Alice Choy and her family have moved to South Korea for her mother's job, and the best way to relax is to go to a karaoke bar and sing to her heart's content with her sister. It's at one of these sessions that Alice gets discovered and asked to audition for Star Academy, part of Top10 Entertainment (one of the biggest K-pop companies). Pushing herself to attend the audition, she makes it into the academy. Moving into the academy means committing to an intensive schedule, with voice lessons, dance training, daily workouts, school and Korean lessons. Not to mention being the last member of a new group, 'A-List', whose other members have been together waiting for their debut for years. Will Alice survive the rigorous training, as well as being the odd one out while missing her family, all before A-List debuts?
This debut contemporary novel, set in the popular world of K-Pop, is well written, with relatable characters. Fans of K-dramas and K-pop will love this YA set in Seoul, with frequent references to Korean culture. With a nice steady pace through the whole novel, this book is easy to read. Told from Alice's perspective, with infrequent 'Idol Gossip' littered throughout - in the form of an anonymous K-pop blog run by 'V'. Though set in South Korea, there is little interaction with the setting, due to the nature of K-Pop training - which is where the description comes in. Readers will find this an enjoyable read, trusting they are interested in Korean culture. As a fan of K-Pop and K-Dramas myself, I found the book quick and easy to read.
Themes Contemporary, South Korea, K-Pop, Relationships, Music, Commitment, Passion.
Melanie Pages
A marvellous light by Freya Marske
Pan Macmillan, 2021. ISBN: 9781529080896. (Age:Adult, 16+) Recommended.
A Marvellous Light is a marvellous debut by Australian author Freya Marske. A queer historical and romantic fantasy, A Marvellous Light is set in an Edwardian England just a little bit different from the one that we know.
Robin Blyth (or Sir Robert, much to his annoyance) has just inherited a baronetcy, a debt-ridden estate and responsibility for his younger sister. His fascinating but irresponsible parents have left him in a position where he must work to keep his family afloat. Somehow, he finds himself appointed the new Assistant in the Office of Special Domestic Affairs and Complaints in the British civil service; a position recently vacated after the mysterious disappearance of the previous occupant.
Robin, however, should never have been given this position. He should never have discovered the magical society that lives alongside his own. He should never have been embroiled in a dangerous hunt to discover what has befallen his predecessor. He should never have met Edwin Courcey.
A Marvellous Light is an original and beautifully written book. While it is slow to start and there is a slow build-up of romance and tension, the story more than delivers in the end. A Marvellous Light is the first in a planned trilogy, so we are assured of being able to follow the adventures and misadventures of Robin into the future. While A Marvellous Light is engaging enough to appeal to a wide audience, it must be noted that there are some graphic scenes which position this book as appropriate for adult and older young adult readers.
This riveting and brilliant novel opens to a woman removing her watch, a tool used by the Government to monitor people’s whereabouts, leaving it behind when she goes out. Actually she places it on the paw of her dog, so that ‘they’, the English Government) do not know that she is doing the incorrect thing and going out without being able to be ‘traced’ via their watch, a mandatory item worn by all adults. The watches now carry not only the ID of the owner, but as well, they carry their health data, credit payments and their whereabouts. Lainey, the major character, is fearful, but is most determined to do what she considers that she must do. Before she leaves her house, she feeds the starlings in her garden, whose mother has disappeared, and we understand Lainey as a person who cares about the birds, about nature, and about the world in which she lives. Like most others in England, Lainey is leading an oppressed life, and her mother, Emma, hears her checking her health with a mouth swab, so she can go to work in the hospital, a fear-filled place during this time when ‘virus issues’ dominate, and everyone in the UK feels unsettled.
