Time Travel Diaries book 1. Piccadilly Press, 2019, ISBN:
9781848128002.
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Themes: Time travel, Boys, Roman Britain.
'There are three rules of time travel, a naked entry and exit, only
drink don't eat and keep interactions to a minimum!' Billionaire
inventor Solomon Daisy needs a willing subject to travel back to
Roman Britain and find the blue-eyed girl with the ivory knife. Only
pre-adolescent children without piercings or fillings can enter the
portal and twelve-year old Alex Papas fits the criteria. He loves
Latin Club and can speak the language too, it's like Greek which he
speaks with his grandma who cares for him, as well.
Alex weighs up the consequences and considers the benefits of the
million pounds reward, four million extra, if he finds the blue-eyed
girl. (Daisy's fascination is borderline obsessive.) Alex uses his
wits, prior knowledge of Londinium to navigate out of the dark
Temple of Mithra into the streets. Chased by a mad woman, traversing
the Thames in a coracle, stealing a knife, sleeping beside a warm
kiln, losing Dinu, the first day and night is problematic for Alex.
At the marketplace, he uses the tune of 'Greensleeves' and his
schoolboy Latin to inform the crowd of his goal.
Fortuitously, Lollia the knife-carrying girl finds Alex. She is
pretty but rather spoilt and treats her slave girl, Plecta, badly.
There's a budding romance that develops when Dinu reappears, as he
falls for Plecta. Do the boys return unscathed to modern day London?
How does Alex ensure the safety of the girls as well?
Carolyn Lawrence's rich background knowledge of Roman life, the
nitty-gritty, sights, smells and sounds, make this a thrilling
novel. She includes 'Ten Things You Didn't Know About Roman London'
to ensure the readers understand the differences between the
realities and representations glamorised in Hollywood movies. The
time travel diaries is a fast-paced junior novel perfect for
sharing with classes studying Ancient Roman history.
Rhyllis Bignell
The sharp edge of a snowflake by Sif Sigmarsdottir
Hachette, 2019. ISBN: 9781444935301.
(Age: 15+) Recommended. Themes: Nordic mystery, Thriller, Iceland,
Murder, Social media, Sexual abuse. Lovers of Nordic noir and
mysteries will be thrilled to pick up this gripping thriller set in
the snowy cold of Iceland. Hannah has been sent to live with her
father, a man she barely knows after the death of her mother. She is
to work as a trainee journalist at her father's paper. On the way
from the airport she witnesses the body of a man who has been
murdered and becomes embroiled in finding out what has happened.
Meanwhile Imogen Collins is also coming to Iceland. She is a social
media influencer and works for a company that manipulates sales. She
is also haunted by the man she calls the Beast. Hannah and Imogen
meet and secrets start to spill out as the action speeds up.
This book was very hard to put down. It ticks all the boxes on many
levels - the mystery of the murder is quite riveting, and is central
to the story, but the background of both Hannah and Imogen give the
story depth and interest. What has happened to Imogen in her past?
Will Hannah inherit the mental problems that plagued her mother?
Both young women are feisty characters that readers will identify
with, while the manipulative aspects of social media are thoroughly
explored and Hannah's comments on Instagram are amusing and
relevant.
This is a really engrossing mystery with psychological overtones and
is sure to appeal not only to teens but to adult mystery readers as
well. And the unexpected cliff-hanger at the end suggests that
readers may see more of Hannah's investigative powers in the future.
Pat Pledger
The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle by Sophie Green
Hachette, 2019. ISBN: 9780733641169.
(Age: Adolescent - Adult) This delightful novel plunges us into the
lives of four women at different stages in their lives. Meeting at
one of Sydney's beaches for a daily swim, named as Shelly Beach in
the novel, the four women discover a lifting of the spirit,
supported as they are by the growing understanding, interest and
care of the others. The issues that the women face are very much at
the heart of coping with the changing world of today, and, even more
so, of recognizing the challenge of the roles that each plays.
