Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922330482. (Age:Young Adult) Highly recommended.
Yin Mitchell was there and then she was gone. No one knows what happened to her except that she was taken by someone who has taken other girls before. They call him Doctor Calm…
The Gaps, by Australian young adult author Leanne Hall, is very on trend. In a true crime-obsessed literary and dramatic culture, the book features the tragic abduction of a teenage school girl from her home. However, unlike many books with this theme, the plot is not about discovering what happened to the missing girl or who is responsible for taking her. It does not feature an intrepid teenage detective who through grit and tenacity is able to discover what has happened to her friend. That is, surprisingly for young adult crime fiction, left to the police.
Instead, The Gaps focuses on the girls left behind; the friends, classmates, family, school and local community that has to learn how to grieve and cope with such a devastating circumstance. Hall focuses on the after effects, consequences and repercussions of Yin's abduction. The book alternates between the perspectives of two of Yin's Year Ten classmates. Chloe is the new scholarship student at the elite Balmoral Ladies College who did not really know Yin but remembers how kind she was to her. Natalia was Yin's childhood best friend and once closer to her than anyone else but after avoiding her for years, she is wracked with guilt and anger.
The Gaps is a riveting but at times difficult read and the book is more suitable for older teens. However, while the overarching themes may be dark, Hall still manages to convey the hope and potential of young womanhood. The Gaps is a topical and important read, particularly in light of the recent focus in the Australian community on the rights and safety of women and girls. Teaching notes, Book Club notes and a video are available from the publisher.
Superstar is number three in the Carly Mills Pioneer Girl series by Jane Smith. Like all the books in the series, it is a time-travelling adventure where contemporary tweenager Carly Mills travels from present day places in Australia back to the times of significant women of the past. In other books in the series Carly meets Caroline Chisholm, Dr. Lillian Cooper, Florence Nightingale and Amelia Earhardt. In Superstar, Carly and her friends time travel several times from a school choir trip to Melbourne back to the late 1900s/early twentieth century to meet both the young and the grown up, world famous opera singer Dame Nellie Melba.
The books in this series blend fiction with history to bring history to life for younger readers. The books, being short reads with large print and simple vocabulary, should be attractive and accessible to the reluctant reader. The stories are fast paced and full of action and dialogue. The chapters are short and punchy. The illustrations, by Pat Kan are simple pen and pencil sketches. The cover is reminiscent of the graphic novel illustration genre.The stories are based on true stories of inspirational women.
The Carly Mills Pioneer Girl series would be a useful addition to school libraries as it provides in its simplicity combined with solid historical facts, a pathway for less able readers to access history. The series would be a helpful inclusion in a list of resources for Year 5 and 6 History in the Australian Curriculum where Colonial Australia and Federation are studied because they would cater for differentiation for less able readers. An important aspect of the History curriculum is the understanding of perspectives. This series will be helpful for students who wish to explore the female perspective.
Recommended.
Themes Pioneer women of Australia.
Wendy Jeffrey
Rowley Jefferson's awesome friendly spooky stories by Jeff Kinney
Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories joins the ranks of Jeff Kinney's Awesome Friendly series which follows the phenomenally successful Diary of a wimpy kid series.
As with all of Jeff Kinney's books, this book will walk off the shelves to be enjoyed by primary aged children, particularly boys. Characters include Rowan, Gabe, Jasper, Anders, Gunther, Rafe and Robbie (mostly boys) and the situations are typical childhood scenarios and feature daredevilry. This time the action occurs in the intersection of daily school and homelife and the spooky realm of ghosts, vampires and zombies.
The narrator is removed - a storyteller. The stories follow the comfortable story formula . . . "There was once . . . and usually there is a twist to think about at the end. These stories deliver life messages in a humorous manner. Messages include being true to oneself, not taking pranks too far, making mistakes, making the right choices, not asking too many questions, accepting difference and being happy within one's own skin. The messages are only arrived at after the hilarious consequences of wrong choices are experienced; certainly though, Kinney is not "preachy." The reader receives the message naturally.
Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories is in large print with fun cartoon images - at least one/page, simple vocabulary presented on lined paper with the font suggesting that a young boy is writing in his journal. Although there is naughtiness, there is a sense of right and wrong, making these books acceptable to adults; the fun is harmless.
Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories is particulary accessible to reluctant readers as it features short stories. A child can read any story in any sequence. The stories are comically spooky and often end with a twist.
A perfect read for hooking in reluctant readers from aged 7 through the primary years.