After the years spent living with the ‘virus’, many people are coping, but many find it extremely challenging and difficult. The people of the UK are tired and unsettled by the unexpected disappearance of so many young women. Work is hard, and everyone fears the virus and life has become ‘like a minefield’, Foster writes. Like her friend, Cathy, she is also disturbed by her workplace, as a worker there, she is privy to the hospital’s responses and rules, with so many births going wrong in the UK, particularly with babies that are born ‘alive’, but who die almost immediately after birth - the count approximately 1 in 10 babies dying soon or immediately after birth. As we read, we discover that this initial death rate has increased dramatically to 1 in 5 deaths. Having taken a pharmacy pregnancy test, which was positive, a friend of Lainey has disappeared, and this common occurrence has been noted publicly in a new popular song - calling on everyone to start thinking about the issues that are occurring without the public’s knowledge. Protests across the UK have been about all of the issues of concern, about global warming, in a world fearful of the conditions that are occurring, with climate change affecting so many people, and, of great concern, authoritarian governments removing people’s normal ‘rights’.
Lainey’s grandmother, Geraldine, has recently published a book about the terrible events that are making people’s lives so uncomfortable and challenging, claiming that all the people of the world need to accept the problems with the world and work together to save this special and beautiful planet. Lainey is shocked at first that her grandmother could consider and construct such a protest, and then becomes mesmerised by her grandmother’s intelligent understanding of the world and of her despair about the politicians who care, she claims, only about 'lining their pockets.' Sara Foster offers hope towards the end of the novel, hope that other people like her characters are caring about the way in which the world is becoming an unsafe place, and that so many people actually do want to support and care for others.
This book is about climate change, about how the world is addressing issues of concern, and would be suitable for students in Years 11 and 12, as the issues raised, the fear and unsettled feelings all evoke some of the experiences of the Covid world that has unsettled, and indeed changed, the world, and the lives of so many people.
The fabulous cakes of Zinnia Jakes. New Frontier, 2021. ISBN: 9781913639358. (Age:7+) Highly recommended.
The Super Spy is the third book in an awesome series The Fabulous Cakes of Zinnia Jakes written by Brenda Gurr. Following on from The Crumbling Castle and The Tumbling Tortoises, however it definitely won’t affect your enjoyment if you start your reading with this one. Full of adventure and mystery and a delicious recipe to bake once you have finished, what more can a reader ask for! If you love escapades and baking, you are sure to love this story, along with the others in the series.
Zoe Jones is a young and brilliant baker who makes delicious, sought-after cakes, but SHHHH…it is top secret. She bakes under the name Zinnia Jones, and only a few people know this. They are her best friend Addie, Aunt Jam, who she lives with, her Dad and her purrfect cat Coco – who is more than just your average feline and has some very interesting skills.
Zoe and Addie are very excited to be going to a school sleep over. But Zinnia Jones has just received an order for a special cake. It needs to be delivered to the parents’ spy party, that is also being held at the school on the very same day. Zoe is sure she can pull it off and puts together lots of great ideas to make the best cake ever. She cooks up a delicious delicacy but is unsure how she is going to deliver it and still keep her identity a secret, especially when she discovers that the parents are putting in a secret trap. Their party highlight is to discover who this mysterious unknown baker really is. Will Zoe and her team be able to get the cake to the party without being detected, or will all the mystery and secrecy be exposed?
Gurr has written a highly engaging and easy read, that will capture many young readers' attention. Those interested in cooking and venture will thoroughly enjoy this story. Containing the clever addition of a yummy recipe, readers are sure to be inspired and cooking up a storm in the kitchen!
Themes Cooking, Adventure, Mystery, Problem solving, Teamwork.
Michelle O'Connell
Off the beaten track by Maylis De Kerangal and Tom Haugomat
This quite unusual middle grade picture book tells the story of a young boy named Paul, and his journey with a family friend to mountainous ski fields. The story is narrated by Paul who has been living with his uncle when Bruce, a friend of Paul’s absent parents, arrives to take him on a long-promised journey. There is little dialogue between Paul and Bruce, and it is up to the reader to interpret the story. As the absence of Paul’s parents is never quite explained, my interpretation was that they were deceased, and Paul had been placed in boarding school and seemed very troubled. Bruce himself appeared to have his own crosses to bare yet I felt he had taken Paul on the skiing trip to help ease his troubled mind. It is while they are traversing the glaciers that there is a terrible accident and Paul is forced to call upon his inner strength and survival skills to seek help for Bruce.
