Ash Bowman is your regular, every day guy, linebacker on his high school football team. Then something changes, when the tackles and hits on the field start causing universe shifts. Ash questions himself and the world he thought he knew as the shifts bring about changes he could never have imagined.
I've never read anything written by Neal Shusterman before, and I found his writing style descriptive and realistic. Readers will be quickly emerged in the story, following Ash through each universe changing shift, learning more about his own privilege and the issues that his friends face. As a science fiction book, it's not too heavy on the sci-fi, just enough to explain the workings of the 'jumps' and the impacts experienced by Ash (and those in his life). Shusterman has written relatable and real characters, who also experience changes throughout the jumps. Ash is surrounded by a variety of characters - including ones you hate, ones you wish would be better and ones that prove they are true friends. The book looks at how the world would be now if certain historical events (revolving around activism, segregation/integration and justice) had not occurred. Shusterman takes readers all over hard hitting issues: race and racism; gender and sexism; LGBTQIA+ acceptance; privilege and consequences of actions based on said privilege (or lack thereof). While Shusterman has created a sci-fi that looks at the issues that are relevant today - society's expectations of gender, restrictions and prejudices placed on minorities, and the battle for acceptance and equality, sadly the book doesn't delve deeply enough into the issues to enact profound change for the reader - this is something the reader will need to take upon themselves.
This is a novel that will grab readers who enjoy a murder mystery with ghoulish references.
Everything about Violet Veil revolves around death and the graveyard. Her family are undertakers and Violet herself was born in the cemetery. She is fascinated by the family business, but as a girl in Victorian England, she knows that the apprenticeship will be passed onto her younger brother. Violet is constrained by the values of her time, and she rebels against them. It will be her courage and determination that eventually saves her family.
There have been some strange, unexplained deaths that have passed through the funeral parlour and perhaps the most bizarre is Oliver, the young man who seemingly rises from his coffin to wander the graveyard. He had recovered from a violent blow to the head and as he can't remember anything from his past, he stays to help work in the family business.
Violet befriends Oliver and they team up to try to solve the mysteries of the unexplained deaths, Oliver's past and the secretive veiled woman who seems to be a part of the unfolding story. The biggest blow for the family is when Violet's father is arrested for murder and jailed. This is when Violet's bravery and excellent problem solving skills come into force and with Oliver's help she sets out to find the real murderer.
Gothic imagery runs throughout this novel. The family funeral business, their graveyard home, Violet's black clothing and the grimy, frightening Victorian streets create a strong visual image. Violet has a skinny greyhound aptly named Bones and Violet herself has the skill to listen to the dead as she can hear their thoughts and sense an echo of their past lives. She is not constricted by adult views or demands and has a strong sense of right and wrong which drives her on to unravel the mysteries of her father’s imprisonment and the unsolved murders.
Sophie Cleverly is well known for her previous detective series, Scarlet and Ivy, and fans of hers will certainly enjoy this new novel. I look forward to other books in this series and I feel this story will have wide appeal amongst readers 9 years and older.
Themes Undertakers, Apprentices, Mystery and suspense.
Jane Moore
A wizard's guide to defensive baking by T. Kingfisher
An Andre Norton Nebula Award Nominee for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction is always worth pursuing, and this unusual, whimsical story will gain many fans. Mona is a fourteen-year-old baker wizard. Her skills lie in producing excellent sourdough bread, due to her strange sourdough starter named Bob, who lives in the cellar under the bakery. She can make gingerbread men dance for the bakery's customers and has a gingerbread man who perches on her shoulder and obeys her commands. When she finds the body of a young woman on the floor, she is swept into an adventure full of danger. Can she use her magic to find the assassin who is killing off all the wizards in her city and help to save her people from an evil man who wants to take power?
Kingfisher comes up with the most original plots and this book will delight adult readers who wish to read about a character with unique abilities, while middle school readers will enjoy a heroine who doubts that her skills are adequate to the task of defending her city from a siege but is still determined to do her best. Readers will be amazed at what she comes up with – giant golems who provide a barrier to invading mercenaries, sneaky gingerbread men who harass the soldiers and their horses and sourdough missiles that burn their adversaries.