The seventh book in this very popular middle primary school aged series does not disappoint its readers. Take Down by Jacqueline Harvey is full of secrets, excitement, danger and heart-racing endings. The twins, Kensy and Max, are now twelve and well on their way to becoming very accomplished secret agents. In this story we find that their beloved grandmother and Head of Pharos, Dame Cordelia Spencer, has been poisoned by a Soviet-issue toxin. She is in a coma and the family and other close agents gather around her. The twins are forced to stay with their Headmaster, Magoo and his wife Tippie as their parents are leading a team of agents to find the perpetrator of this dastardly dead. They are not happy but make the most of the situation. Suspicion surrounds a trusted adult in their lives but the agents are having trouble believing this. Added to the worry for the twins is the fact that their school has just won a STEM competition for the United Kingdom and will take part in the world-wide finale in Singapore. The twins are encouraged to go but danger follows them there and they are trapped in some difficult and tense situations. Their ever-growing problem solving skills, common sense and bravery, and with support from their loyal and trustworthy friends allows the twins to help solve a dangerous situation.
This is a great read that fans of the series will not want to put down. As always the ending is not neatly wrapped up and another book is to follow.
Themes Singapore, STEM Competitions, Adventures, Mystery, Spies, Friendship, Problem Solving, Spy School for children, Danger.
Kathryn Beilby
Maralinga : The struggle for return of the lands by Garry Hiskey
Author, Garry Hiskey, acted as solicitor in the negotiations that led to the passage of the Maralinga Tjarutja Land Rights Act in 1984. The Maralinga lands were the site of atomic bomb tests by the British government in the 1950s and 1960s. The Anangu people, the traditional owners of the lands, were removed from the area and unable to visit their sacred sites or attend to sacred obligations.
This book is insightful and provides extraordinary access to the thoughts and actions of the people behind the historical facts. Primary sources provide intriguing perspectives on the efforts and persistence required to return the land to the original owners and effect the Maralinga Tjarutja Land Rights Act 1984. A compelling story of resilience, the reader cannot help but be moved by the determination and quiet dignity of the individuals (and the Yalata community) as they sought to impress upon the South Australian Government the spiritual and cultural value of the land in dispute.
In 2020 it is sobering and confronting to read the nature of government policies and debate that surrounded and shaped the Maralinga Tjarutja Land Rights Act. Gary Hiskey highlights the disconnect that is evident in the understanding of the significance of land and sacred sites. Hiskey describes one pivotal moment in negotiations as occurring in 1983. Members of the Select Committee were to be shown tjuringas and other sacred objects. Some members of the Committee were engaged in chatting when an elder directed: "Stop talking! This is the law." The author describes this moment as influential in progressing government appreciation of the law from another perspective.
Hiskey's narrative and excerpts from government communications shine a light on the implications of systemic racism and the process of critically evaluating decisions made by government and private enterprise with respect to First Nations' cultural practices and land rights. The reader is prompted to reflect on the depth of meaning contained in an acknowledgement of country.
Additional information and connections to art projects can be found here.
Further firsthand accounts are found in the film Maralinga Tjarutja screening on ABC and an ATOM study guide is available.
Themes First Nations, Dispossession, Land Rights, Politics.
Linda Guthrie
Girl A by Abigail Dean
HarperCollins, 2021. ISBN: 9780008389062. (Age:Young adult and adult) Highly recommended (with proviso about abuse).
Lex is a force to be reckoned with, a company lawyer, based in New York who knows what she wants and seems perfectly in control. But she is also one of the seven Gracie children, neglected, abused and chained to their beds in the 'House of Horrors' at Moor Wood Road. Alexandra, designated 'Girl A', by the investigation that followed her escape, aged 15, is back in England because her mother has died in prison and the director has requested an interview. Lex has been appointed executor in her mother's will, a role which necessitates contacting her siblings, each adopted by a different family, each assigned a different psychologist, each assimilating what happened in a different way and with whom she has had limited or no contact. As she decides what to do, Lex looks back on their imprisonment and abuse, reflecting on her relationship with her brothers and sisters as they were then and the various ways they have been shaped by their experiences since.
The 'House of Horrors' story is based on an actual horrific family abuse case but the description of the family's gradual descent into the worst conditions imaginable, while detailed and specific is never sensationalised. What is profoundly moving are the psychological journeys of these children indelibly marking their adult lives.As she visits each of her siblings Lex delves deeper into their shared experience of childhood trauma in a layered narrative which cleverly blends the timelines, regressing as she breaks down some of the walls erected for her own protection. The author carefully builds her character studies from the start and consistently sustains them throughout the narrative. I found them believable and tragic, damaged but resilient. I immediately turned back to the start to see how this beautifully crafted book was put together and a second reading was rewarding. Senior students and adults will enjoy the book with warnings about sexual content and traumatic abuse of children.
