom. When
soldiers come to the orphanage they inspect her face, despite trying to
keep her porani about her, and she is taken away and her lip fixed. At
the orphanage she befriends Soraya a young girl, who develops a plan to
get back at the mother in law, when she comes to the orphanage seeking
Soraya as a wife for her son.
A Cinderella story for our times, this marvelous book, suffused with
Afghani words and phrases, infused with the sights and sounds of
Afghanistan at war, will help to enlighten its readers as to how
children survive in a war ravaged country where food is always short,
parents make horrific decisions, and compassion comes from the most
unlikely of quarters. Readers will empathize with this young girl as
she tries to find a place to call home, struggling with the strange
girls at the orphanage, trying to keep up her religious views despite
opposition and distraught at her father's decision to abandon her. She
is a strong minded young girl, a character with whom readers will
immediately identify. That it is based on a true story adds piquancy to
the mix, increasing its appeal. A glossary at the end adds new words to
the readers' vocabulary, and gives them a peep into the world of an
Afghani girl.
Fran Knight
Her fearful symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Jonathan Cape, 2009. ISBN 9780224085625.
(16 - adult) Recommended. When Elspeth Noblin dies, she leaves her
London flat to her nieces who are mirror twins, even though she is
estranged from her own twin, Edie, their mother. Julia and Valentina
are delighted to leave Chicago and go to live in the flat that
overlooks Highgate Cemetery. They feel that their futures will
begin. When they arrive they become entangled with the lives of Robert,
Elspeth's former lover, Martin who makes crossword puzzles and doesn't
leave his flat and the ghostly image of Elspeth herself, who is stuck
in her apartment.
After thoroughly enjoying The time traveller's wife, I
was
delighted to read another book by the formidable Audrey Niffenegger and
I was not disappointed. Although there wasn't the lure of a wonderful
love story in Her fearful symmetry, the complexities
surrounding the
two sets of twins was compelling and the real setting of Highgate
Cemetery sets it apart from traditional ghost stories. Niffenegger does
not hesitate to go into the realms of the unexpected with this story
and her exploration of what it would be like to be a ghost is riveting.
Her characters are well drawn and the struggle that an individual twin
can go through to have a life of her own is quite fascinating. There
are many unexpected twists and turns and a surprise ending, which made
me consider what are ethical actions for a long time after I finished
reading.
The book will satisfy readers who like well-written, intricate fantasy
and ghost stories.
Pat Pledger
A bit of company by Margaret Wild and Wayne Harris
Walker Books, 2009. ISBN 9781921529054.
Picture book A reprint of a favourite picture book is always welcome.
Christopher is
lonely. His mother's time is taken up well and truly by the arrival of
the triplets. Next door Molly is lonely, so lonely that one Monday
morning she screams. Her screams brings Christopher to the fence
and seeing her in a similar plight to his own, they become friends.
Whenever they need a bit of company, one or the other of them screams
across the fence and the other will come running. Eventually the
families across the fence become friends, and Molly and Christopher
broaden their friendship group to include Mum and the triplets. One day
the triplets scream, and they all come running. The illustrations to
this lovely tale of friendship enrich the story. Rounded figures
dominate the pages as Christopher and Molly run to each other's aid.
The triplets too are huge and in the reader's face, with their cloth
nappies, safety pins and caps. A wonderfully warm story to entrance the
younger reader.
Fran Knight
Xisle by Steve Augarde
Random House, 2009. ISBN 978038561062.
Recommended. Set in a nasty future where men must give up their boys in
the hope of
a better life on the island nearby which still has much of the remnants
of twentieth century life, this is the story of two such boys,
condemned to a fate of bone crunchingly hard work until they are of no
further use to those on the island. Much of the world has been
inundated after a series of extreme weather events has pushed the water
level to cover all they know. The family on the island makes a living
diving for goods beneath the water, and the boys are traded from what
is left on the mainland, useful because of their size, shape and cowed
demeanor.
The island is a great refuse dump; full of the flotsam scavenged form
beneath the waves, and traded across the known lands nearby for
precious diesel and fresh food. Those with oil have power but the
family has even greater power, and the father, called Preacher John,
believes in sacrifice. The two boys, Ray and Baz, support each other
through their grim days, until, finally pushed to the limit when one of
their kind dies, they decide to take revenge. The boys build a bomb and
hide it on the diving vessel, ready to take the family and the divers
down with it.
