Australian Origins: Where the people of Australia came from by Victoria Macleay
Trocadero Publishing, 2012. Volume 1: Afghanistan to Italy. ISBN
9780864271266. Volume 2: Japan to Zimbabwe. ISBN 9780864271273.
Among the key inquiry questions for Year 6 in the history strand of
the Australian National Curriculum are these:
1. Who were the people who came to Australia? Why did they come?
2. What contribution have significant individuals and groups made to
the development of Australian society?
These two books from Trocadero's series The National Identity
are perfect resources for helping students research the answers to
these questions, so they not only have a sound understanding of the
multi-national makeup of our population, but also a solid basis for
the more specialised studies undertaken in history in later years.
Arranged in alphabetical order, there are clear and easily readable
details about each country, its relationship to Australia and a
brief national history which puts the immigration patterns into
context. The information is in easily readable chunks accompanied by
a map, photos and a flag. There's even a pie graph that shows the
number and proportion of each nationality within the overall
population - apparently there are currently 544,171 New Zealand-born
people here, of which I am one! Kiwis are the second largest source
for immigration after those from the UK, which is not surprising.
Because my natural instinct was to look up the stats for my origins,
it would make sense to use these resources in a similar way with
your students. Ask them, 'Were you (or your parents) the first
person from ____ to come to live in Australia?' Given the answer is
probably 'No,' this would provide an opportunity for them to
kickstart their research using these resources and then lead into a
deeper investigation of the history of their home country and why
people choose to migrate. The influence of war is powerful. From
this, a parallel study of the plight of refugees and the
contemporary issue of asylum seekers and 'boat people' could ensue,
as well as comparing how Australians have treated migrants in the
past, such as the shunning of the Chinese during the gold rush, the
White Australia policy, the impact of European immigration after the
war, the current requirements for entry and so on. It would help
students understand how the past influences the present and perhaps
help answer that perennial question about why we need to study
history. Students might then read Marsden's Home and Away
and investigate which country they might flee to, or, if they are
leaving in more convivial circumstances, which country they might go
to and its requirements for entry, work permits and so forth. Is the
grass greener? For a more mathematical slant, students could use the
stats to build a graph of the makeup of Australia's population (an
authentic task for learning pie graphs); perhaps compare it to the
makeup of the school's population and suggest reasons for any
differences such as the tendency for some groups to choose to live
near each other and the implications for this; and then investigate
the wealth of information that is available on the website of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Australian Origins is just one in a number of series being published
by Trocadero as it works to provide current, relevant resources to
support the history curriculum. Others include Asia-Pacific
Relations; Asia-Pacific Timelines; Australia Year by Year;
Australian Decades; Defending Australia; Linking the Nation;
and The National Identity (which would also support the Year
6 curriculum). To see the complete list (as well as what's planned)
go to http://www.trocadero.com.au/
and to find those that will meet the needs of a particular year
group go to http://www.intbooks.com.au/pdf-pages/history.php.
As the implementation of the Australian National Curriculum is
rolled out across the country, these are some excellent resources
purposely produced to support it.
Barbara Braxton
All I ever wanted by Vikki Wakefield
All I ever wanted by Vikki Wakefield
Text Publishing, 2011. ISBN 1921758309.
(Ages 13+) Recommended. Contemporary novel. Mim is a few days shy of
her 17th birthday in the last few weeks of the summer holidays
before returning to school. Her rules are in tatters. She would
never involve herself in the drug scene like her now incarcerated
brothers, and yet she has picked up a parcel for her mother, and had
it stolen from her on her way home. Stuck in a suburb where living
in a half house means you hear what goes on next door, or the
neighbours constantly fighting, avoiding the witch a few doors down
and crossing the road when nearing the large snarling dog, means
that the aspirations of her family and friends are narrow, and she
wants more. She has written her rules on the wall of the local
abandoned tower, and strives to adhere to them. But this summer, the
hot dry summer, things have changed. Her best friend, Tahnee has
lost her virginity, and taken up with a loser, willing to have sex
with him in his car, get drunk at parties in the park, and deride
her friend for her needing to finish school and go places rather
than be stuck in this suburb for the rest of her life, stuck like
her mother.
Mim must get the parcel back, and so goes to great lengths to
retrieve it, eventually enlisting the help of the local dealer, who
seems to know all about it. The person who stole it from her is the
boy from across the way, in a new development, one who would usually
not even give her the time of day. In trying to force him to give
back her package, she becomes friendly with his sister, and the two
surprisingly become friends.