Beautifully translated from the Japanese, When the Sakura Bloom is a gentle insight into the sensibilities of the Japanese way of life and the cultural significance of cherry blossom season. It's a busy morning on a busy street and everyone is rushing: to work, to school, to the station. The days following are the same and as the people walk they are staring at phones, at the ground or straight ahead, focussed on where they are headed. But as the weather warms, up above them something is happening. The Sakura, (or cherry blossom) trees are preparing for spring. Exquisite and detailed illustrations show the progression of the pale pink petals emerging from the buds until the flowers are in full bloom and birds flock to the branches. Now people are starting to notice, phones are being pointed up to take photographs and excitement is in the air; it is Festival time! And so, the city stops to pause, to be together under the trees and to appreciate the changing season and the beauty of the moment. In apprecation of cyclical nature we then see as the blossoms fade, the leaves grow and the fruit appears and the people are back to rushing past the trees again.
This is a beautiful timeless tale that, while distinctively Japanese, is universal in its relatability and message. At heart, it is about accepting that while busy lives don't allow us to be mindful in every moment, nature's constant and predictable patterns give us the perfect opportunity to pause, reflect and rejuvenate. There is also a lovely metaphor of the fleeting nature of the cherry blossoms (there one minute and gone the next) and of life itself. This could be used with many age groups on many levels and with a wide variety of focus areas.
Themes Cherry blossoms (Sakura), Seasons.
Nicole Nelson
The secret explorers and the smoking volcano by S. J. King
The Secret Explorers series will continue to hold the interest of younger readers especially those that enjoy learning new facts while reading a fiction story. Once again the eight highly gifted children, Ollie, Cheng, Gustavo, Leah, Kiki, Roshni, Tamiko and Connor are responsible for a mission to rescue animals or humans and encourage readers to learn about a natural environment. In Book 6 The Secret Explorers and the Smoking Volcano, Cheng the geology expert with a passion for volcanoes and Leah the biology expert, are on a mission to Vanuatu to experience a volcanic eruption and save some new friends. Throughout the rescue mission Cheng shares with the reader many new and interesting facts related to volcanoes. Will this exciting action-packed story have a successful ending?
In every mission, a vehicle aptly named the Beagle, transforms itself into an all-terrain machine suitable for the environment the secret explorers are visiting. Each book contains mission notes, a quiz and a glossary of new and important words. All books in the series introduce younger readers to natural environments around the world that need to be cared for. There are illustrations throughout providing visual links for the reader. Any of the six books would be a great read-aloud in the classroom related to an environmental topic or shared as small group read. A welcome addition to a home, school or public library.
Hat-trick Teddy by James Tedesco. Illus. by Heath McKenzie
Pan Macmillan Australia, 2021. ISBN: 9781760982911.
First off, I will confess my very limited knowledge or interest in NRL football. I researched James Tedesco who is the author of this novel and learnt he is a very successful player who has won the Jack Gibson medal, or player of the year, for the Roosters three times. This book is inspired by his own childhood and NRL journey.
In Hat-Trick Teddy, Teddy is a 12-year-old footy lover and with his tight group of friends, a die-hard Menangle Meerkats Rugby League Club supporter and player. Crisis occurs when the Menangle Meerkat's footy ground sinks due to a freak weather incident. Teddy is then offered a place on the Camden Rams, the Meerkats arch rival team. He feels conflicted about joining the team as he loves to play footy but feels he has betrayed the Meerkats. He keeps his decision a secret from his friends, who ignore him when they eventually learn the truth.
Set in country Australia, this story is going to be a great read for footy loving kids. My only hesitation in the book is about the typecast portrayal of the character Percy Kelly, a selector for the Great Southern Regional Team, as he first meets Teddy in a contrived situation, while playing a didgeridoo and mysteriously talks about Teddy having a gift.
Overall, this is a very positive book, that encourages children to strive for their goals. There are tips at the end of every chapter encouraging kids to be successful in both footy and life. It is illustrated with cartoon style drawings and the chapters are short and easy to read. There is a little extra piece of fun in the book with a flip the page moving picture of Teddy kicking a ball in the bottom corner of each page.
A new book in the series Red vs Blue will be available in July 2020.
This book will have the biggest appeal to boys as all of the main characters are male, girls are only mentioned when one of the boys has a crush on whatever unseen girl they dream about. Suitable for NRL loving fans ages 7-10 years old.
