Puffin Books, 2011. ISBN 9780 14 330642 9
(Ages 10+) Recommended. Yet again Gleitzman has distilled the
financial crises besetting the world at the moment down into bread
and butter terms. Oliver's parents own a bank and from the outset we
know that things are not doing well. There are disgruntled investors
knocking at their doors, media conferences to get through, staff
being laid off and then packing a bag and running off in the
middle of the night. Oliver has tried to do his own financial
dealing at school, promising that for every $50 invested, he will
return $100. Not usually good at maths, it seems a real earner,
until he realises that with so many wanting to be involved he will
soon owe millions. A little lesson at schoolyard level gives the
reader a small insight into the financial doings of the world.
But meanwhile, Nancy has told Oliver of her predicament with her
camels. Expecting a large payout of her investment with his parents
to save her camel farm, has now seen the camels near death as the
investment fell sour. Oliver runs away from his parents as they
prepare to leave for Europe to avoid scrutiny, and drives with Nancy
and her daughter, Rose across Australia to the camel farm, his dog,
Barclay, in his arms. An accident sees the trio make do with part of
the camel float and they limp back to the farm to be greeted by the
police and Oliver's parents. Oliver has some decisions to make.
An informative story about the machinations of big business and
their impact at the grass roots level, Gleitzman has managed to make
some sense of the words heard everyday in the media, making this an
exciting, involving story about business by showing the impact the
bank has on its smallest investors.
Fran Knight
Dangerous to know by Katy Moran
Walker Books, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4063-1729-9.
(Age 14+) Recommended. When Jack sees Bethany for the first time
there is an immediate connection and both believe that it is true
love. But Jack's older brother, Herod, has had an issue with drugs
and has been hospitalised and Jack comes from a broken home, so
Bethany's mother is certain that Jack is a bad influence. She is
determined to separate them, especially when she discovers that they
are sneaking around to see each other and going off to music
festivals. Bethany's father is terminally ill with cancer and
she is torn about her relationship with Jack and keeping the peace
at home. When Jack's brother disappears from the Peace Centre where
he has been staying, and his very rich father arrives from the
States to take over, things begin to get very difficult for Jack.
The front cover states: 'You can't choose who you fall in love
with', and Moran explores the theme of first love and whether it can
be lasting in an engrossing way. Jack, the narrator of the story, is
a very likeable character and he tells his story in a very vivid
manner, bringing to life the personalities of his friends, their
strengths and weaknesses, fears and dreams. His family
relationships, the estrangement from his father, separation from his
older twin brothers, and the difficulties of living in a broken
family are also fully realised.
The theme of drug taking and its consequences is also handled in a
non-didactic, sympathetic way. Moran clearly describes the effects
that drugs can have on certain individuals and the devastating
consequences that can have on a family. However this is all tied in
with the main theme of Bethany and Jack's growing relationship and
the difficulties that the young couple face trying to keep their
love alive.
When I read in Katy Moran's biography that she 'has worked the
graveyard shift at many festivals', I realised why the setting of
music festivals felt so authentic. This added immensely to the
appeal of the book.
This is an easy to read book, which I read in one setting and the
first and only one true love theme is sure to appeal to teens.
However the author has given them much more than romance to think
about and it has a perfectly wonderful ending.
Pat Pledger
Editor's note: This review first appeared in Fiction Focus.
Forgotten by Cat Patrick
Hardie Grant Egmont. ISBN: 9781921690624.
(Age: 16+) For London Lane, life is a mystery. She can the future in
flashes like memories but yesterday has gone just like the days
before. Her only memory of the day before is the journal entries she
leaves herself the night before. London is able to remember what she
will wear tomorrow and a funeral that won't happen until years to
come but the boy she loves today has evaporated from her mind. She
can't see Luke in her past or her future but today she loves him and
that's what matters.
London is also able to see her best friend, Jamie, getting it on
with one of the teachers at their school. She can see him breaking
Jamie's heart and London sets herself the difficult task of changing
Jamie's future before he is able to hurt Jamie.