A fascinating look at one girl's dreams for her future, determined
not to make the mistakes of her family, and wanting a way out of a
suburb which will, if it can, entrap her into the same cycle of
poverty, makes this is an absorbing read. Mim is a great character,
guarding her rules almost fanatically but forced to bend them
somewhat according to changed circumstances this summer. How she
does make the break and keep truthful to her rules will keep all
readers hooked. And in the end, Oscar Wilde's quote comes to the
fore, 'Who, being loved, is poor?' as Mim finds that there is more
to her family and neighbours than she has realised.
Fran Knight
One very tired wombat by Renee Treml
Random House, 2012. ISBN 978 1 74275 578 6.
(Ages 4+) Highly recommended. Picture book. Australian animals.
Being a nocturnal animal, all wombat wants to do is sleep. But the
other animals in this environment have different ideas to him. His
peace and quiet is plundered consistently through this delightful
book, with the story following his night of efforts to sleep. This
counting book told in rhyming couplets, will enthrall younger
readers as they recognise the animals which come along keeping
wombat awake, learning to read the rhyming sentences aloud with a
teacher or parent.
The tired wombat is interrupted by two curious curlews, then three
furtive frogmouths and four peaceful pigeons and so on, until at the
end of the book, the wombat is able to disperse them all, and in
doing so, is able to curl up and go to sleep, or can he? The ending
will bring smiles to all who read this charming book full of poetry,
alliteration and fun.
The bold black and white illustrations, sometimes contrasted with
single colour backgrounds are lively and amusing, giving a cheeky
look to the well known Australian animals, including penguins,
magpies, galahs and kookaburras. Listeners will love the rhymes, so
much so that they will want to predict the final rhyming words, and
learn the rhymes themselves. The alliteration is infectious, so many
readers and listeners will add other words to the line, using the
same starting letter.
As a wonderful book simply to read or a book to introduce Australian
animals to a class, or the life of a wombat, or look at rhyme and
alliteration, this book has a wide number of uses, apart from the
obvious one of being just a great read aloud.
Fran Knight
The man from the land of Fandango by Margaret Mahy and Polly Dunbar
Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2012. ISBN 9781847802200.
(Age 4+) Recommended. A wonderful verse story from Margaret Mahy and
beautifully illustrated by Polly Dunbar, The man from the land of
Fandango is a joy to read aloud and peruse. Two young children paint
the man form the land of Fandango who comes alive bringing bingles
and bangles and bounces and coming to make a call.
The story of the man from Fandango is told with verve by Mahy, a
master at using beautifully and evocative language to stir the
imagination:
'The man from the land of Fandango
Is given to dancing and dreams,
He comes in at the door like a somersault star
And he juggles with junkets and jam in a jar
And custards and caramel creams.'
This book is a joy to read aloud and will extend both the
imagination and the vocabulary of any child who listens to it.
Dunbar's colourful illustrations have a life of their own and really
enhance and complement the story. The man from Fandango is pictured
as a jolly red cheeked plump man who skps and plays a horn. The
children have happy expressions on their faces that make the
reader smile. I especially liked the contrasts that Dunbar made in
her illustrations of the animals. The picture of the dancing bison,
who had a mythical type head and in contrast wore red high heels and
a red bow on her tail is a favourite. The dancing bears had neckties
and little hats and huge kangaroos fluttered their eyes with long
eyelashes.
Margaret Mahy has brought immense joy to children through the years
with her wonderful stories and The man from the land of Fandango
is one that is a keeper.
Pat Pledger
Beyond courage: The untold story of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust by Doreen Rappaport
Candlewick Press, 2012. ISBN 9780763629762.
(Age: 14+) Doreen Rappaport's themes are resistance and survival.
Despite her Jewish upbringing and numerous books and films about the
Holocaust, she felt that her knowledge of the subject was limited
and
embarked on years of research. The result may surprise those who
assume
that there is nothing new to say about this event.
The structure of the book emphasises the immense scope of the
tragedy
by relating stories of young people across Europe who resisted
entrapment, and by leaving accounts of those in concentration camps
until last. Each section begins with an explanation of one of the
machineries of genocide, from the introduction of discriminatory
laws
to the confinement and murder of Jews in ghettoes and camps. The
narrative ranges from dramatic escapes to determined attempts to
maintain meaningful lives in desperate situations. Equally moving,
are
accounts of non-Jewish people who were also targeted for elimination
and forced labour, or who risked their own lives to save the lives
of
others.