This book is unique in the fact that the illustrator did the graphic drawings, done in a palette of blues, browns and reds, first and then the author used the images to construct a story. Older middle primary aged students may enjoy the challenge of interpreting and explaining this narrative. And perhaps creating their own drawings for classmates to interpret and construct a story around. An interesting but at times, a confusing read.
A Hundred Thousand Welcomes began as research by the author, Mary Lee Donovan, into how to say welcome in as many different languages as possible. She then gathered information on the customs of welcome from around the world and from this collection of welcomes and traditions this very appealing and diverse book was produced. The important introduction explains the reasons behind the saying of ‘Welcome’ and its use in cultures and religions across all continents. Following the introduction is a clever rhyming story spread across the book which showcases ‘welcome’ in thirteen different languages. The languages of welcome chosen for this publication are English, Indonesian, Modern Standard Arabic, Spanish/Castilian, Mandarin, Japanese, Bengali, German-Standard, Hindi, Modern Standard Urdu, Bashkir/Bashkort and two endangered languages, Gaelic/Irish and Lakota Sioux. On each page is the phonetic spelling of the welcome to enable the correct pronunciation. This is also expanded on in the final pages of the book with further interesting information given about the languages chosen. The bright and colourful illustrations by Lian Cho focus on the sharing of food in the welcoming of family, friends or strangers to homes.
A wonderful resource for a home, school or public library.
Subtitled, What happens when friends fight, this little board book delivers a life lesson within its pages. A great read aloud, the repetitive words and variations of the words, ribbit and rabbit, will tease and test the readers, and listeners will laugh with glee at the way the words are used, and sometimes misread. Prediction will come into play as the listeners read along and verbalise the next words after multiple readings.
Best friends, Ribbit and Rabbit do everything together: they find monsters in the dark with their torches, they go swimming together, and eat peanut butter sandwiches together. But sometimes they do not get along.
Stylish illustrations will make the reader laugh out loud at their antics, particularly when the words 'ribbit' and 'rabbit' are changed to 'nip it' and 'nab it' as their friendship becomes strained. I loved the variety of words used, parodying the character’s names, Ribbit and Rabbit, and younger readers will too, saying the words out loud, checking out the rhyme and recognising the change that a single letter can make.
The disagreement over a toy escalates and they find themselves utterly alone with their toys. They both know what they must do to repair their friendship and take steps to resolve their argument.
All is right with the world and their friendship is back to what it was.
Marigold's newly merged family consisting of her mother, brother, step father and step sister, have been fortunate enough to have secured a free house from her mother's new job with the Sterling Foundation. While it means moving across the country from California to the midwest city of Cedarville, given recent events, it might be the fresh start she needs. Arriving in their new neighbourhood, the family can't help but notice how every house on the block but theirs is run down. And from the moment they arrive, there's something off. The construction workers all evacuate the property in a rush every day at the same time, household items vanish, doors open on their own, the lights are on, then are off, shadows walking down the hall, foul smells... And Piper, Mari's 10 year old step sister, says her new friend wants Mari gone. Who is her new friend? What happened to the boarded up house next door? What else is Cedarville hiding?
This thriller/horror is set in current day America, with a protagonist dealing with anxiety, past addiction and obsessive behaviours. While battling her cravings for the very thing that got her into trouble, Marigold gives readers an example of someone dealing with personal battles, and how this can impact those around them. With a steady pace through the book, the highly tense moments are written very well, building suspense and developing the characters so readers can relate to them. Compelling in a subtle way, readers will be able to get through the book quite quickly, especially as mysteries appear throughout.