This novel has a bit for everyone with romance and mysteries that
surrounds London and Luke. When you think you know what is going to
happen, something different happens. This novel was really well
written and once I started I couldn't put it down making the end of
the story come too quickly. I would highly recommended Forgotten
to anyone that is looking for a great read. The author was able to
make me feel sorry for London at times and other times were able to
express London's feelings that I was able to feel what she would be
feeling.' I would reread this book again and again.
Lauren Pfeiffer (Student)
Operation Eiffel Tower by Elen Caldecott
Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN 978 1 4088 2573 2.
(Age 11+) What happens to children when their parents separate? How
do children cope? Elen Caldecott tackles this sensitive topic in Operation
Eiffel Tower. Lauren, Jack, Ruby and Billy have been listening
to their parents argue for a long time and finally, in the summer
holidays, their Dad moves out. The children come up with a plan to
try and get their parents back together and with the help of
Lauren's fashion magazine they decide to save and send them to
Paris. Their hope is that their Mum and Dad will fall in love again
as they won't have the kids to worry about!
As the holidays progress, they try several ways to make the money -
from busking to winning a mini golf tournament - but they just don't
get enough. Finally, after one of the children is hit by a car, they
get their parents together under the Eiffel Tower at the Mini Golf
Course where Jack works. With the help of some older family friends,
the children have finally gotten their parents to talk about what
happens next instead of arguing and while the parents aren't getting
back together, they are starting to think about the effects on the
children as well.
Elen Caldecott handles this tricky topic with seriousness and
comedy. Many children today will relate to the story of this family
and hopefully they will understand they have a voice as Jack bravely
stands up to his parents and asks if they know what he and his
brother and sisters want. Due to the sensitive nature and
descriptive language used, I would recommend this book to
independent readers aged 11+.
Kylie Kempster
Thea Stilton and the Star Castaways by Thea Stilton
Scholastic, 2011. ISBN 978 0 545 22774 2.
(Age 9+) Thea Stilton and the Star Castaways follows the same layout
as the popular series Geronimo Stilton. Thea is Geronimo's sister
and is off on her own adventures. This story is part of a series but
you don't need to have read others to know what is happening as the
book has an introduction and profiles and pictures of the
characters. Thea Stilton is the narrator and she tells the story of
our main characters - Nicky, Colette, Pamela, Paulina and Violet.
They call themselves the Thea Sisters and are learning to be
journalists. The girls are chosen to go on the first space flight to
a resort on the moon and after much preparation, the team including
investors, the girls and other journalists, set off for the moon
resort. Despite the excitement, things go wrong at the resort and
the girls are left to solve a mystery. Who is sabotaging the trip
and the resort? Why are the robot servants attacking? Will they get
back to Earth safe and sound?
The best part about this series is all the characters are mice and
they use a lot of language relating to that eg.' .
. . his mind is sharper than a block of cheddar',
'Fabumouse' and ' . . . chuckling under his whiskers
. . . ' The larger font used throughout the story makes
it interesting and eye catching for younger readers too as many of
the adjectives are written in colourful font to match the action and
the colourful cartoons add to the enjoyment. I would recommend this
book to girls who are independent readers aged 9+. A great way to
get reluctant readers reading longer stories.
Kylie Kempster
Gamerunner by B.R. Collins
Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN 978 1 4088 0648 7.
Rick is a Gamerunner. Daed is his guardian from the corporation,
Crater. Rick's job? To test The Maze for bugs and glitches. This
game is much more than normal games. Physically you become
your avatar in The Maze. You run, fight and loot, all the while
avoiding deadly traps. Rick's life is The Maze. When Rick
accidentally finishes the game, Daed and Rick are faced with being
thrown out into the world with acid rain and gang's right out the
door. Rick has to work hard to stay.
The storyline is well written but I felt it was lacking something to
lighten the mood at times. There was little hope through the story.
Rick and Daed's relationship seems odd but Daed seems committed to
keeping Rick safe but Daed doesn't seem to mind that Rick suffers in
the process. I was shocked when the only character who shows some
compassion meets an untimely end halfway in the book. I found it
hard to get into but I eventually got into the book somewhat. I
found it hard to follow the emotions of the characters. Overall I
found the book all right but a bit hard to get into at the
beginning.
Cecilia Richards (Student)
Strays by Ron Koertge
Walker Books, 2008. ISBN 9781406316124.