Kingfisher's characters are very engaging. Mona, although she has doubts about being a hero and wishes that the adults in charge had been braver and taken on the task, overcomes her fears and works on her talents. Her off-sider Spindle is street wise and clever, and Knackering Molly and her skeleton horse will bring a tear to the eye. And some of Mona's dough creations are stand out characters in their own right - who could go past a grumpy sourdough maker called Bob and a tiny gingerbread general who could control his group of soldiers?
Fans of Robin McKinley are sure to enjoy the smart dialogue and intelligent heroine and readers who enjoyed this could go on to read Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher.
Nala, a Jamaican-American teen, is dragged along to an Inspire Harlem event with her cousin-sister-friend. Inspire Harlem is a group for teen activists with high ideals, but Nala does not fit. For a start she buys bottled water and she loves bacon! She falls head-over-heels for Tye, a young activist within the group, but hides her true opinions in order to stay the focus of his affection. Pretending she is someone she is not and lying to hide her true self creates complications for their developing friendship and romance.
This is a story about a teen coming to grips with her own identity, her own appearance, and her own view of life and love. The romance is gentle and Tye almost seems too good to be true. Nala uses music and song lyrics and a journal to help her work through her insecurities, and the old folks home where her Grandmother lives provides the opportunity to seek wisdom.
This is a gentle coming-to-wisdom and self-affirming story with a larger than life central character approaching her senior year at High School. Written with journal entries, and the poetry of song lyrics scattered throughout the summer holidays narrative, this is also an insight into a culture and family within a New York borough. Black lives matter, and stories that have strong black females as lead characters are important. This book will be enjoyed by readers who enjoy romance stories.
Penguin Bloom, the true story of an unlikely hero by Chris Kunz is adapted from the movie Penguin Bloom and is the young readers' edition of Penguin Bloom, the odd little bird who saved a family by Cameron Bloom and Bradley Greive.
Chris Kunz is a writer who works across the TV, film and publishing industries. Work along similar lines that she has written include the children's series with the Irwin family and Australia Zoo and the RSPCA for Random House Australia. Writing a book that is a film adaptation is a different craft. In this young readers' edition, Kunz writes from the point of view of Noah, the oldest boy of the family. Written in first person, it offers a slightly different perspective to the original version which was written by Noah's father.
Penguin Bloom, the true story of an unlikely hero, describes a family coping with the aftermath of a shocking accident through the eyes of a son. Sam, the mother, suffers a freak accident while the family are on holidays in Thailand when a balcony collapses. As a result of the fall she becomes a paraplegic. The story follows her depression and the family's attempts to rally around her and adjust to having a once active mother becoming totally dependent on others for her every need.
Into the story comes Penguin, an injured, orphaned magpie who has been abandoned after falling from her nest. She is unable to fly. The plight of the bird mirrors that of Sam. Penguin becomes a much loved member of the Bloom family. Her attachment to the family, her uncanny understanding and her funny antics are just what the family needs in order to heal.
As in all stories where an animal is involved, there is heartbreak but what a beautiful story of hope, courage and survival this book is. It is frightening for us all when we read about something that could happen to any of us. The raw truth, the pain and the love remind us of our frailty, our shared humanity and the mystery and wonder of other creatures.
From the first glimpse of three wide-eyed monkeys set against a vivid red background on the front cover, children will be intrigued and want to find out what happens in the story. Opening up the book, the deep purple and blue of the endpapers with animals hiding amongst the foliage further add to the mystery and those three little monkeys beckon the reader and listener on, waiting to see what happens. Mother Monkey goes off after warning the three little monkeys not to go to the mango tree because there are tigers down there. Of course, mangoes are a huge attraction and just maybe . . . the monkeys could look at them.
The delightful narrative just begs to be read aloud, with rhymes and repetition for a young listener to call out and questions to answer. The cheeky little monkeys can't resist the sweetness of the mangoes and readers will have lots of fun finding the tigers that are hiding behind the trees as they clamber down to the ground and are sure to want to scream out to warn them of danger. And they will be laughing at the final pages when they know that the monkeys will not be able to resist bananas.
