Penguin, 2020. ISBN: 9780241420218. 400pp.
(Age: Adult - Older adolescents) This is a story of rich adolescents
who attend wealthy schools, who like to party often and hard, using
drugs to enable an even wilder time and who like to stay out until
the early hours of the morning. Everything they wear is named for
its designer brand, as are their accessories and the cars that they
drive. They only shop in the most expensive stores in the city of
New York, and their social lives seem to be set in the best clubs,
where they drink, and use drugs freely, and party, often, until the
early hours of the morning.
While this story is about these young people's desire to party,
attending school is recognized as being very important in leading on
to their future and thus their careers. In this intense narrative we
are drawn into the frenetic lives of Anna, an exceptional young
woman who falls in love with "Count" Alexi Vronsky, learning about
their high level of competition, that is, to be the best, or to have
the best, in everything they do. Parents seem to figure in their
lives to a small degree, being busy making money themselves.
Money is at the heart of this novel, and its presence fuels both the
lifestyle, the choices, the futures, and, sadly indeed, the
disasters. While these party people face the challenge to do well
enough at school to enable them to go to the best colleges and
universities, one young man loses his way and his story is deeply
saddening. This aspect reminds the reader of the dramatic aspects of
the much-loved Russian epic tale that is reflected in Lee's book.
Overall, I found this to be a challenging novel. In that it is
intended as an evocation of Tolstoy's Russian epic, Anna
Karenina, we see how this novel serves as a reminder of some
of the pitfalls that young people face, especially in a community
where wealth creates a world of privilege. I would recommend this
book as suitable for both adults and older adolescents. Lee's
evocation of a past novel, one that was a powerful tome for its era,
recreates the disturbing reality of the modern world in her
depiction of one particular way of life.
Elizabeth Bondar
Walk the Wire by David Baldacci
Macmillan, 2020. ISBN: 9781509874521.
(Age: senior secondary/adult) Amos Decker and Alex Jamison have no
idea why the FBI has sent them to London North Dakota. On the
surface they are investigating a murder, but why is the FBI
involved? London is in the middle of no where a boom and bust town
now enjoying another boom due to oil extraction by fracking.
The murder is unusual in that the body, discovered by a hunter, has
been autopsied and dumped. Decker and Jamison work with the local
police lieutenant Joe Kelly and the funeral home owner who is also
the coroner. The powers that be in London have been there a long
time and know the important people, and that certainly does not
include the oil workers who come and go, but spend their money in
the town. Two wealthy men own almost all worth owning; Dawson is in
control of bars, hotels and apartments used by workers and McClellan
who has the lions share of the fracking business
Add to the mix an old US Air Force installation, now privately run
but with an Air Force officer in charge, the reader gets an inkling
as to why there may be involvement with federal agencies. Despite
the body count Decker and Jamison seem no closer to understanding
what is going on. As leads are followed and people questioned anyone
with answers dies. Another federal agency is involved clandestinely
along with some highly trained and well armed mercenaries but
surprisingly as the body count continues to rise none of the
populace seem to notice!
The Air Force base has unusual goings on, some of which are noticed
by the religious cult that farms next to it, but they keep to
themselves and the wider community are none the wiser. However
Decker eventually gets to the bottom of the history of the base and
why there are problems and why it is being run by a private company.
The murders in London which may have no connection to the base
require the agents to go back to first principles. There is a lot of
money involved, greed, and love, albeit obsessive love. These lead
them back to the main players,the old London families, and their
interactions and prejudices and grudges.
For those who enjoy the genre, especially the Amos Decker series of
which this is the sixth, I've no doubt this will be tried and true
territory. I found the most interesting aspects to be the fracking
information, the religious cult and North Dakota itself. The
characters are rather stereotypical, either tall muscular and
lantern jawed if male or slender willowy and beautiful if female.
The plot is rather unbelievable, but then again it is The United
States. Themes: Crime fiction, USA, FBI, Fracking, North Dakota
(USA).
Mark Knight
Ruby Red Shoes: My wonderful Grandmother by Kate Knapp
Angus & Robertson, 2020. ISBN: 9781460758885. 32pp., hbk.
Ruby Red Shoes lives with her grandmother Babushka Galina Galushka
and they have a most wonderful relationship because her grandmother
wears fluffy slippers to the shops and doesn't care what others
think; she tells stories from the time of the dinosaurs when she was
a little girl; she says big words like 'quandary' and 'hullabaloo';
she belongs to a Book Club that meets once a month and sometimes
laugh more than it talks; and she keeps fit through aqua aerobics.