Ana Dakkar’s family are part of the fabric of the Harding-Pencraft Academy, an institution focused on training new generations of oceanographers and explorers, with additional defensive capabilities. Ana, as the youngest child in her family is still working out her place and purpose in this phenomenal school with its long history. She becomes a witness to a devastating attack on the school and then is thrust into the leadership of her fellow surviving classmates as they discover the long-lost vessel, the Nautilus, made famous in Jules Verne’s incredible tale of the 20000 Leagues under the sea. The rise to leadership comes with great responsibility and she must overcome her own insecurities and her own personal grief to work out what to do. The setting includes underwater action and creatures to love and fear. Ana also must rely on and encourage her classmates and friends as they reveal their talents in the technology and oceanography field. The growth in them all and the power of friendship over personal glory is revealed as the excitement and tension ramps up.
Rick Riordan really knows how to write a compelling adventure and woven within this amazing story are snippets and insights of the classic detail of Jules Verne’s original story. Even though I have not read the original (apologies to lovers of Verne’s writing), this reimagining in a modern and technology-rich world has all the right ingredients to be loved and cherished by a new generation of readers. There are moments of humour mingled amongst the high tension and action, and many characters to love. I can envisage that this book will not stay long on our library shelves and will be avidly peer-recommended amongst young readers.
A hilarious new book by bestselling author Charlie Higson.
Do you remember the first couple of sleepovers or camp you did as a kid? The fear and new feelings of being away from home, family and your comfort zone. Well, Stan a twelve-year-old boy who is a shy, sheltered kid and worrier is off on holiday to Italy with his fifth best friend Felix and Felix’s family who are a bunch of strangers. Oh! What could go wrong?
We meet Stan at the airport and he introduces us to his Duck It List while on holidays (opposite of bucket list), a list of things not to do. And you can probably guess ….. he ends up doing more than half of the things on the list. His mum is also a list maker.
At the airport Stan meets an older couple, Simon and Emma, who he boards the plane with to Italy (total strangers to him but part of Felix’s family). And his adventure begins.
Will Stan let loose and have fun? Or will it be his worst holiday ever?
Written in a first person narrative we see the world in Stan’s eyes. He is a great observer so we learn lots about the kids and adults he spends his holiday with. Anything can happen on holiday. New foods, spontaneous conversations and adventures. There’s lots of laugh-out-loud scenes, moments of frustration and agony as we follow his holiday adventure. He mixes with different people and discovers not everyone is perfect or has a perfect family. At the same time Stan is also concerned about his dad, who back at home had been admitted to hospital with a heart condition and his mum won’t give him details.
I enjoyed reading Worst. Holiday. Ever. And think it’s a great book to read if you suffer anxiety in doing new things. Stan discovers on his holiday that he can overcome some of his fears without really trying and finds out that he enjoys the things he has not tried to do before due to fear.
Also, loved the cover and illustrations by Warwick Johnson-Cadwell throughout the book.
If you like a good laugh, this is a great book to read.
Themes Personal and social, Holiday adventure, Humour.
Yeap, definitely a new fan of Matthew Reilly. I will be missing in action over the next couple of months reading more of his books. Matthew Reilly is the internationally bestselling author of the Scarecrow series, the Jack West series. His books are published in over 20 languages with worldwide sales of over 7 million copies.
Big bonus that he is an Aussie.
The final book in Matthew Reilly’s, Jack West Jr. series starts with a bang! It picks up where The Two Lost Mountains book finishes. Don’t let this scare you from reading due to being book 7. I have never read any of the series and quite enjoyed reading this book on its own. A few times I scratched my head thinking what has happened in previous books but the story was easy to follow and hard to put down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. When I finish this review I’m definitely going to start the series from the start.
The One Impossible Labyrinth starts with Jack (a humble Aussie Hero) and his crew racing down a heavily booby-trapped tunnel when a small red figure falls from the ceiling and starts trying to bite his face off. Oh what a way to start a book, straight into action that doesn’t stop till the end. Jack and his crew are on a mission to save the universe from The Omega Effect which is only three days away. Just like in Indiana Jones movies, Jack and his crew are running behind in the mission with another four teams in front of them chasing the same goal while leaving booby traps and hurdles behind to stop Jack. Yes, this book reminded me of Indy and also another favourite series of mine Dan Brown’s, Robert Longdon series with The Da Vinci Code. Action packed adventure involving history and mythology trying to solve puzzles to get to the prize and saving the world.