While on the surface this may appear to be a 'light read', Green's
gentle persuasive tone lures us into the lives of these women and we
are caught up in their growing friendship and daily lives. While
Green explores the complications that the four women have in their
lives, she also draws characters who are able to change, developing
greater strengths to face their challenges. Each discovers that the
caring support of others enables them to face their lives with a
more positive stance and stronger determination to complete what
they have begun. Focussing on each one's issue in the individual
chapters, Green draws us into the increasingly important shared
times swimming in the beautiful, deep waters of the bay, and what
that offers each woman. We realise that, for the women, this
recurrent meeting enables a deeper exploration of the complexities
of their lives, and we begin to see the strength of the circle that
can support them.
Leanne, a nurse, offers support and care to patients but is
alienated from her family. Swimming with the others, she experiences
the 'magic' of the sea. Marie lives alone, surviving on the age
pension. She finds the friendship of the others and the freedom of
the water exhilarating. Elaine moved to Sydney from England with her
Australian husband, a doctor who works long hours, and has begun to
use alcohol while spending much time alone. Theresa is married with
two young boys, her husband having left her. Her mother,
delightfully spirited and supportive, helps in the home while
keeping her own 'room' in the garden shed.
Ultimately this story is a lesson to all of us in these busy worlds
that we inhabit, that giving and receiving kindness, friendship and
support can bring about change in our lives, especially in our level
of well-being. This is a book for both adults and adolescents who
are curious as to the decisions they might make as adults. Indeed,
it is probably a woman's book, but would be a salutary lesson for
all genders as the modern world is shown to present difficulties,
intruding and sometimes alienating us from what matters in life.
Elizabeth Bondar
Impossible music by Sean Williams
Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760637156
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Simon is a young musician with his
own band. He loves creating music, it means everything to him. He
wants to go on to study music at university. And then one night he
is struck deaf, by a stroke that destroys the part of the brain that
hears. He has cortical deafness, an extremely rare form of
sensorineural hearing loss. He becomes obsessed by what that means
for music and sound - can there be music without hearing? Can he
create music that is silent? Williams explores these questions in a
way that intrigues without being too difficult to understand.
Simon gradually develops a friendship with another newly deaf person
- George, a girl, whose deaf name is the sign for the letter G with
an extra twist evoking her love of coffee. She has the inverse
problem to him - tinnitus, so loud and so obtrusive, that it wipes
out any other sound - another form of deafness. Simon thinks he is
being the helpful understanding friend, giving her space to adjust,
but gradually comes to realise that perhaps he is the person most in
need of help and support in adjusting to his new circumstances.
Williams' descriptions of relationships is so authentic: the
tentative newly budding romance between Simon and G, Simon's
relationship with his confrontative struggling sole-parent mother,
his relationship with his opted-out equally music obsessed father,
and his annoying but caring sister, Maeve. Every reader can relate
to these situations.
I can highly recommend this book as a story of finding one's
identity in overwhelmingly changed circumstances, the struggle to
reach better understanding of relationships with the most
significant people in one's life, and also an insightful portrayal
of what it really means to be deaf. Williams is a skilled writer;
the chapters are short, each adds another layer to the story and
carries you along to a conclusion that is positive and optimistic.
Helen Eddy
Moving your body by Beci Orpin
Lothian Children's Books, 2019. ISBN: 9780734419415.
(Age: 1-3) Recommended. Boardbook. Themes: Movement. A brightly
coloured boardbook Moving your body concentrates on the many
different ways that small children could move. They could run with
their legs, fly with their arms, smile with their mouths and so on.
Each vibrantly illustrated double page has simple language written
in easy to read black type against pink and yellow, blue and green
backgrounds to describe different movements that the body makes.
Gorgeous little people are drawn showing the movement described and
giving the reader the idea of how the body can move. I particularly
liked the 'Float on your back' page that shows a little person with
floaties on a deep blue background. And of course the final page
'Hold with your hand' is heart-warming. Little children will have
lots of fun trying out the different movements as the book is read
to them as well as having the opportunity to learn parts of the
body.
There are children of all colours and genders, which makes Moving
your body a very inclusive board book that is ideal to share
with the very young, and its sturdy board format will allow for lots
of use by little hands.