With overtones of many of the better dystopian stories and echoes of
Lord of the Flies, this story packs a punch as the boys must
take the
law into their own hands. A long read (480p) it will however be readily
snapped up.
Fran Knight
Not last night but the night before by Colin McNaughton and Emma Chichester Clark
Walker Books, 2009. ISBN 9781406325560.
(Ages 3+) Not last night but the night before an imaginative little boy
had a lot of visitors knocking at his door. There was the Man in the
moon, three blind mice and the farmer's wife, three little pigs, Punch
and Judy and lots of other familiar nursery rhyme characters. Why are
they knocking at his door and bowling him over as they rush up the
stairs?
This is a charming book celebrating birthdays and nursery rhymes. It
has amusing rhymes and repetition of the title that will make it a good
read aloud. The happy birthday song, with its hilarious word change
will have children giggling. Children will be familiar with the nursery
rhyme characters and will have fun recalling the rhymes as the story
progresses. It would also make a good adjunct to a unit on nursery
rhymes.
The illustrations are cute and lots of fun to examine. I particularly
liked the man in the moon, wearing green patterned tights and
brandishing a wand scattering stars as he races up the stairs.
Pat Pledger
Right Now (series) by various authors
London, Evans Brothers, 2009.
(Ages 11-14) Right now, a series of books produced by Evans
Brothers
Ltd in London
caters for those early teens who find reading a chore. These are
graphic in design with between 20 and 40 words to the page, exciting
and fast paced. Although short, brightly coloured and enticing, they do
not have the look of a reader for those who cannot read, and will be
eagerly picked up by more able readers as well. At the end of each book
is a couple of pages of suggestions for both the teacher and the
student to follow up their reading. Dumped by Dee Phillips has Vicky waiting for her boyfriend
Chris. He is
late and she evaluates the reasons why she should stay in London with
Chris or go to Australia with her father. Fight by Dee Phillips has several boys incensed over the loss of
a
mobile phone which has apparently been stolen, meeting on Friday night
where things escalate out of control when one boy produces a knife. Dare by Dee Phillips, shows Lauren staying overnight in a scary
house,
where she must face whatever is in there. When asked what was her
scariest moment by the television host of the series she explains about
the voice, but is told there was no voice in the script Blast by Dee Phillips shows the reader a day on the life of a
combative
soldier, as he fights his fears during a battle in which he and his
friends are targeted by the enemy and almost lose their lives.
Fran Knight
Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen
Penguin, 2009. ISBN 9780143010043.
(Age 13+) Highly recommended. Marc Jarvis is your typical teenage boy,
a
likeable person who is interested in girls, plays footy with his mate
Trev and goes to do Work Experience at Gateway Auto, a local car yard
owned by Vinnie Gates. He meets Electra, a girl who is an outstanding
runner, down from Broome to train. Much to his surprise she returns his
interest and as their bond grows, Marc comes to grip with the loss of
Anne-Marie, 'a great, great, great girl' and realises that it is
impossible to know what is going to happen in the future.
In Jarvis 24 David Metzenthen takes a different turn in his writing
from the historical Black Water and Gilbert's Ghost train, both books I
love. Told in the first person by Marc, this story of a young boy
coming of age is sensitively written and very compulsive to read. I was
swept along by Marc's narration as he obsesses about girls, his meeting
with Electra and his footy playing. There are several subplots that are
equally engrossing. Marc's work experience brings him into contact with
Belinda, who is bringing up a child on her own and Mikey, a young gay
man who has left his family in Queensland and Metzenthen subtly
explores the challenges of being a single parent and of being gay.
Death and grieving are also issues that are explored gently and
compassionately with Vinnie Gates and Anne- Marie's death. Although the
reader never does find out what happened to Anne-Marie, the story of
Marc's friendship with her is central to the themes of love and loss
and moving on.
The whole of the story is suffused with lighthearted humour with Marc's
mate Trev and his dog Dottie, often bringing some funny moments to the
narration.
Chosen as one of the short list for the 2010 CBCA award, this is a
beautifully written, highly engaging read that will appeal to male and
female readers alike and could make a very accessible class text.
Pat Pledger
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Black Swan, 2010.