Readers are taken into the experiences of people whose names and
photographs personalise the statistics. The author's focus on
courage
ensures that her grim subject matter is also inspiring.
The extensive bibliography and meticulously recorded source notes
are
the hallmark of an accomplished historian but the sub-title
threatens
the book's credibility. Although some previously unpublished oral
histories have been included, calling the whole book 'the untold
story'
overlooks long standing records of Jewish resistance. The author's
principal premise that Jews did not go 'like sheep to the
slaughter',
remains an important issue. However, over sixty years and several
more
genocides later, her stories also highlight the terrible dilemmas
which
confront everyone living under repressive, totalitarian regimes as
well
as humanity's failure to learn from history. & Beyond courage has been written in an accessible narrative
style
by an
award winning author who understands the raw power of documentation
and
personal testimony. Readers can ponder for themselves, the insights
gained from the events it chronicles.
Elizabeth Bor
Nellie's greatest wish by Penny Matthews
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Puffin Books, 2012. ISBN 978 0 1 4 330626
0.
(Ages 8+) Recommended. Australian History. The fourth in the series
about Nellie, an Irish immigrant to South Australia in 1850, has the
girl returning to Adelaide after a fruitless trip to The Burra,
looking for her former employer, Mrs Thompson, with whom she hoped
to find work. But she finds that they have gone, and so she sets out
on the long road back to the town she came from, but this time on
foot. With her shoes falling apart, sick from worry over her friend,
Mary, who she left in an infirmary, Nellie's life looks up when a
kindly farming family give her a bed for the night. They then find a
ride to Adelaide the following day so Nellie arrives back in the
town, eager to find Mary. But the news she receives is not good, and
destitute she finds shelter in the burnt out wreck of the hotel
where she once worked.
This series about Nellie, gives an incredible amount of detail about
the plight of poor female immigrants who came to South Australia in
the expectation of work during the nineteenth century. Many were
sent to the Servant'[s Depot, an institution set up where girls could
go and meet prospective employers, although these were scarce as
Nellie soon found.
This is one of the six books about girls in Australia set in
different times in our history. Each captures the life and times
well, giving younger students a thrilling story set against a
credible backdrop.
The series is well supported by a website with
activities and research assignments, fun stuff and teacher notes.
Fran Knight
The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting
Headline, 2012. ISBN 9780755389155.
(Ages: 15+) Violet has a strange ability to sense the echoes of dead
bodies and the imprints on their killers. Feeling shunned her whole
life due to her ability, she's recently joined a special
investigative
team of teenagers with powers to solve crimes. Will Violet feel like
she finally belongs? The Last Echo is the third in The Body Finder series which
delves into
Violet's struggles in fitting with a new group, a looming love
triangle
with her boyfriend Jay and the mysterious Rafe, and a serial killer
on
the loose dubbed 'the girlfriend collector'.
It interchanges Violet's thoughts with chilling chapters from the
serial killers perspective. I found these brief interludes
incredibly
disturbing and creepy, and a breather from all the teen drama
occupying
Violets life. The girlfriend collector is not someone everyone can
stomach, as he's incredibly twisted and dark. He kidnaps girls he
fancies from afar, and hides them in a dark room. The novel doesn't
only describe the crime, but delves into the mind of a serial
killer,
which probably makes it suitable for more mature young adult
readers.
Much of the book is melodramatic, with the central focus being
Violet's
insecurities and fitting in with the team instead of the compelling
murder mystery within the book. While Violet isn't a particular
strong
heroine, she is a character that many teenagers could probably
relate
to, even with her strange powers.
While parts of novel are suspenseful and thrilling, other parts are
frustrating and slow moving. When you just want to find out about
how
the killer will be caught, you have Violet mulling over her feelings
between two boys. If you're looking for a bit of a thrill with some
romance and drama thrown in, The Last Echo is for you.
Jeann Wong
Travelling suitcases (DVD series)
BookLinks and Queensland Government production, 2009. DVD. 10 mins
each.