Pat Pledger
Land of fences by Mark Smith
Text, 2019. ISBN: 9781925773583. Wilder trilogy, book 3.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended, Crime, Future, Dystopia, Asylum
seekers, Virus. The third in the Wilder trilogy sees Finn
and Kas leading a carefree lifestyle near the town where Finn grew
up, in the lands beyond the control of the Wilders and the
No-Landers. They hunt and fish, swim and surf, play with the dog and
talk to Ray. They are beyond the reach of those who would hunt them
down, but Kas' implant is always there. She is a siley, a slave, an
asylum seeker, one of the band of people blamed for the virus which
spread across Australia, causing absolute chaos when millions died,
allowing small groups of thugs to take control, and the encroaching
presence of those thugs means that Finn and Kas must move on.
Fixing an old radio has them hearing a transmission from the army,
now controlling the area nearby and asking all who have survived to
give themselves up. They know this will mean separation and the fear
of what may happen to Kas impels their leaving their haven.
A sense of foreboding permeates the book as we follow the pair, now
accompanied by two others who have escaped the farm where they were
forced to work. But Kas' implant vibrates and they are caught and
find that Ramage, their old enemy is now in charge of the area, and
his word is law. But needing a doctor, Finn is taken to a woman who
proves to be a siley as well, one of the qualified people who must
be used despite their lowly status.
Through her, Finn begins to hope that there is resistance and he
holds onto that idea. This again is a heart stopping read. The
situation is dire, and Smith cleverly parallels life in Australia
today with what it could be, with increased suspicion of smaller
groups, of people who are different, of asylum seekers, allowed free
rein. All the mistrust between the groups comes to the fore when the
virus hits, with some using the mayhem for their own ends.
Stomach clenching episodes may cause some readers to have a break,
as I did, finding it hard to cope with the threats imposed by Ramage
and his crew, fearful of the fate of Finn and Kas. Smith's involving
writing and ever present threat of intimidation, harm and worse will
keep readers hooked to the last pages. A shockingly good dystopian
story, it has warnings of what will happen when societies become
zenophobic, insular and inward looking.
Fran Knight
The good thieves by Katherine Rundell
Bloomsbury, 2019. ISBN 9781526608130.
(Age: 9+) Extremely highly recommended. Themes: History, Family,
Friendship, Acceptance, Thieves, Disability and Disadvantage.
Vita Marlowe's grandfather's house has been taken by a conman and
she is determined to get it back. After arriving in New York by boat
from England, Vita sets out to get her family home back for her
grandfather. Although Vita, a master planner is the main character,
she enlists the help of some unlikely children: Arkady, whose father
runs a Russian circus, dreams of working with animals; Samuel, the
apprentice to the circus's animal trainer wants to fly; and Silk who
just wants to belong, fit together in an unlikely group. Although all
of the members bring special skills to the group they also bring
their backgrounds in prejudice and this helps them to work together
to stand up for themselves, fight against the prejudice each faces
and challenge the status quo that stops them from following their
dreams.
As the story progresses, the reader is pulled into the lives of not
just the children but the people around them as they are confronted
by the worst that society has to offer and the problem of being a
child in an adult world. This is a brilliant book for all children
and will not disappoint those who have read Rundell's other novels,
as it is exciting, adventurous and thrilling while still showing
that just because you are different doesn't mean that you can't do
what you dream about doing.
Mhairi Alcorn
Contender: The chosen by Taran Matharu
Hodder Children's Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781444938975.
(Age: 12+) Recommended. The chosen, first in the Contender
series by Tara Matharu (author of the Summoner
series) was a convoluted trip to a world where the suspension of
disbelief is entirely necessary. With a higher power taking control
of the lives of six boys from reform school and the evident
resurrection of more than a few prehistoric species, Cade Carter's
world is about to change irrevocably.