But mostly she's wonderful because she has x-ray spectacles and she
can see deep inside Ruby and knows just what she's feeling.
In these times when so many little ones are separated from their
grandparents, as mine are from me, because of being in that
high-risk age group, this could be the perfect opportunity to
reflect on the relationships and consider why they are so important.
In fact, Ruby invites the reader to do just that. Perhaps the
reflection might inspire a letter or a phone or video call so that
connections can be maintained, or maybe the creation of a book just
like this one full of special thoughts and memories that can be
shared when all this is over and we can get together again.
Barbara Braxton
The girl with the gold bikini by Lisa Walker
Wakefield Press, 2020. ISBN: 9781743056875.
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Olivia Grace has just finished school and
wants to be a private investigator like Nancy Drew or Veronica Mars,
and gets a job working for former school mate Rosco at Gold Star
Investigations. She's a fun but awkward heroine, always getting into
bizarre comical situations, that would make a great comedy film.
She's tied herself in knots trying to master speed yoga instruction
in an evening, she's posed as a femme fatale at a dating night,
she's swum with sharks, she's braved the stand-up comedy circuit.
There is just one laugh after another.
The setting is the Gold Coast, the world of sun, surf and meter
maids, the girls in the gold bikinis who add coins to parking
meters. A devourer of Mars Bars, Olivia is not the usual meter maid
type, but even this is a challenge she takes in her stride, along
with the occasional headstand when required. Whilst it is a light
and funny plot, there are some unexpected twists as in all good
detective stories, and also a positive affirmation of being true to
oneself, having courage, and overcoming discrimination based on
appearance or gender. Readers who enjoy comedy and detective stories
will enjoy this book. And for surf lovers the descriptions of
surfing the waves are brilliant. Teaching
notes are available. Themes: Detectives, Gold Coast, Yoga,
Surfing, Body image, Sexism.
Helen Eddy
Why I love the Earth by Daniel Howarth
Harper Collins, 2020. ISBN: 9780008389109. 26pp., hbk.
Illustrator Daniel Howarth has taken the words of our littlest ones
about why they love this planet and transformed them into charming,
fun illustrations that will appeal and inspire.
Starting with Teacher Bunny showing her class a globe and giving her
class a classic teaching strategy of completing a sentence, she
says, "I love the Earth because . . . "
Then all her students respond with a range of reasons in a series of
double-page spreads that bring together aspects of the planet,
familiar and not-so.
This would be a wonderful book to share with both parents and
children at this time because it is just made for getting our
youngest readers to respond with text and illustration, especially
when we are trying to strike a balance with screen time. Some might
even like to investigate some of the phenomena that are mentioned
such as how old the Earth is or why it has so many colours.
It's a great way to differentiate the curriculum as each follows
something that fascinates them or has piqued their curiosity.
Another picture book that transcends its target age group and opens
up worlds of possibilities.
Barbara Braxton
Surprising stories behind everyday stuff
National Geographic Kids, 2019. ISBN: 9781426335297. 256pp.,
pbk.
They are the things we see and use every day and which are so
familiar we take little notice of them - cameras, mobile phones,
rulers, toilets and even common customs like shaking hands, table
manners and saying gesundheit.
But each has a backstory about its invention or development and in
this intriguing little book from NatGeo Kids, each is explained.
With hand-shaking now discouraged, what are the origins of this
practice anyway? With toilet paper now a nightly news item, what is
the story behind its development and the invention of the toilet?
Using its customary bold, colourful design, with stunning photos,
and jam-packed with awesome facts, there are 10 chapters each with
related inventions to keep young minds entertained and educated for
a long time. Perhaps, if students are no longer in the physical
space known as school, it could serve as a role model for their own
investigation of something common. Perhaps a future edition might
have concepts such as social distancing and self-isolation - what do
these mean, what do they look like and why were they imposed?
While the book answers many questions, it has the potential to pose
so many more, each of which could be a research topic for kids
needing something to do, and with self-choice essential it will
engage them while putting into practice all those information
literacy skills!
Barbara Braxton
Derek Dool Supercool 1: Bust a move by Adrian Beck
Illus. by Scott Edgar. Puffin, 2020. ISBN: 9781760892951. 256pp.,
pbk.
Think of the COOLEST, FUNNIEST, most HANDSOME kid in school, times
it by a gazillion and you get DEREK DILBERT DOOL. At least he thinks
so . . . Pity he's the only one.