Themes Rugby League Football.
Jane Moore
Coming of age in the war on terror by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Abdel-Fattah's book collects the voices of Muslim youth born since the 9/11 twin towers attack, young people who have grown up in the climate of Islamophobia and fear of terrorism. Her aim was to compare the impact of 9/11 on Muslim and non-Muslim youth.
Of course, 'Muslim' does not denote a homogenous group, as readers of Abdel-Fattah's previous co-editored publication with Sara Saleh Arab, Australian, other will be well aware. Muslim young people could be migrants or descendants of migrants from 22 different nations with different languages and different cultures. But the impact of 9/11 was shared by them all, with responses ranging from hiding their identity and keeping a low profile, to feeling that they were expected to have the answer to every question about terrorist activity.
The experience of the interviewees was one of racism, regardless of the fact that there is no Muslim race. They felt regarded as 'other' or non-Australian. Abdel-Fattah draws a link between how Muslim people are regarded and how Indigenous Australians are regarded - their identity and experience is not that of the mainstream 'White' culture. And she exposes the failings of our education system to truly be multicultural, from the attitudes of teachers varying between good and bad, and the omission of Muslim culture and history from the Australian curriculum, a huge omission when you consider that 1 in 4 people in the world are Muslim.
The last chapters of this book provide a challenge to teachers and education departments to consider how to truly be more inclusive, how to break down barriers and change the story to one of empowerment. The book as a whole is also a significant record of young people's accounts of their personal experiences, and would resonate with both Muslim and non-Muslim readers.
Themes Muslim youth, War on terror, Racism, Islamophobia.
Helen Eddy
Off the map by Scot Gardner
Allen & Unwin, 2021. ISBN: 9781760877101. (Age:13+) Highly recommended.
A book of short stories by award winning Gardner is a treat revealing a quirky interest in the ordinary lives of his mainly male protagonists dealing with unusual and sometimes bizarre situations. The opening story, 'Answers' belies its title, giving none! But it sets in train so many questions both by the people in the tale, and then by the readers, that it stays firmly planted in the mind for some time after closing the book, asking that infernal question, 'what if'? The fifteen stories are all as different, compelling and fascinating as the first, asking readers to question.
A group of kids sit on the beach in 'Bad Billy' trying to outdo each other with stories that scare and frighten. The group reveals a range of kids; brash and confident, unsure and bullied, caring and disinterested, until the quietest one reveals a tale of his imaginary friend. In 'The tunnel', bravado spurs the trio to explore the tunnels beneath their streets, revealing the strength and weaknesses of their friendship as they struggle to find an escape route. Several stories use a wild place called the Magellan Peninsula as the back drop. One involves a school camp and a lad who loves to cook, another is far more poignant ('Magellan') and chronicles the weekend when mum died. And several more, 'Stray' and 'The Kid' also deal with death.
One that gave me cause to reflect but also made me laugh out loud was 'Karma', the story of two teens going with Mum and her new boyfriend to camp for the weekend. He is a narcissistic drop kick and eventually even Mum sees what her kids see and they leave. But his behaviour is mind bogglingly stupid and irresponsible and will make readers think about what they see. It was galling to realise that I was laughing at his appalling behaviour!
Gardner's books have an underlying motif of masculinity and what makes a man bubbling away and many of the stories will make people stop and digest the ideas presented.Each story is short, pithy and well written, presenting one or two protagonists who are cleverly described in just a few lines.
Any of Scot Gardner's books make for an instant popular class set and teacher notes are available. Teens, particularly boys, will love reading of people their own age in situations not dissimilar to their own, making choices about how they behave.
Themes Short stories, Death, Humour, Bullying, School, Masculinity.
This is a clever and unique cautionary tale told entirely through the dialogue of three young monkeys and their adult monkey. A cheeky tone and the wonderful expression that is somehow miraculously conveyed through the very simple illustrations of the monkeys make this a really powerful and visually interesting story. "Ok, monkeys! I'm off", says big monkey. "Whatever you do, do NOT go down to the mango tree. There are tigers down there". Children will love predicting what is going to happen next and will absolutely be able to relate to the 'maybe we could just . . .' reasoning of the little monkeys. Children who stick to the rules and are more risk averse will be screaming at the monkeys: "Noooo! Don't go down there!", whereas risk takers will be eagerly anticipating whether they will be okay and how far they will go before the risk becomes too great. There is fantastic room for discussion here about risk, boundaries and following rules, but ultimately this is a very fun tale of adventure that will leave kids and adults laughing. And perhaps the big monkey is encouraging the risk taking behaviour somewhat, because as all adults know telling a child NOT to do something is definitely going to increase their determination! Indeed, the monkeys have learnt how to CAREFULLY go down to the mango tree as well as how to escape a tiger attack. Was this the plan all along?