(Age 13+) Highly recommended. It's a snowy day in Oregon, a place that
sounds a bit like England in that it grinds to a halt when the snow
falls. Schools are closed, transport is in chaos and people decide to
take time off work. Seventeen year old Mia, her parents and little
brother Teddy take advantage of the unexpected holiday to visit
friends. On the journey they are involved in a catastrophic crash. Both
parents are killed instantly and Mia and Teddy are mortally injured.
In an out of body experience, Mia finds herself by the side of the
road, watching medics frantically trying to save her and her little
brother. The story revolves around Mia's gradual realisation that,
although in a coma, she has the power to decide whether to 'stay' or
'go'.
The story is told in a series of flashbacks and we discover the pivotal
musical influences of Mia's life. As the only brown eyed brunette in
her family she feels like a changeling. She is a talented cellist with
the offer of a place at the prestigious Juilliard, and her love of
classical music is a surprise to her parents (Dad was a rock musician
until imminent fatherhood made him train as a teacher).
Boyfriend, Adam, is lead singer in an increasingly successful band and
the juxtaposition between cello and lead guitar sometimes causes
tension in the intensity of first love. Making a decision about
Julliard is hard, as accepting a place will mean leaving Adam, but
suddenly Mia is faced with a far more difficult choice.
Told sparingly, this is a faultlessly constructed, harrowing and at
times humorous story of twenty four hours in the life of a girl whose
survival hangs in the balance. Forman is particularly successful in
asking readers to contemplate the big questions, yet placing them in
the context of the every day, almost mundane events of typical family
life.
I won't spoil the story by revealing Mia's decision, but handkerchiefs
will be an essential requirement. Gayle Forman seems to alternate
feather light sensitivity with sledgehammer force and it works
brilliantly. Her readers have to sweat it out and boy, it's worth the
effort. Try this with your teenage readers who demand an intelligent
and thought provoking read.
Claire Larson
My great lost dog adventure by Marcia Williams
Walker, 2010. ISBN 9781406319118.
(Ages 6+) Recommended. Iggy Wilder loves dogs and believes that
he has doggy powers as well as boy powers. He is devastated when his
Grandpa dies and Grandpa's dog Fred is sent away, especially as he
promised to look after him. He sets out on a quest to find Fred, helped
with his friend Daisy. His parents aren't impressed with his doggy
powers, although Iggy believes that 'A boy with canine powers is always
one paw ahead of his parents.'
This is not your usual dog story. Marcia Williams has a distinctive
style, a combination of comic book illustrations and a great story
line. I was engrossed by the idea of a boy who acts out like a dog and
had a smile on my face with the antics that Iggy got up to trying to
find Fred. The chaos that Iggy brings to his is very funny, and I felt
I knew the characters of Mum, Dad, Grandma and his sister just from
Williams' clever drawings.
Dog lovers will find it a mine of information as many of the pages have
a border around them with facts about different breeds, the games dogs
play and their characteristics, all illustrated with funny cartoons and
quirky sayings. There is even a story about Lobo the wolf.
This is not a book to read aloud, as it is complex and crowded with
ideas and little drawings. Instead, it is for the child who loves to
investigate details, likes sly humour and wants a heart-warming story.
Pat Pledger
It's a dog's life by Michael Morpurgo
Ill. by Patrick Benson. Egmont, 2010. ISBN 97814052133370.
(Age 3-7) Recommended. Russ, the sheepdog is very busy. He has to get
the cows in and have them ready for milking. After he laps up his milk
reward he goes up to the kitchen where he has his breakfast before he
accompanies Lula to the end of the lane. She always likes a cuddle
before the school bus comes, and confides in Russ that all she wants
for her birthday is a horse. Russ wonders 'what's so great about a
horse?' and when Lula does get one, is afraid that she will love it
more than him.
Michael Morpugo has vividly told the story of an active working
sheepdog's day on a busy farm. Russ, the dog, is the narrator and he
describes all the work that he does. What brings the narration alive
are the humorous little comments about the farmer and the animals that
he is herding as well as the pranks that Russ gets up to with Smarty,
his friend from across the valley. The reader not only gets a good idea
of what happens on a farm but is drawn into the anxiety that Russ feels
when he thinks that he might be replaced in Lula's affections by the
horse she gets for her birthday.