Convicted of a crime he didn't commit and losing not only his
full-ride scholarship but the trust of both of his parents, Cade is
sentenced to twelve months in a detention facility with other
delinquent juveniles, forced to live in fear and silence - anything
to keep the target off his back. But things are not as they seem
when he is wrenched yet again from life as he knows it and
introduced to a never-before-known level of terror - that of being a
contender. Just what that means, Cade doesn't know and he doesn't
have much time to think given he's too busy fighting for his life as
monsters emerge from the deepest recesses of his mind. Seeing living
dinosaurs might be a palaeontologist's dream, but for a boy
desperate to keep his life it's more of a nightmare. Separated from
the others, Cade must exercise his intellect as well as his physical
endurance in order to save his own life, and possibly even that of
the Earth itself.
With high stakes and misunderstood young offenders, Matharu presents
an action novel very similar to a video game. As the novel goes on
the characters become more fleshed out and their problems more
familiar. Eric, the broodiest and most frightening guy in the school,
softens, revealing his story and how he ended up in the misfit
school. Jim, always having been under Finch's power, finds the
courage to stand up for his beliefs. Cade, always blending into the
background in an effort not to be noticed, assumes the role of
leader - his intellect and strength guiding forces for the group in
the battle to come.
I would recommend to boys aged twelve and up interested in video
games and history.
Kayla Gaskell
On my way by Sophie Masson
Illus. by Simon Howe. Scholastic, 2019. ISBN: 9781742994093.
(Age: 4+) Themes: Fairies, Observation, Humour, Families. This
gently rhythmic tale has a mother and daughter in the garden. The
girl is telling her mother what she has seen today. On the way to
school she saw an amazing array of things: a snake baking a cake and
a frog walking a dog. But interjects Mum, these are not as unusual
as the things I saw, and the daughter then tells Mum of the more
unusual things she noticed: a witch jumping a ditch and a troll
juggling a bowl. Mum is still a little underwhelmed with the people
her daughter met along the way, and children will love reading of
the creatures she saw. But when she tells Mum that she saw a girl on
a bike and a boy on a trike, all in a hurry Mum grabs her child and
they scoot indoors and close the door.
Readers will laugh out loud as they see why Mum and her daughter
must get away so quickly. This twist at the end turns the telling
upside down, and all readers will want the story read again, or turn
to the first page to read for themselves, to see how the twist is
revealed through the story.
They will find the story has two layers, one in which they could be
part of the tale, but another telling the story of a fairy family.
Sumptuous digital illustrations will see readers looking more
closely at what is included on each page, encouraging the eyes to
range over the pages as they read, while the text encourages
prediction and reading along with the adult as the story is read out
loud.
Fran Knight
Detention by Tristan Bancks
Puffin, 2019. ISBN: 9780143791799.
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. With chapter headings marking the
passing minutes, this fast-paced novel takes place within one
confronting morning - as a young refugee girl on the run from
detention crosses paths with a boy trying to rescue a brutalised
dog. Sima and her family make the break amid a group of fifty, aided
by activists who cut through the wire fence around an Australian
detention camp, but in the panic of pursuit she is separated from
her parents and knows she just has to keep running, hoping to
eventually be reunited with them and relatives in a place called
Leeton. Dan is a dishevelled caravan park kid, reluctantly on his
way to school, when he comes across a chained up dog covered in
wounds. His plans to carry back some water for the dog are
frustrated when the school goes into lock-down, as armed Border
Force police search the grounds for fugitive refugees. Dan sees the
girl in hijab hiding in the toilet block.
Thus, Dan is thrust into a moral dilemma, should he turn the girl
into the authorities? Sima says that her family is about to be
deported to danger. Out of fear of torture and death, her parents
have made the desperate decision to flee, carrying with them her
baby sister. She needs help to get to Leeton to find them again. Dan
knows that means he will be breaking the law, aiding her carries
severe penalties . . . but maybe sometimes the law is wrong. How can
it be right to imprison children? How can his country send families
to danger? Sima's fate rests in his hands - what should he do?
There are many heart-stopping moments as the two are forced to make
quick decisions about who they can trust, and where they can go,
always with danger close behind. Whilst the book reads like a
fast-paced thriller, the characters are very real, particularly the
character of Dan, struggling to keep his life together in a
situation that reflects loneliness and neglect, but who is capable
of thinking and caring more deeply than his peers. He faces a moral
dilemma that challenges ideas of right and wrong, good and bad . . .