Jack’s team is split into several groups with their own adventure around the world on the same mission. This book is mainly focused on Jack with the other stories mentioned in-between.
I can’t say too much about the story line because of spoilers but I love how Reilly managed to use real today places and historical ones and also putting a spin on mythology as we know it to come up with amazing story to saving the world from THE OMEGA EFFECT, while also using the importance of family and friends of all kinds.
If you love good against evil, heart stopping moments, tense battles, epic puzzles to solve and way over the top action this is definitely the book or series to read. And definitely for adults or mature readers.
Themes Action, History, Mythology.
Maria Komninos
The secret lives of dragons by Prof Zoya Agnis and Alexander Utkin
"Deep in the cold mountains of a distant land, there was once a magnificent kingdom of dragons. The songs of dragon families echoed across its peaks, and priceless treasures were hoarded in its caves. But what happened to this kingdom?"
From stories like The Paper Bag Princess to the drama of Smaug's arrival in the opening scenes of The Hobbit, both before and beyond, dragons have been a common entry to the world of fantasy for our young readers, sparking the imagination to go on wondrous adventures. For some, just being engrossed in the particular story is enough, but for others, there is a desire to know more and for them, this book is the answer.
It contains everything a curious mind wants to know to become an expert Drackenosopher just like the esteemed author, Zoya Agnis. Through clever illustrations and readily accessible text, they can learn to identify the different dragon families, name the most fearsome dragon slayers, the bravest of Drackenosophy scholars and everything else there is to know about the beautiful dragons that we share our planet with.
About 20 years ago, there was another series of books like this (this series also includes The Secret Lives of Mermaids and The Secret Lives of Unicorns) and it became the perfect vehicle for transitioning young readers into the world of non fiction as we took a topic they were fascinated by and started exploring information books. In fact they came up with the slogan, Fiction = Imagination; Non Fiction = Information, something I have used in many instances since then. This would serve the same purpose.
Whenever I make a storybook cushion or a journal or author kit featuring a dragon, I know I will only have it for a short time, such is the popularity of these fantastic beasts. Adults and children snap them up immediately, such is the fascination with and popularity of this creature. So this is the perfect book to be the centrepiece of a display and promotion featuring fantasy promising to take readers on magical adventures. A must-have if you have fantasy lovers amongst your readers.
Themes Dragons.
Barbara Braxton
Gilded by Marissa Meyer
Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922458292. (Age:14+) Highly recommended.
I am a fan of retellings of fairy tales and Gilded, although 500 pages long, kept me engrossed until the end, and left me wishing that its sequel was available. Serilda is a poor miller’s daughter known for telling incredible stories. When she encounters the evil Erlking on his wild hunt she makes up a story about being able to spin straw into gold and her lies lead her into trouble. The Erlking takes her to his castle and commands her to make the gold. In desperation Serilda summons a boy named Gild to help her and gradually she uncovers some of the secrets of the castle.
This retelling of Rumpelstiltskin is dark and has all the trappings of fairy tales: high towers, fairies, a cruel hunt, dungeons and wraiths. Meyer keeps the story moving along at an engrossing pace while ensuring that the characters that she peoples Gilded with are easy to relate to. The young children that Serilda tells stories to are particularly relatable, and the reader is left wondering about Serilda’s mother and her disappearance. Serilda is clever and innovative, using her skill as a storyteller to get her out of trouble. Gild as befits a ghost like figure is less clearly drawn and has the reader asking questions about his origins and abilities and the ancient curse that has been put upon him.
The unexpected twists and turns, some heart-breaking moments and secrets that are gradually revealed, all will keep the reader engrossed until the cliff-hanger ending that will ensure that the sequel is picked up. Detailed teacher’s notes are available.
Themes Fairy tale retellings, Fantasy, Evil.