Tish by Edwina Wyatt is a delightful, bitter-sweet story about the qualities of friendship, of searching, finding, saying goodbye and hello and learning to know oneself. The soft and gentle pencil illustrations by French illustrator Odette Barberousse are full page size and accompany the simple and good storyline perfectly. Hard back, slightly taller than a paperback novel, it is perfect for holding on your chest and reading in bed-not so perfect for lining up with paperbacks on the library shelf!
The reader's heart goes out to Tish. Tish is "quick like a mongoose but lazy like a bear...heavy like a mammoth...with a heart like a feather and has...small stumpy wings that can almost-nearly fly." He is a product of the imagination of lonely children. Sadly though, when each of the three children in the story find a real life friend, Tish is sidelined. Wyatt, using the voice of the third person narrator, keeps Tish close at all times and the reader feels his every emotion, every new understanding and observation. As a child I would have cried reading Tish but the story is also a comfort as it aligns with the oft' felt experience and anguish of shifting friendship groups that children experience at this age.
Stories like Tish are important for children as they talk of the universal need to be loved, the process of trying to adapt, trying to please and the development of confidence in what is important to oneself in a friend. Tish represents unrequited friendship, gentleness, hurt and goodness. Puff the magic dragon is an example of this type of tale and it likewise, never failed to make my heart break. My little sister had two important imaginary friends. They certainly exist.
Ultimately, because we know that every child grows up, thank goodness Wyatt has Tish find his own perfect friend. It would be very hard to have him continue on being rejected. A beautiful tale!
Right from the words on the cover ('Being an account of their daring exploits and audacious crimes') I was drawn into this exciting, dystopian adventure, by one of my favourite authors, Jonathan Stroud. I have always picked up his books from the time I encountered the Bartimaeus trilogy and then went on to be enthralled by the Lockwood & Co. series. What a thrill to see that he had started another series. This story is set in a future England where the country has been broken up into regions, as shown by the map at the beginning of the book. Scarlett McCain is a loner, an outlaw who has no compunction about robbing banks and is adept at fighting off both the law and the monsters that roam the land. When she comes across a wrecked bus, she rescues Albert Browne, a strange, naive boy and agrees to take him to safety. But Albert is hiding secrets and as they travel across the desolate countryside, danger follows the pair.
The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne was very difficult to put down as the exciting action pulled me in while the characters of Scarlett and Browne were so interesting that it was almost impossible to leave the story. I wanted to find out their backgrounds, what had happened to them in the past and whether they would have the skills to survive the perilous chases from their enemies and find sanctuary. The witty dialogue was also a plus.
Gun fights, bank heists, cannibals, the frightening Tainted people, and the truly scary Dr Calloway directing Browne's capture, provide much of the action. Meanwhile themes of what it means to be human, and who should be able to wield power will provide discussion points. The author can be heard talking about his book here, and extensive teaching notes are also available.
This would make a good class novel or literature circle choice and readers will want to read the next in the series.
Themes Dystopian fiction, Outlaws, Theft, Power, Being human.
13-year-old Scott and his family move into a neglected old house on the edge of town. They get to work sorting out the house and garden, while their dog forms an odd attachment to a garden gnome found in the middle of the tangled backyard.
Scott's twin toddler sisters are neurodivergent and live in their own tranquil little world. They rarely speak and then only in solemn meaningfully paired words ('Dog' and 'gone' when the dog runs away). They are referred to as the 'celebrated centre of our household' and are key to saving the family.
An early chapter builds background - the family was shattered four years ago by the terrible loss of their mother, and there's long detail about how they felt and coped. This awful time is told as Scott remembers it and is raw, honest and tragic.
In the present day, the story quickly turns frightening. Scott starts sensing, seeing and hearing things he can't explain. There is a séance, and several chilling attacks as well as multiple detailed descriptions of awful nightmares that blur Scott's sense of reality, leaving him jittery and exhausted.
In addition to the spooky/horror aspect of this story, mature content also comes from Scott and his friends. They are full of teenage bravado - there's some swearing and mention of an older brother dumping a girlfriend who's not into orgies.
The plot unfolds cleverly with various relationships within the family and with friends woven throughout, along with constant menacing undertones. There are also touches of humour in the way the family tease each other.
This is the first children's book by author Lois Murphy. The language and content will make this an easy entry to horror for lower secondary readers.