The print is set in white against tones of bright red, pink, yellow, orange and purple background with the little monkeys in navy blue and other tones of blue, eyes outlined in white making them stand out beautifully. There is a double page spread with just the word TIGERS and three tigers, white teeth gleaming at the cowering monkeys holding mangoes, that is truly memorable, but the reader will be confident that those monkeys are agile enough to get away.
Sure to become a favourite with both children and adults Maybe . . . joins others by Haughton like Goodnight everyone and will grab children's attention with its wit and great illustrations.
Themes Humour, Monkeys, Cautionary tale.
Pat Pledger
When the world was ours by Liz Kessler
Simon & Schuster, 2021. ISBN: 9781471198298. (Age:14+) Highly recommended.
Three young friends - Leo, Elsa and Max - spend a perfect day together, unaware that around them Europe is descending into a growing darkness, and that events soon mean that they will be cruelly ripped apart from each other. With their lives taking them across Europe - to Germany, England, Prague and Poland - will they ever find their way back to each other? Will they want to? Three friends. Two sides. One Memory. Inspired by true events, this story will captivate readers right until the very end. The book follows multiple narratives, one of each of the children, and depicts three very different experiences of World War II. Leo and Elsa are Jewish and the experiences they both face as young children are utterly heartbreaking. Max is German and whilst his story can be frustrating, in the end the poor boy just wanted to be loved and appreciated, to fit in. The style of writing is very easy to follow, the chapters are short but informative. It flows throughout the years of the War without skipping any important details. The content however is quite hard to read, as with any Holocaust story. Reading about the horrors of the war through the eyes of children will leave you reaching for the tissues. You can see their innocence vanishing as the book goes on and your heart will ache for them.
Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in the Holocaust and seeing it from different perspectives. Please note, there are graphic depictions of crematoriums, gas chambers, gun violence and antisemitism. Take care when reading.
Themes Children in War, Concentration Camps, Death, Different Points of View, Holocaust, Jewish, 1939-1945, Hitler, Adolf, World War, 1939-1945.
Emily Feetham
The Paris Affair by Pip Drysdale
Simon & Schuster, 2021. ISBN: 9781760854324. (Age:Adult) Recommended.
Harper Brown has a super power: she can break up with a guy in less than three minutes and make him think that it was his idea. The demonstration of this super power is how we meet our heroine, art and culture reporter Harper.
Harper is new to Paris, immune to emotional attachment and ready to rock the world of journalism. Harper doesn't like people (except for her best and only friend Camilla) and doesn't believe in love but she does love to write and she's good at it too.
Harper knows that she is just one big scoop away from leaving the world of gallery openings and opera reviews and becoming a serious investigative journalist. She seems to be getting her life back together after the end of a long-term relationship with her self-obsessed musician ex (random one night stands and 7am scotch withstanding). That is, until Harper meets up and coming artist Noah X. Sent to review his new art exhibition, Harper finds herself becoming attached, something that she has sworn not to let happen. Add in jealous ex-wives and meddlesome muses and Harper and Noah seem doomed from the start.
Something much more serious is happening though. Someone is murdering young women in Paris and unless Harper can figure out who it is, and soon, she thinks she may be next.
The Paris Affair is the third offering from Australian author Pip Drysdale. It is an easy and intriguing thriller that does not take itself too seriously. Drysdale’s writing is peppered with pop culture and social media references that make this book an undemanding read, particularly for millennial and Gen Z audiences.
The romance between Noah and Harper takes a backstage to Harper's investigation of the missing women. While dealing with serious subject matter, The Paris Affair is witty and entertaining, perfect for a holiday read or for those looking for lighter fare. Paris is an interesting and vivid backdrop and may be particularly appealing to those missing the world outside Australia in a post-pandemic society.
Themes Romance, Paris, Journalism, Art and Culture, Murder, Friendship.