This is a series of DVDs about Australian authors and illustrators,
exposing their working lives to the viewers. Each author/illustrator
introduces him/herself, then takes the reader through their writing
and
illustrating, from the initial impetus and ideas, to the research
and
then the work. Each DVD is a brief but interest filled introduction
to
the artist and his/her work.
An example which outlines the extent of each DVD is that of
Michael Gerard Bauer. He wrote the Ishmael series and in the DVD
gives
a wholly personal account of his life, inviting the student into his
house and the two areas in his house where he works. He displays the
range of objects (pictures and found objects) that spark an interest
and then lead into a story. For example the Ishmael books began when
he
was looking at a picture of Captain Ahab from the novel, Moby
Dick.
The
opening line of this story is 'Call me Ishmael', so Michael began to
think of the opposite, 'Don't call me Ishmael' and the story grew
from
there. He tells more about the writing process and this leads to the
editing and publishing process as he sits in one for his studies.
This series of DVDs accompanied the Travelling Suitcase Project,
where
suitcases were packed full of information about the
authors/illustrators, Kerry Argent, Michael Gerard Bauer, Gregory
Rogers, Narelle Oliver and James Moloney. Each suitcase included
display ideas, the author's published books, interesting items from
the
author's writing and illustrating life, and drafts and story boards.
Booklinks, along with the Queensland Writer's Centre and the Ipswich
Children's Literature Festival, produced these suitcases with a
grant
from CBC which allowed schools to borrow them for free.
(The website at www.booklinks.org.au/TravelSuitcases.html
gives more information
about this series of DVDs, along with an order form).
For an introduction to the work of these people, these DVDs are a
short, energetic and engaging way to introduce these authors and
their
work, either as a study in the classroom, or simply to give students
a
wider view of that person, or help students with ideas for their own
writing or illustrative work. I can imagine these being used in
English
or Art classes, as well as in the library to great effect.
Fran Knight
A Little Fact, A Lot of Fiction by Deborah Abela
www.deborahabela.com
I am a coward.
I always have been, but I'm a coward who loves to be told scary
stories. Not a good fit, I know, but one that has kept me glued to
spooky takes over many, many years. From Bloody Mary, to the Flying
Dutchman and those spooky disappearances that have occurred over the
Bermuda Triangle, I loved them all and I guess from a young age it
wasn't about knowing had had occurred but the delicious possibility of
what could have happened.
For a writer, the idea of what if is a constant question, swooping
around in our heads like unruly magpies. It's how we operate every day
and fashion stories from a tiny miniscule idea. We look, we ponder, we
ponder some more and the beginnings of an entire novel emerge from
those wonderful lovely two words. It thrills and terrifies me even
after having written twenty novels.
Writers often start from a point of reality and fascination, and
meander or sometimes run from there to create their stories. My novel
Grimsdon began with my frustration about the reluctance to
believe the
science of climate change and became a book about flooded cities and
brave kids fighting sea monsters and evil harbour lords. Max Remy
started from real adventures I'd had, a love of cartoons from my TV
producing days and Mel Brooks' ever funny, Get Smart. The Ghost
Club
series was inspired by my love of Charles Dickens, which led me to the
discovery that he had set up his own Ghost Club in England in 1862. A
club that still exists today.
For Dickens, it began because of a belief in ghosts, of which he said
he saw plenty, but also from his enjoyment of the fact that not
everything in the world could be empirically explained.
This is one of the joys of writing . . . the possibility of what could
happen
next and where your characters could end up? There is a lovely moment
in writing where, instead of me directing the characters, they begin to
move by themselves. They talk and have conversations I'd never
anticipated, they may adopt a stance or attitude or share a belief with
another character that seems to come from them and not me. Peter Carey
calls this the osteopathic click, when all your hard work and thought
that has gone into a character creates a person who feels real and
fleshy, with all their faults and flares.
I borrow from people, too, to help create my characters until they come
into their own. It takes time and patience, throwing ideas and
sometimes characters out who just aren't working.
So from that group of men who came together to discuss ghosts, came my
discovery of them almost 150 years later and the question of . . . what
if I
created my own club that believed in ghosts and two of the youngest
catchers were kids? 11-year-old twins, Angeline and Edgar Usher and
together with a series of misfit characters they help to keep the world
free from pesky and sometimes bad tempered ghosts.
'You can pick on me all you like and tell everyone you know that I'm
weird, but what my family does is no more surprising than someone's mum
who's an accountant or dad who's a fireman. One fixes numbers, the
other fixes fires, our family fixes problems with ghosts.' Angeline
Usher to bully Travis from Ghost Club The Haunted School.