Patrick Benson's water colour illustrations bring both Russ and the
country side alive. Close examination shows lots of subtle humour in
the portrayal of farm life. I particularly liked the illustration of
Russ slinking after the sheep as they trot along the lane and chasing
the crows out of the cornfield. It's a dog's life would be a very good book to use in a unit of
work
about farm life or animals. It could also lead to discussions about new
members being introduced into a family group, feelings of jealousy and
being left out and the wonderful power of love.
Pat Pledger
Ripley's human body, believe it or not by Camilla de la Bedoyere
Scholastic, 2010. ISBN 978 1741695977.
Recommended (non fiction). Another book of facts and photographs, this
time on the eccentricities
of the human body, this book will please a whole range of kids when
they find it on the shelves. Facts such as the 45 kilo girl in the USA
who can put away 52 hard boiled eggs in one sitting, or the man who
eats televisions, or the guys pulling a truck, all amaze and delight.
Combined with information about the part of the human body under
discussion, kids are sure to seek this book out on the library shelves.
Chapter headings such as Under pressure, Seeing is believing, Open up,
What a waste, Lights out and Fit for life give a clue as to what is in
each double page spread. All great fun, but with a base of fact making
this a fascinating non fiction book.
Fran Knight
Conspiracy 365: March by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic, 2010. ISBN 9781741690354.
With 306 days to go, Callum's last memory is of being stuck in a train
line with a train approaching. He wakes in a dark place alive and well,
and as each minute ticks by he reveals his anxieties about how he came
to be there and why. A man approaches who explains all to him. Repro as
he is called, lives in a stone cellar beneath the train yard, and here,
they tell each other their stories. But Callum must move on, so texts
Boges for help with money and bandages. Boges is able to fill in some
of the things Callum has missed while on the run, but he becomes
even more desperate hearing that his sister is near death.
Jennifer phones him to meet her at the laboratory as she has news.
Suspecting a trap, he is overjoyed to hear that she is holding a memory
stick that his father gave her for safe keeping, but before they can
work out how he can retrieve it, footsteps can be heard in the now
deserted building. Like the lion in February, this time Callum is
bitten by a death adder, but finding a syringe filled with anti venom,
inoculates himself in the nick of time.
Catching a lift with a stranger, the driver realises that they are
being followed and March ends with Callum trying to find a way out of
the overturned truck, the driver's arm being pinned beneath. Breathless
excitement reigns supreme. Another adventure next month.
Fran Knight
The crowded shadows by Celine Kiernan
Allen and Unwin, 2010. ISBN 9781741758702.
(Age 15+) Highly recommended. The second in the Moorehawke Trilogy, The
crowded
shadows follows Wynter's dangerous trip through the bandit
infested mountains in search of Prince Alberon. She has left her
beloved father behind in an attempt to reach the prince and try and
avert war. Attacked by two men in the forest, she narrowly averts
harming her beloved friend Razi and is overjoyed to see Christopher.
Then begins a long and arduous trip, avoiding pitfalls and meeting up
with the Merron, Christopher's people, who are messengers for
Marguerite Shirken whom Wynter's father has fought in the past. Who can
Wynter trust?
As with all excellent books, the plot line is too complex to summarise.
It is sufficient to say that the story line is utterly compelling with
some scenes like the rituals of the Merron so heartbreaking that they
are unforgettable. Kiernan has a beautiful lyrical writing style that
is easy to read and she brings her rich fantasy world to life. Issues
like racism and persecution of the travelling Merron people are handled
deftly and provide a thought provoking background to the main
characters. I found it easy to immerse myself in the shadowy world of
the forest and was totally caught up in the adventures of Wynter,
Christopher and Razi.
In The crowded shadows Kiernan develops her characters more
fully. In
many ways this is Christopher's story. Finding out about some of his
previous background as a slave with the Loups-Garous was mind blowing
and made me follow his flawed character avidly. Wynter is a strong
protagonist, a warrior woman, and the romance between the two grows in
depth. Razi, too, falls in love, with a beautiful Merron lady, Embla,
and the love sequence between these two will stay with me forever. All
characters are tried and tested repeatedly and it is these challenges
that kept me reading avidly.
I liked the unusual black and white cover that evokes the mood of the
novel and makes it stand out.
This is outstanding fantasy writing and the trilogy deserves a place in
every library.
Pat Pledger