Two authors can make me cry - Michael Morpurgo and now Hannah Gold. It is interesting that Michael Morpurgo is quoted on the front cover of The last bear stating that this book by Hannah Gold is ". . . an important first novel, important for us, for polar bears, for the planet. It is deeply moving, beautifully told, quite unforgettable." I can only agree.
For those of us who have ever had a relationship with an animal, who have looked into the eyes of an animal and seen trust, Michael Morpurgo and Hannah Gold know how to capture this wonderful understanding into words, action and story. In The last bear, eleven year old April is the central character. She is a lonely child whose mother has died. The polar bear (Bear) has lost his pack. Both lonely creatures meet on Bear Island which truly exists and the reader is transported to the Arctic Circle to real places that are outside his or her experience; wonderful, wild and threatened.
Though April's father works within the field of science and the environment he is an adult and he misses the true and palpable relationship that April has with animals. This book is a war cry for children. It is raw and brave and suggests that adults may have lost some of the proximity to what is really important that can only be seen strongly through the clear eyes of children. The threat of climate change as indicated through the depletion of the polar bear population and the enormous loss of sea ice to the extent (according to NASA) of 1.75 million square kilometres over a forty two year period of satellite surveillance is what inspired Hannah Gold to write this novel.
Illustrated by multiple award winning Levi Penfold, this beautiful adventure story with its roots in the reality of our troubled planet and its animals will go straight to the heart of children from eight years of age through Middle School. Anyone who loves Michael Morpurgo's animal books or Paxby Sarah Pennypacker or Thiele's Stormboy will recognise that here is another powerful story, maybe an instant classic, which is about kindness, adventure and finding your own individual path in life. It is a coming of age story with all that is important in life learnt through the love of an animal. The last bear is grounded in real life through its setting and representation of human characters but there is adventure and magic in this book too!
Highly recommended.
Themes Climate change, Planet, Polar bears, Children and relationship with animals, Adventure.
Wendy Jeffrey
Let's go! On a digger by Rosalyn Albert. Illus. by Natalia Moore
Catch a Star, 2020. ISBN: 9781921928710. (Age:1-3)
This is one in a series of board books about vehicles (others include On a Rocket and On a Train). Short text and large illustrations make for a perfect toddler book that will hold attention and encourage discussion and new vocabulary. The story is told in first person ("Let's go on a digger and dig up lots of mud: I scoop it high into the air and drop it with a thud") and the characters working on the construction site even look like children, so listeners will be able to put themselves into the story. Technical and mathematical language is used to good effect (high, deep, joysticks, boom, treads, heavy, caterpillar treads) and will give children the vocabulary to use in their own imaginative play or when making observations. It is no secret that toddlers are fascinated by machines and while there is no shortage of suitable books on these topics this is another good addition to any library catalogue or home collection.
First published in 1988, this board book edition of A Dragon in a Wagon is perfect for young ones, who will appreciate its simple rhymes and matching illustrations. Beginning readers will also enjoy being able to read much of the story for themselves. "Susie Fogg took Sam her dog along by Jackson's Stream. As as they walked Susie talked, and dreamed a wishful dream". Her dream is for a more exotic pet...perhaps a snake eating cake? Or a whale in a pail? The simple rhymes are perfect for young children and their emerging phonological awareness and older children could be encouraged to come up with their own rhymes. It could also be used alongside the similar title Frog on a Log.
This is another truly timeless Lynley Dodd tale that will delight all young Hairy Maclary and Slinky Malinky fans.
Thirteen-year-old, geeky, pizza loving Brianna is struggling through the minefield of Middle School wondering the usual things kids do at this age and questioning herself about everything at every turn. In this story she is persuaded by her Jewish mother to undertake her bat mitzvah (the female version of the bar mitzvah). This requires a lot of study for Brianna, let alone the embarrassing thought that she will have to be in the spotlight to perform the required prayers in Hebrew and make a speech in front of friends and family. Middle school children will love the way Brianna doubts herself constantly and copes with the changing scenery of her friendships through this process. The opportunity to be in the popular crowd at school also forms part of the conflict between Brianna and her one best friend.