Small scribblings, a series of what ifs and another novel comes to
life.
Walker Books, 2012. ISBN 9781 921977 76 3.
(Ages 5+) Highly recommended. Picture book. Building. As with the
amiable Louise builds a house, this story of Louise now
building a boat after finishing the house which she gave to her sister,
is just as lively and involving, with the determined Louise planning
and executing her dream. Each double page has the boat in progress on
the verso, with its small beginnings growing as she talks about what
the boat will have and the reason for its being there, on the recto.
The boat develops from a shell with a wooden deck, to a boat having a
mast, plank, figurehead and signal flags, each stage being
unambiguously illustrated with boldly coloured drawings against an
unadorned white background.
As the book proceeds, more attachments are added, a reason given for
each new addition. So the readers see the cabin and galley, the anchor,
dinghy and sails, as each is given a reason for its inclusion. Readers
will not only learn the parts of a boat and the reason for their being
built, but will work alongside Louise as she builds her dream, finally
being able to sail around the world visiting friends.
In a classroom this would make an excellent introduction to a unit of
work about building, or boats or world maps. The use of this lovely
book is unlimited and will make an excellent read aloud story, if the
teacher can haul it back from the kids!
Fran Knight
Peacetime for Alice by Davina Bell
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Penguin, 2012. ISBN 9780 143306 32 0
(Ages 9+) Recommended. Our
Australian Girl series. Australian History.
The story of Alice continues with the men returning home from World
War One. Some people in Australia have had to contend with the
Spanish Flu, and many people's futures are thwarted by
circumstances of war. Alice's brother, Teddy has returned a
shattered, melancholic man, unable to communicate, listless and
withdrawn, Alice's mother has survived the Spanish Flu, Alice
has
returned to ballet, encouraged by her teacher Miss Lillibet who has
been released from the internment camp.
The background to this story
is a strong reminder of events during and post WW1, and their impact
on the lives of ordinary families.
This particular series of books about Alice in the Our Australian
Girl series, has far more characters than the other books giving a
story more of a whole family rather than just one girl, and it is the
better for it. The family story is fascinating, the members of the
family diverse and evocative of the trials of many families after the
war. While Alice's story itself is not as engaging as some of
the
others in this series, the background more than makes up for this, as
the snippets of how the family is coping becomes increasingly more
interesting than Alice's trials. Set in Perth adds a different
dimension as well, as familiar places are given as the backdrop to
Alice and her family as they recover their equanimity.
As so many of
our novels for children are set in the eastern states, this comes as
a pleasant reminder that life exists outside Sydney and Melbourne.
This series of handsomely produced books with their signature covers,
pages of background information of the life and times under
discussion, a map and diagrams, along with a few illustrations, is
wonderfully supported with a website which has teacher notes, fun
things to do, extra information about the novels as well as many
other resources to add to the interest when they are being read or
being looked at as a class set.
Fran Knight
Australia's greatest inventions and innovations by Christopher Cheng and Linsay Knight
Random House, 2012. ISBN 9781 742755649.
(Ages: 9+) Recommended. Non fiction. Inventions. Published in
association with the Powerhouse Museum, this eye catching book is full
of the most intriguing and fascinating pieces of information about our
inventions and inventors to grab the most fastidious of readers. Boys
will line up to peruse the book and pull out trivia to discuss with
their friends, girls will use the book to cover questions asked in
research assignments and the astute teacher will use the many stories
to add magic to the classroom discussions. As a teacher librarian, one
thing I was always asked for was a book about inventions, and here it
is.
From the expected Vegemite, Penicillin and Sunshine Harvester, to the
surprising, Dual Flush Toilet, Didgeridu and Plastic Banknotes, to the
now unsurprisingly neglected Cafe Bar, each invention is given several
pages of fascinating and broad ranging facts. Divided into sections,
Communication, Health, Agriculture, Household, Energy and Environment,
Leisure, Manufacturing, Trade and Research, each invention begins with
a problem, then how the researchers tackled answering that problem,
then the final result, with a side box of information about the
inventor.
Spray-on skin, for example began with the problem of treating burns
quickly and so reduce the probability of scarring. There follows
several paragraphs about the work of Dr Fiona Wood, a plastic surgeon
in Perth, who in the 1990's grew skin in the laboratory, and from there
improved the skin to become a spray-on skin. She was awarded an Order
of Australia medal for her work which is now used world wide.