Pat Pledger
Witched: The Spellbinding Life of Cora Bell by Rebecca McRitchie
In Jinxed! The Curious Curse of Cora Bell, the first in this series, we met eleven-year-old Cora Bell who is a foundling with no memory prior to her life with the elderly Dot and her cat Scratch. They live in a room hidden behind a wall in the crowded, industrial city of Urt, where everyone looks out for themselves, and their survival is dependent on scavenging and trading such as rare and exotic things - apple seeds, silver forks, shoe polish amidst fierce competition. Life takes a terrifying turn for Cora when she finds a few words scribbled on a piece of paper. She takes it home and says the words aloud. Suddenly, two plump, hairy fairies named Tick and Tock crash land in her path to warn her that she is in terrible danger. Cora has unknowingly summoned a sinister creature known as a Jinx. Jinxes eat magical beings and once they have a scent, they never forget it. Cora is thrown headfirst into a world filled with magic, necromancers, shape-shifters, enchantresses, fairies, nightwalkers, witches and giants as her home is destroyed, her family goes missing and she's pursued by the menacing and powerful Jinx.
The second episode, Havoc! The Untold Magic of Cora Bell continued the story and now this is the final in the series. Cora is racing against time. With her beloved guardian, Dot, badly injured, she must face fearsome werewolves, gross beetle worms and a vengeful warlock in order to save her. But as questions about her long-lost parents arise, Cora and her fairy friends begin a search for the one person who might hold all the answers. The one person who disappeared the same night Cora's parents did ...
Will Cora finally discover the truth about her family? Or will the evil syphon return to finish what he started, and destroy Cora once and for all?
Miss 10, a capable reader (although not as avid as her older sister) loves this series because she sees herself as Cora with hidden magical powers and she becomes fully immersed in the story. It was one of the first of these more 'grown up' novels she tackled alone and while she will be thrilled to have the final in her hands, she will also be sad to know it's the end of something that has carried her through the tricky, long days of lockdown boredom. Nevertheless, it has really helped her develop her independent reading skills as she became so engrossed in it and she is ready for more. IMO, that a story is endorsed so whole-heartedly by its intended audience is the best review and so this is a series that has a place in any library collection.
Themes Fairies, Magic, Dreams, Witches, Orphans.
Barbara Braxton
The warrior in my wardrobe by Simon Farnaby. Illus. by Claire Powell
‘Magic should have brought joy to their life, instead it had brought trouble and strife.’
This is the second Misadventures of Merdyn the Wild story, following The wizard in my shed published October 2020.
Author Simon Farnaby is a writer and actor who is well-known to anyone who has seen Horrible Histories on TV – he plays Death in the ‘Stupid Deaths’ segment as well as multiple other historical characters. In his first book series he very cleverly manages to educate and impart moral lessons while being thoroughly entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny.
The new instalment starts a year after the events of book one and, for those who haven’t read the first book, contains enough context to easily understand what has happened and who is who.
This fast-paced tale centres on Rose and Kris, siblings who are descendants of wizard Merdyn. Unfortunately, discovering they have magical W-blood has increased the stakes of their sibling rivalry. But suddenly they must go back in time to 521 AD and work together to face Merdyn’s enemies. Along for the ride are Rose’s talking guinea pig, Bubbles (hilariously obsessed with poo), a boy-king called Arthur (who has a fantastic sword) and young Vandal, Vanhessa (who is trying to figure out right from wrong).
The fictional story with twists and turns is liberally supplemented with factual footnotes explaining Olde English terminology as well as customs. It is easy to imagine the Horrible Histories rat popping up at the bottom of the page to deliver these facts!
The morals of the story are neatly woven in without being preachy. Themes of love, family relationships and learning from your elders are explored, while discussion about women’s place in society and what makes a person ‘good’ vs being a ‘baddie’ are also included.
The presentation of this book is very appealing to young readers - a bright neon-orange cover, bold fonts for magic spell wording, rhyming summaries at the end of each chapter, and detailed cartoony illustrations throughout. I absolutely loved this book and, with a to-be-continued feel at the end, am excited to see what the W-bloods might do next!