The author cleverly explains how Brianna tackles this stressful time in her life by writing some parts of the story in the past and others in the present as her bat mitzvah approaches. The book is set out as notebook style chapters with speech bubbles highlighting the dialogue between characters, alternating with graphic panel chapters which make it very understandable and attractive to a wide variety of readers. The book is also highly informative about the Jewish faith and provides a glossary of Jewish terms at the back of the book.
Like Terri Libenson's previous books in the series Emmie & friends this book can be read alone. It is the fourth in the series set in the same school, so the characters go across all the books with the first three books being Invisible Emmie, Positively Izzy, and Just Jaime.
This board book edition of the bestselling title will delight young listeners with its rollicking rhyme and humourous illustrations. The ludicrous pictures of animals taking inappropriate forms of transportation (monkeys in shopping trolleys, seals driving cars, whales riding bicycles) will have children laughing with incredulity and the lines of reasoning provide plenty of opportunity for animated 'what would happen?' type discussions. The solution that the animals come up with for their travel dilemma will also amuse children, who could also be encouraged to come up with their own mode of transport for the animals. David Tazzyman's scratchy and quirky illustrations are a perfect match for these chaotic and crazy hypotheticals.
This is a perfect read aloud for children of all ages and this board book edition makes it just right for little hands to explore independently or with an adult. A timeless tale that is sure to become a classic.
Childhood best friends Esme and Kayla return to Camp Pine Lake as counselors in training. They are both thrilled to be back but hold onto a dark secret. The last time they were at Camp Pine Lake, something bad happened. Really bad. They never told anyone about it, but someone out there knows what they did. And they want revenge. The Lake never forgets.
Author Natasha Preston presents us with another heart stopping thriller. Esme, observant, smart, quiet and paranoid and Kayla, pretentious, social, animated and anxious, the two main characters battle with their own guilt of what happened ten years ago all whilst trying to provide an exciting summer camp experience for the children. The characters can come across as cliche, the "plain Jane" brunette, the popular blonde, the jock, the mysterious boy, the damaged villain. Each has their own story and carries their own secrets. As the threats start coming in and become more targeted and violent, secrets start to reveal themselves and everyone becomes a suspect.
The plot starts off fairly slowly, giving us time to get to know the characters and witness their newfound relationships start to blossom. From early on readers find out exactly what happened "last summer", quickly escalating to a heart stopping, griping finale that leaves readers thinking . . . "BUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!" In traditional Natasha Preston style, the book ends with a huge cliff-hanger, with no indication of a sequel. Lovers of YA thriller will enjoy this story, with constant twists and turns that will leave you constantly looking over your shoulder and perhaps avoiding dark forests for a while.
LaFevers brings this duology to a stunning conclusion in Igniting darkness. Following the adventures of Genevieve in Courting Darkness Sybella and Genevieve find themselves in the French court. Genevieve has been left alone for many years waiting for the call from the convent which never came, and has become the friend of the King, trying to guide him on a more tolerant path. She has unknowingly drawn attention to the convent and the assassin nuns and must use all her ingenuity and wit to help Sybella and to keep herself safe. Meanwhile Sybella has the arduous task of attempting to guard the Queen, the Duchess of Brittany. Sybella's younger sisters, in grave danger from her evil brother, have been spirited out of the court, under the protection of her love Beast, and Sybella is in danger of being accused of treason.
This is historical fantasy of a very high calibre. At the end of the book, the author recounts who are the real historical figures and the mixture of unique fantasy with novitiate nuns of St Mortain trained as assassins and real history makes for a heady and engrossing tale. Court intrigue is described vividly, and it is not difficult to imagine the scenes of the king and his advisors, church and state, and the manipulations going on by power hungry people.
The relationships between Sybella and Beast and Genevieve and the prisoner that she helped escape add an extra dimension to the book and will thrill any reader who enjoys some romance in their reading.
I am very sorry to see this series ending and look forward to whatever Robin Lafevers writes in the future. Readers who have missed the His fair assassin series, Grave mercy, Dark Triumph, and Mortal heart will certainly want to go back and find out more about the nun assassins, while other readers would enjoy Lumatere chronicles by Melina Marchetta and any book by Leigh Bardugo.