Ted is a teenaged boy who must deal with the death of his parents,
subsequent entry into the world of foster care and life in a new
school as a potential victim. The individuals with whom he interacts
in the context of the drama have often been damaged and hurt by
other people and life itself.
This is by no means a bleak story which dwells upon misery or
abusive themes as so many contemporary narratives do. Instead, the
characters involved in the welfare system and foster care are
realistic in their essentially good intentions but imperfect makeup.
Ted himself is a resilient soul possessing a mature outlook, a
philosophical rationale and the capacity to silently communicate
with animals.
The roles of animals are symbolic of human experiences, ranging
through suffering due to abandonment and neglect to flourishing from
compassion and loving care. It is soon appreciated that Ted is no
Dr. Doolittle but he is a lonely and scared boy who has learned to
seek solace and companionship from animals when humans have failed
him. Anyone who has hugged a friendly dog will understand and
identify with this.
Ted's predicament could reasonably have been the start of a spiral
descending into dysfunction, disengagement and withdrawal from
structured and meaningful life. Instead, the acts of kindness, the
instances of loyalty and the moments of support from his peers
influence this child and provide him with a sense of hope and
fulfillment.
This story is simple and affirming yet I was left feeling
disappointed by the fact that it deserved greater detail and
expansion than is possible in a novel which is pitched at teens who
won't read more than two hundred pages. There is nothing wrong with
this book, however it might have been a great one if Koertge had
allowed his marvellous idea to develop by doing justice to the
narrative and characters. The clipped episodic events and compactly
summarized characters tended not to contribute to a narrative flow
and left me feeling that I was reading a heavily edited version of
the larger story which had been published for less capable readers.
Rob Welsh
Star League Series by H. J. Harper
Random House Australia, 2011. Robot Reboot (Book 6), Box Office Smash (Book 7), The
Final Cut (Book 8).
(Age 8 - 12 years) These 3 books continue the story of 6 young
characters that all possess a different superpower. As The Star
League they battle evil, especially their arch enemy Professor
Pestilence. The leader of the group is Jay who is a movie star in
his daily life. In each chapter a different character from the group
tells a part of the story, this includes Connor a werewolf, Asuka a
Ninja, Roger a zombie, S.A.M. a robot, Leigh an animancer and of
course Jay. There are black and white illustrations throughout the
book that add to the understanding of the story. Robot Reboot, concentrates on the character S.A.M. the robot,
Box Office Smash introduces the Shadow Six, 6 evil kids with
superpowers, while The Final Cut reveals information about
Jay's long lost parents.
These quick reads are full of excitement and action and will appeal
to 8 to 10 year olds and older reluctant readers.
Jane Moore
There is no dog by Meg Rosoff
Penguin, 2011. ISBN 9780141327181.
(Age: 16+)Imagine if the creator of the world is a typical
teenage boy, Bob, self-obsessed, thoughtless and sex mad. His mother
is a gambler and hard drinker who loses Bob's pet Eck, a strange
penguin like creature, at a card game with the mighty Emoto Hed who
decides that he will eat it, much to the horror of his daughter
Estelle. And then there is long suffering Mr B who tries to clean up
after Bob's messes and finds it depressing to attempt to answer all
the prayers for help. Lucy, the beautiful young girl that Bob falls
in love with works at the local zoo, and Bob, head over heels in
lust, plays havoc with the weather while he courts her. Floods and
droughts cause chaos in the world.
Rosoff has come up with a hard hitting idea to why the world is in
trouble today with floods and famine, whales and other species
extinct or endangered. It is because Bob is too careless to spend
time on his creations or to think through the implications of what
he does. Bob is a totally unlikeable character, or god, with no
apparent good features except for the occasional brilliant creation.
The anagram in her title There is no dog, is a further hint
to what Rosoff is thinking, although her little group of gods appear
to be more like the gods of Olympia rather than the God of
Christianity.
As I read the book I kept thinking that the themes were more of an
adult nature rather than ones that would appeal to teenagers.
Certainly her premise of Bob being God, and only interested in
beautiful girls, is one that will not go down very well in Christian
schools. However I couldn't stop reading it, the inclusion of the
last Eck in the world under threat of being eaten was a suspense
maker, and I had to find out what would happen to him in the end!