Life's tough when your name's Derek. You're destined to be uncool.
But Derek is determined to find something - anything - that will
change that. He's sick of being picked last in PE, of not being
invited to parties, and of all the cool kids using his freckles as
dot-to-dot challenges. Derek is going to find something that will
make him SUPERCOOL and nothing is going to stop him.
There are many boys like Derek in our classrooms so his situation
will resonate with them, and with its short chapters, punchy
sentences and liberal illustrations this is a new series that is
going to have wide appeal with independent readers who don't want to
have to concentrate on convoluted storylines and complex characters
yet. The popularity of other series like Diary
of a wimpy kid has proven there is a strong market for
these sorts of books amongst our newly independent male clientele so
to have one that has an Australian flavour will have extra appeal.
Barbara Braxton
The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
Allen & Unwin, 2020. ISBN: 9781760525576.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Readers will become immersed in a
watery world with Tempe, a 17 year old girl who dives deep below the
waves, scavenging for relics in ruins of the time before the Great
Waves destroyed her planet. Tempe is determined to earn enough notes
to buy twenty four hours with her dead sister Elysea in the facility
on Palindromena, where the dead can be revived for a short time. It
is on Palindromena that Lor lives isolated underground rarely seeing
anyone, guilty about causing the death of his friend in a climbing
accident. When he takes on the task of guiding Tempe through the
twenty four hours that she has with Elysea he finds himself on a
chase to bring them back before the time is up when they escape in
search of their parents.
Scholte is a master at world building. It is easy to imagine a world
where the sea has overtaken big cities lying along the coast and
where the survivors must scavenge to keep alive. The idea of being
able to visit your loved ones for a last twenty four hours is one
that will challenge the reader. Would you really be able to face
seeing someone you loved, knowing that it is only for 24 hours?
Elysea knows that she wants to spend these last 24 hours with her
parents, and she and Tempe take off on a dangerous adventure to find
out what has happened to them.
Told in alternative chapters by Tempe and Lor, it is easy for the
author to identify with both main characters. Tempe has become
strong and independent in the two years since her sister's death and
parents' disappearance and she is determined to find out why the
secrets around her parents' disappearance and Elysea's death. The
mystery of what Lor is doing hiding himself away tantalises too and
secondary characters are all fully fleshed and interesting.
This is a unique dystopian story that will appeal to fans of
speculative fiction as well as those who love a coming of age story.
It would make an interesting literature circle book and teacher
notes are available at the publisher's website. Readers who
enjoyed The vanishing deep will want to read Scholte's other
novel, Four
dead queens which is on the Book of the Year: Older
Readers shortlist 2020.
Pat Pledger
A bear named Bjorn by Delphine Perret
Translated by Antony Shugaar. Gecko Press, 2020. ISBN:
9781776572694. eBook available.
(Ages 6 -8). Recommended. A thoughtful, whimsical story that follows
the daily adventures of a Bear, Bjorn, who lives quietly in a cave.
It is a mixture of animal and human adventures as each of the six
chapters reveals another escapade involving the bear and his other
animal friends. He wins a sofa and decides to leave it in a part of
the forest for everyone to use as it just doesn't really fit into
his cave very well. In another chapter his friend the fox helps him
to organize a fun carnival where all his friends borrow clothes and
wear adornments to celebrate and reflect what they see humans
wearing in clothing catalogues. Later he gets his annual check-up
with the very popular Owl who checks them thoroughly from top to
toe. The chapter called 'Nothing' was weirdly appropriate to
illustrate to a young child that it is okay to just sit and
appreciate the simple things around us, especially during the
restrictions on outdoor entertainment as we self-isolate for Covid
19. It was also interesting to be given an insight into the
processes that the bear took to prepare for hibernation in the last
chapter.
All these adventures are beautifully illustrated using black line
drawings and the book has been published on calming mint-green
pages. Best enjoyed by young independent readers or one to one
reading at home where the illustrations can be enjoyed along with
the story. Themes: Bears, Forests, Friendship.
Gabrielle Anderson
Peppa Pig: Peppa's play date by Neville Astley and Mark Baker
Ladybird, 2020. ISBN: 9780241412237. Board book.
(Age: 1-4) Another in the Peppa Pig series is sure to have
young children delighted as Peppa and her family prepare for a play
date with Peppa's new friends Mandy Mouse and Peggi and Pandora
Panda. Peppa is very excited to be having her friends over. Mummy
Pig puts out lots of games, while Daddy Pig organises the crafts for
the friends to use. However when they arrived Mandy Mouse really
wants to play in the garden and so they all troop outside to play
imaginative games like princesses, pirates and giants.