It is a thought-provoking story, really well written, with a
satisfying and realistic conclusion. Teacher's
notes are available.
Helen Eddy
The wych elm by Tana French
Penguin Books, 2018. ISBN: 9780241379516.
(Age: 16+) Recommended. Themes: Murder, Psychological thriller,
Bullying. What an unusual stand-alone mystery - who put a body found
deep in a wych elm? Toby was a lucky man, handsome and popular,
until one night he was assaulted at home and left with brain damage.
Recuperating in his uncle's home, his idyllic view of family is
shattered when his nephew finds a skull in the huge wych elm in the
back garden. The Wych Elm is the first book by Tana French that I have
read for a long time. I was quite happy to read a stand-alone as I
had no previous connections to the author's popular detectives.
Toby is the sort of man that the reader easily identifies with,
casual and often thoughtless. His confrontation with how his cousins
view him and his past actions, as well as his attempts at coping
with his disabilities from his attack, make for a challenging and
interesting background to uncovering who the murdered person is and
why he was put into the wych elm.
It is a long book and often the murder takes second place to the
personal trials of Toby and the family dramas that are uncovered
along the way but fans of psychological thrillers with complex plots
will find it a rewarding read. It was also interesting to later read
about a real unsolved
murder that had taken place with the body found in a witch
elm. The Wych Elm is definitely a novel for those who enjoy a long
novel with many subplots of bullying, family dynamics and thought
provoking actions.
Pat Pledger
Spot's fire engine by Eric Hill
Puffin, 2019. ISBN: 9780241382486.
(Age: 1-4) Recommended. Board book. Themes: Fire engines. Subtitled
Sound book with flashing lightSpot's fire engine is
described as a book and toy in one by the publisher. It is a very
robust book featuring the ever popular Spot, this time visiting a
fire station with his grandfather who is a firefighter. The
illustrations which are done in very bright colours, show the fire
station, and what is inside. Spot has a lot of fun going down the
fire pole and giving the engine a wash, as well as pretending to
drive the fire engine. There are lots of funny little details that
the reader will enjoy as Spot splashes his Grandpa when washing the
engine and makes the fire siren blare. Other details about fire
stations like the equipment and uniforms also create interest for
the young reader. All are vividly coloured and the expressions on
the dogs' faces are delightful.
There is a battery operated siren and flashing light which will be
sure to entertain the young child. It comes with a warning,
'hazardous if swallowed', so this is a book that should be handled
with an adult present. The battery can be turned on and off at the
back of book, if the noise becomes an issue for the adult reading
the book!
A hard-wearing, robust board book, its familiar characters and
vibrant illustrations are sure to delight the very young.
Pat Pledger
When the ground is hard by Malla Nunn
Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760524814.
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. Themes: Racism, Colonialism,
Swaziland, South Africa, Friendship, Jane Eyre, Bullying, Crime.
Adele, living in a coloured community in colonial Swaziland is
lucky. Her white father supports his family, visiting now and again,
leaving money but more importantly paying her school fees at a
Christian boarding school eighty eight miles away. With her paler
skin and some money in her pocket she fits in with the pretties, the
top group within the school, those for whom others run errands, the
girls who are excused some misbehaviour because they are fee paying
in a school where many are slow with theirs. Arriving after a long
hot bus trip, Adele realises that a new girl, Sandi has taken her
spot and she is relegated to sharing a room with a poor Swazi girl,
an outcast, Lottie, who doesn't seem to care about the rules they
are forced to obey.
After a confrontation with the pretties, Adele can see Lottie's
future, a poor mixed race girl, clever and pretty but prey to the
white men, just like Adele's mother, a woman whose youth and
abilities are left in a village on the outskirts of a town, hungry
for the scant recognition given by the man who keeps her there.
School is a hive of jealousies and racism, but wanting to fit back
in with the pretties, Adele grudgingly comes to see Lottie in a
different light, beginning to recognise an independence of spirit
that she wants for herself.