Rosoff has written a challenging and uncompromising satire that is
sure to be a discussion starter among adults who read adolescent
fiction. It is definitely a book for older, experienced
readers, because of the content and the complexity of the
ideas.
Pat Pledger
Meet Poppy by Gabrielle Wang
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl series. Penguin, 2011. ISBN 978
0143305323.
(Ages 9+) Australian history. Recommended. Poppy, living in an
orphanage, a mission for children with an Aboriginal background,
happens upon a letter in the head sister's office. It says that her
brother Gus is about to be removed to another place, one where his
habit of wandering off can be curbed. Fearful, Poppy tells Gus and
he takes off that night. When the same woman then tells Poppy that
she is about to be adopted by a Christian family from Sydney, she
too, follows her brother, cutting off her hair and donning a boy's
clothes to cover her tracks. The time is 1864, and Poppy and Gus are
of Aboriginal and Chinese backgrounds, and both want to find their
parents.
A lively adventure, Poppy is the main character in a quartet of
books about this girl of Aboriginal and Chinese parents, finding her
way in the gold seeking world that is Victoria in 1864. This
character is one of the girls in the series,
Our Australian Girl,
giving modern readers a look at how girls lived in Australia's past,
an engaging addition to books which will support the new Australian
Curriculum with its emphasis on history. Much information is added
to the readers' knowledge of Australia's past through reading these
series.
Each of the books is about 100 pages long, with large clear print
and they are easy to read. The stories are gripping and characters
lively and likeable. Each book has information at the end of the
story underlining that given in the story, and has a teaser, the
first few pages of the book following this one, to get the readers
interested in the following book.
Fran Knight
Poppy at Summerhill by Gabrielle Wang
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl (series). Penguin,
2011. ISBN 978 0 14 330533 0.
(Ages: 9+) Australian history. After Poppy runs away from the
mission, she falls into life at Summerhill, a station where
Aboriginal stockman Tom, has a fair idea of just who she is in her
boy's disguise. He helps her as she catches her ankle in a dingo
trap and taking her back to the station, nurses her back to health,
all the while teaching her some of the bush crafts and lore of the
local Aboriginal people. At the station she is befriended by a young
girl of her own age, Noni, but her brother Joe is very suspicious
and bullying in his behaviour towards her. Poppy is a lively,
fascinating character, as are the others she meets in this story,
and although credulity is a little stretched and the incidents do
pile one on top of the other, it is eminently readable and will be
highly appealing to the middle primary audience it is aimed at.
This is the second in the quartet about Poppy, a girl living in the
gold rush era of Australia, with factual information at the end of
the book along with a teaser leading the readers to the next in the
series of four, part of the Our Australian Girl series.
Fran Knight
Poppy and the thief by Gabrielle Wang
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl (series). Penguin,
2011. ISBN 978 0 14 330534 7.
(Ages: 9+) Australian history. Poppy hears about Jimmy Ah Kew from
the owner at Summerhill Station, when he spies her letter with his
seal. She leaves the place headed for Wahgunyah, the town where
Jimmy lives, again alone on the road, where many adventures befall
her. She shares a meal with a man she meets, and later finds he is
the notorious bushranger, Harry Power, and she finds a friend in
Jimmy Ah Kew, as well as a dog she calls Fisher.
The third in the quartet about Poppy, a gold rush era girl living
through the mid 1860's, a time of great change for Australia. The
perspective of an Aboriginal Chinese girl gives it a different point
of view of many other stories set in this time, and the facts given
at the end of the book will help students understand the times more
readily. As with the others in the Our Australian Girl series, there
is a teaser leading readers to the fourth book in this series within
a series.
Fran Knight
Poppy comes home by Gabrielle Wang
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl (series). Penguin, 2011
ISBN 978 0 14 330535 4.
(Ages 9+) Australian history. In an ending which ties up all the
strands from the three before, Poppy comes home, sees our hero
finally reaching Beechworth, where she is working with a travelling
salesman and his crew, selling entertainment and then medicines to
the beguiled public. While performing she spies Blossom in the
crowd, but is distracted when the bushranger, Harry Power is brought
to justice. Talking to a man in the crowd, she finds he is the
bookshop owner who sensing her love of books, takes her on as his
assistant. She then introduces Blossom to the owner and she is
adopted by his family. Searching for her dog, Fisher, lately stolen
and sold by the professor from the travelling show, she comes across
some people who tell her that Gus is buried in the local cemetery.