This is a fabulously entertaining and informative book, one I have
dipped in and out of for the weeks it has sat on my table, and one with
a range of uses in the classroom and at home, rivaling the Guinness
Book of Records.
Fran Knight
Mortal Combat : Time's Running Out by Martin Chatterton
Random House; Australia, 2012. ISBN 9781742753164.
Recommended for 8-12 years. Mort the 10,000 year old boy is back! In
fact this book begins right where the first leaves off with Mort
battling a headache from time travel in the Retro and confronted by a
submachine gun wielding World War 2 German Stormtrooper protecting
Hitler.
Chaos and mayhem reign as this story travels back and forward in time
from one hilarious episode to the next. Mortimer DeVere is the main
character who along with his sister Agnetha lives on the Isle of Unk.
Their parents return from a 200 year holiday during the story but only
add more to the chaos. Trish Molyneux and her wimpy assistant Nigel
from the Unk Shire Education Department are caught up in the mayhem as
they continue their noble quest to return the children to school at all
costs.
With cloned historical figures like Genghis Khan, Viking hordes,
Spanish Galleons and a pair of hungry T-Rex added to the cast anything
that can go wrong will. Mort needs to find a way to correct the rip in
time he creates when Hitler is taken on a trip in the Retro and history
is altered when he is eaten by the dinosaurs.
Girls will enjoy the fact that Agnetha saves the day, replaces Hitler,
which she has cloned from the bone Genghis saved as a souvenir, and
recovers the item left behind which they are sure has caused all their
problems.
The cartoon like illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, add to
the fun as do the occasional full page illustrations which give younger
readers visual clues to the action. I am looking forward to the next
instalment of Mort's outrageous adventures.
Sue Keane
Moonsong by L. J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters Vol. 2. Harper Teen, 2012. ISBN
97800620177703.
A new school and a new life, Elena hopes that, finally, everything can
be normal again - as much as you can with a human, two vampires, a
witch and a hunter as friend, how much normal can you get. Everything
has changed for Elena and even Damon is getting along with everyone,
for a change. Even though Elena has moved away from Fell that doesn't
mean that she left her past behind her. At Dalcrest College, Elena's
new school, students are disappearing from campus and ending up dead.
Everyone is suddenly a potential enemy. Elena and her friends hurry to
find who the killer is before more end up dead.
Elena and her friends are a really tight knit group and I found that
amazing. The ties the characters have to one another is wonderful, they
all act like a family rather than friends. The book is well written and
flows. It's an easy read and is good with all the twists and turns.
Cecilia Richards (student.
Shadows by Paula Weston
The Rephaim, book 1. Text Publishing, 2012. ISBN 97819219222503.
(Age 15+) Recommended as a light paranormal read. Gaby Winters
is
recuperating from a car crash that has killed her twin brother Jude.
The beauty of Pandanus Beach has helped to heal her body but she is
overwhelmed by the grief of her sibling's death and every night she
has
horrible nightmare of demons and hell-spawn. When Rafa comes to town
she is must come to terms with the fact that because he has appeared
in
her nightmares there may be some truth to the claim that he knew her
brother. What is the truth about the terrible dreams that she
has
about the Rephaim? Where has she come from and who can
she
trust?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. What was particularly engaging was
the
combination of the realism of the setting contrasted with the
paranormal aspects of the novel. Weston deftly described Pandanus
Beach, the cafe where Gaby worked and the friends that she had begun
to
form relationships in such a way that a very clear picture emerged
of
what Gaby was like and where she lived. The contrast of the terror
of
the nightmares and the threat of the Rephaim seemed just as real as
Gaby tries to navigate through her feelings of who is trustworthy
and
just what is happening around her.
There is plenty of action for fans who enjoy the fight between
angels
and demons, but it is the mystery about who Gaby is and what has
happened to her brother Jude that most intrigued me. The characters
were very well developed and Rafa is mysterious enough to make me
want
to read the next novel in the series to find out just where he
stands
in regard to Gaby and Jude.
This is certainly one of the better paranormal novels that has
appeared
recently and is sure to appeal to fans of this genre. Some violence
and
swearing make it more suitable for older teens. Overall a gripping
and
interesting read.
Pat Pledger