Things happen which open Adele's eyes to the small mindedness of the
group she longs to be with: they steal Lotte's only spare pair of
undies, they lie about the fire and spread rumours about her and
Lottie, they laugh and sneer as they pass by.
Lottie and Adele bond further over a shared reading of Jane Eyre,
the story of a young girl sent to an appalling boarding school
paralleling their own situation, and giving them some hope that they
too will be like Jane, exploring ways of being independent.
This is a marvellous insight into colonial racism, the small
mindedness of communities where class is all, the use made of the
local women, leading to their inevitable abandonment.
It is rare to read a book set in southern Africa, and this is
outstanding, revealing the techniques used by the British to keep
control of this small country, eventually relinquishing power in
1968. The school is a microcosm of the divided society, the senior
girls using their pets to run messages, using food as a trading
tool, the staff supporting the ones with money and power, using
petty means to keep control.
When Adele and Lottie realise that one of the boys is missing, they
investigate, but not in the way the school directs, they go off on
their own. It is on this journey that Adele finds out more about her
background, and is caught up by the ugly racism of the school's
Afrikaner neighbour, Bosman.
Nunn has skilfully blended a good tale based upon her own family's
story with enough of Southern Africa's history to give a solid
background to the story. Terms used are those prevalent in southern
Africa in the 1950's when Apartheid was installed, the colour of
your skin deciding your position in society.
Readers will be well used to words such as Swazi and Zulu, or native
and coloured to describe the students as well as Afrikaner when
Bosman comes on the scene, bringing his odious views with him.
In the last few pages we learn of the African proverb, 'When the
ground is hard, the women dance' bringing many of the themes
together, making it a richly layered novel for middle secondary
students.This book lends it self to discussions about racism and
Apartheid, the role of women in society, the drift from rural to
urban societies, finding yourself and of course, Jane Eyre.
Scroll down for teacher's
notes from the publisher.
Fran Knight
The quiet at the end of the world by Lauren James
Walker Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781406375510. 352p; p/b.
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. Themes: Science fiction, Dystopian
fiction, Romance, Viruses, Diversity. How far would you go to save
those you love? After a virus devastated the world and left people
infertile, Lowrie and Shen are the two youngest left. Their ageing
community loves and cossets them, and their days are happy,
searching for bits of history in the mud of the Thames. Then they
uncover a secret that threatens everything they have believed.
I read The quiet at the end of the world a few months ago
and it was reviewed
previously, but it is a story that has continued to stay with me and
one that has a theme that often has me thinking of the meaning of
humanity. James slowly builds up the tension as Lowrie and Shen find
old treasures from the time when the virus first occurred. Lowrie
researches the past of Maya, who describes what happened when the
virus first took over the world and the development of the Babygrow
app that became a couple's surrogate child. As their ageing
community gradually decline, Lowrie and Shen have to face some hard
decisions and heartbreak.
James skilfully builds up a world that feels real as Lowrie and Shen
gradually uncover what has happened in the past. There is action and
adventure, great character development and a riveting story line
told in archived chat-logs and traditional narration.
This engrossing story would make a great class novel or literature
circle text, giving participants lots of discussion points about the
meaning of life, family and love.
Pat Pledger.
Wombat, Mudlark and other stories by Helen Milroy
Fremantle Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781925815818.
(Age: 6-10) Recommended. Themes: Short Stories; Emotional
intelligence; Natural world; Dreaming stories. The author, Helen
Milroy, is a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region
in Western Australia; she is also a doctor in the field of
Psychiatry and is a Professor at the University of Western
Australia, in combination with other achievements. Her stories in
this book are a wonderful infusion of the Aboriginal insights of
wisdom about the natural world and the emotional intelligence that
can be displayed by the young. Each story has a brief introduction
to highlight the strengths and qualities displayed by the animals in
response to difficulties and environmental issues. It is written in
a naively simple and accessible style with overtones of traditional
Aboriginal Dreaming stories and is illustrated by the author. It is
a charming and gentle collection of stories that are worth sharing
with the young. It would make a wonderful read-aloud collection for
teachers and parents.
Carolyn Hull