But all is not lost, it is not Gus but another boy, and the family
is reunited.
An easy to read story, it gallops along with plenty of adventure,
coincidences and happenings for middles primary readers to enjoy.
Poppy is engaging, and readers will want to know that her family is
complete, while reading of this girl in the Our Australian Girl
series.
Again lots of information is given in the background of the story
adding to the readers' knowledge of Australia in the gold rush era,
and information is given at the end of the book, before two pages
showing the next two girls in the series, Nellie, 1849 and Alice,
1918.
Fran Knight
Come down, cat! by Sonya Hartnett
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo.
Penguin. Viking. 2011. ISBN978 0 670 07475 4.
(Ages: 3+) Recommended. Picture book. Just as the sun is setting,
and early evening draws near, Nicholas becomes concerned for his
cat. She is on the roof of their house, and refuses to come down for
the night. No matter what Nicholas says or does, the cat just says,
'Marl', and moves further back onto the roof. The cat, of course, is
mercurial and independent, a large white Siamese, with eyes that
shine on her owner. The 'Marl' which Hartnett puts into the cat's
mouth is just right, reminding generations of cat owners just how
their cat sounds. But Nicholas cannot sleep knowing his cat is still
on the roof and imagines all sorts of awful things happening to his
cat. He finally sleeps but is woken in the night by the sound of
rain. He leaps out of bed and climbs the tallest ladder to rescue
his cat, which this time is very willing to leap safely into
Nicholas' arms.
A charming story of bravery, the illustrations reflect the two main
characters beautifully. Nicholas is in his pyjamas, ready for bed,
he climbs the huge ladder, trying to get to the roof of this
enormous house to fetch down the cat.
The cat, so tiny for most of the book, cowers on the roof,but when
the rain falls her face fills the page with anguish until Nicholas
climbs up and she leaps happily into his arms. I love the
illustrations, from the Art Deco house, to the owls and bats flying
over in the night, to the wonderful sequence of illustrations
showing differing perspectives, that of the act on the roof, looking
down, or the boy looking up at the cat, or the owl's view of the cat
on the roof. All the different perspectives encourage the reader to
see things from another's points of view, not just to focus on the
boy and what he feels.The discussions about just who is the bravest
will keep many readers thinking for a long time after the book is
read.
Fran Knight
Alaska by Sue Saliba
Penguin, 2011. ISBN 9780143206118.
(Age 15+) From blurb:
mia's heart made a sound that no one heard
except for mia
late one night when she woke from dreams into darkness.
ethan was asleep beside her, and em was a forest away.
outside it was night and dark and alaska.
the sky was upside down.
Mia has left behind an alcoholic mother to live with her sister Em
in Alaska. Em had always been the older sister, the one who
protected her and helped her to survive their single parent family.
However when Mia arrives in Alaska, she finds that Em has new
priorities, her domineering husband, Terrence and baby Christian.
Beguiled by the beauty of the forest surrounding Em's house she
spends much time there and it is there that she meets a young
engineer, Ethan, who she feels she may love. But does she know what
love is?
Saliba's prose is lyrical and sparse. The omission of capital
letters for sentence beginnings and names was difficult for me at
first, but no doubt teens will have no problems with that! Once I
became used to that I found the writing wonderful. Indeed, the
forest almost became a magical entity for me. With a few words,
Saliba paints the glory of the forest landscape, the fascinating
deer and the horror that it all might be defaced by the pipeline
that a corporation wants to run through it.
Saliba delves deeply in the lives and motivations of Mia and
her sister Em. It is essentially a beautiful coming of age story as
Mia comes to grips with the fact that her sister has grown away from
her and that she too has responsibilities and challenges to face on
her own. Ethan is a shadowy character and little is known about
other secondary characters, leaving the readers to come to their own
conclusions about them. This leads to a surprising conclusion.
Older readers will find much to think about in this book. The themes
of coming of age, of responsibility, of compromise, and of
protecting the environment will linger for a long time in the minds
of thoughtful teens.
Pat Pledger