The Peppa Pig series always extols the virtues of family
life and this is no exception. Mummy and Daddy Pig are happy to
accommodate the children's needs even though the work they did to
set up activities is ignored by the children. Daddy Pig brings out a
wonderful feast for the friends to enjoy in the backyard and a very
happy time is had by them.
Mandy Mouse and Peggi and Pandora Panda are new additions to the
friends of Peppa and it is great to see diversity here with Mandy
Mouse happily playing in her wheelchair and proving to be a leader
among the friends.
This is a feel good book that shows the familiar to the young child
who may just be beginning to experience play dates. It also
emphasises the benefits of the imagination and making your own fun
while sharing it with others.
Pat Pledger
Eureka!: A story of the goldfields by Mark Wilson
Eureka!: A story of the goldfields by Mark Wilson
Lothian Children's, 2020. ISBN: 9780734416810. 40pp., hbk.
Highly recommended. Like thousands and thousands of others, Molly
and her father have emigrated to Australia to try their luck as gold
prospectors in Ballarat, Victoria. Life on the diggings is hard and
Molly misses her mother, who died before they left England.
A Chinese teenager, Chen, shows Molly and her Papa how to pan for
gold and helps them when their food and money run out. Not everyone
on the goldfields is friendly, however. Chen and other Chinese
diggers are often bullied and
the police lock up miners who haven't paid the exorbitant gold
licence fee. Before long, Molly, Papa and Chen are caught up in a
protest that will become known as the Eureka Rebellion - a legendary
battle that will profoundly affect them all.
Based on a true story, this intricately illustrated story gives an
insight into what life was like on the Victorian goldfields
particularly from the perspectives of a young girl and that of being
Chinese. For the Chinese were not welcome, were not trusted
and racism regularly raised its ugly head.
For those for whom a study of the goldfields is on the curriculum,
this is an excellent example of how history can be accessed through
a narrative and enable young readers to get a more human insight
into the time that bare facts and figures do not offer. This is what
Mark Wilson does best and in this, he is at his best.
Barbara Braxton
Tree: A gentle story of love and loss by Lynn Jenkins
Illus. by Kirrili Lonergan. EK Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781925820126.
32pp., pbk.
Loppy the LAC loves the feeling of sanctuary and serenity that the
old tree in the park gives him whenever he is feeling anxious. But
when it starts to lose its leaves long before it is supposed to, his
friend Curly points out that Tree's days are numbered. This makes
Loppy very unsettled - how will he calm himself if it dies and
disappears? But death is an inevitable conclusion to living and
Loppy has to learn and accept that 'his' tree will soon be gone.
This is the fifth book in the Lessons of a LAC series, this
one created to help children accept loss and process grief. Given
the summer holidays that many of our students have experienced where
all that was familiar is now blackened and gone, this is an
important book to add to your mindfulness collection and share with
the children. While building a seat with a special photo might not
be the option for them, nevertheless there are ways we can
commemorate things that are important to us so that peace and
connection return. Because it might be in a different way for each
person, it's also an opportunity to acknowledge that we each value
different things and how and when we remember this is unique to the
individual. There is no right way or wrong way - just different.
The author is a clinical psychologist whose specialty is early
intervention in the social and emotional development of children and
the previous books in this series have demonstrated that her words
are wise and her stories resonate with their audience.
Barbara Braxton
Willy-willy wagtail: tales from the Bush Mob by Helen Milroy
Magabala Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781925936605.
(Age: 6+) Highly recommended. The first in a series of books about
the Bush Mob, each showcases animals in their environment, solving
problems and working together. In this book, the willy-wagtail is
instrumental in gathering all the animals to work together.
Initially they are unable to communicate, and she helps the animals
understand each other. She helps Crow, now old and frail, bringing
her food, and listening to her stories even though she has heard
them before. Willy Wagtail learns all the languages and stories of
the animals, and Crow helps by telling many of the tales.
Willy Wagtail is now called the Messenger, because she can
communicate with all the the others, and she is know as the
messenger in many Aboriginal cultures around Australia.
The second story tells how Willy Wagtail and the wind became friends
after the bird fell and hurt her wing. Unable to fly, the wind
helped her stay upright, and Willy Willy played with her.
The last story tells of how Willy Wagtail gets all the animals to
work together. How Willy Wagtail saved the bush mob tells
when a bushfire appears, she must let all the animals know that they
must head for the river to keep safe. But getting them to listen is
problematic, so she enlists the help of old Crow. Eventually all the
animals work together to get everyone to the river and safety.
A wonderfully positive group of stories, they tell readers about
Australian animals and their environment, and through the stories of
their problem solving, give lessons in communication and working
together. Positive and encouraging, the tales are the first of a
series which will be well used in classrooms crying out for credible
stories from Aboriginal authors. Enlivened with richly detailed
illustrations, using techniques used in Aboriginal art, readers will
delight in picking out the animals as they read of their learning to
cooperate.
Helen Milroy is a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara
region of Western Australia, and has written Backyard birds
and Wombat,
mudlark and other stories for Fremantle Press. Themes:
Aboriginal tales, Willy-wagtail, Aboriginal themes, Aboriginal
author, Aboriginal people, Dreaming stories.
Fran Knight
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Picador, 2020. ISBN: 9781529005127. 256pp.
Maren lives in the tiny settlement of Vardo on a Norwegian island in
the Barents Sea close to the north-east border with Russia. It is
1617, a time when Christianity is concerning itself with devilry and
witchcraft. On Christmas Eve a sudden storm drowns most of the Vardo
menfolk who had put to sea to capture a school of fish. The storm
drowns Maren's fiancee, Dag, her brother Eric and her father as well
as the pastor. Altogether 40 men die and the women of the settlement
grasp at reasons, including the suggestion that the devil sent the
storm. Eric's pregnant wife, Dina, is from the Sami, the indigenous
people of the area and the devout women direct suspicion at her,
saying the Sami can call the devil. After nine days the bodies of
the men begin to wash ashore and the women retrieve the bodies and
store them until the earth thaws enough to bury them and Dina brings
a Sami shaman to watch over the bodies and conduct rites for the
dead creating further conflict. However the need to survive without
the men leads the women to work together and put out to sea, netting
fish as their menfolk had done. Eventually Pastor Nils Kurtsson is
sent to lead the community but some of the women have tasted
independence and found strength in it. When a Lensmann, Hans Koning,
a kind of lord or sherrif, is appointed, he in turn appoints a
Commissioner, Absalom Cornet, to travel to the village, stamp out any
heathen tendencies and promote the church. He brings with him his
bride, Ursa, from Bergen to the south. As Absalom starts to pursue
his agenda, Ursa forms an unlikely friendship with Maren. The
narrative swings from Maren's perspective to Ursa's and they both
watch with horror as the witch hunting in the settlement starts to
unfold.
Based on historical events, the narrative reflects on some of the
uglier aspects of human nature and the redeeming qualities of true
loyalty and friendship. A hitherto unexamined period and setting
that will appeal to readers of historical fiction.
Sue Speck
Peter and the tree children by Peter Wohlleben
Illus. by Cale Atkinson. Schwartz Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781771644570.
40pp.
(Age: 4-10) Peter Wohlleben, a German forester, writes on ecological
themes. His 2015 bestseller book for adults, The hidden life of
trees, explains in simple language what trees feel and how
they communicate. His writings are based on his own experience
within forests as well as on scientific findings. Peter and the
tree children is his first children's book (apart from a young
readers' edition of The hidden life of trees titled Can
you hear the trees talking) and it introduces children to the
idea of tree families, the importance of old growth forests and the
impact people have on the way forests grow. Peter explains to the
reader in a letter at the start of the book that Piet is a real
squirrel who lives in the forest around his home in Germany and that
in the forest is a spot where no one is allowed to cut down any
beech trees so that the tree family can exist and grow unimpeded.
The fictionalised story follows Peter as he leads Piet through the
forest to find the tree children. Along the way Peter helps Piet to
understand that trees often need the protection of older, taller
trees to grow up properly, that heavy equipment compacts the earth
so that it is difficult for little trees to thrive, that squirrels
help start beech seedlings and that some trees release an
orange-smelling distress signal. There is also some extra
information about trees and their families given at the end of the
story, which expands on the detail given within the story.
The cartoonish illustrations are pleasing enough but lack the
grandeur that could have been useful for portraying the immensity
and intricacies of the forest. This was a missed opportunity, as was
the decision to focus on Piet and his lack of a family (as well as
lots of seemingly empty text) rather than giving more time to the
what, how and why of tree communication. This is inarguably an
important book because of the pressing and unique nature of its
message, but disappointingly it doesn't completely hit the mark.
Nicole Nelson
