Balzer and Bray, 2016. ISBN 9780062560605
Highly recommended. Similar in nature to Erin Morginstien's The
Night Circus, The Crown's Game follows a competition
between two enchanters in which only one may survive. I would highly
recommend to anyone interested in fantasy or historic fiction.
Vika has been raised to become the Imperial Enchanter, her entire
life has been devoted to that goal. But little does she know there
is another enchanter who has also been raised not only to become the
Imperial Enchanter, but to win the Crown's Game. The borders are
under threat and there is a whisper about a rebellion, Yuliana, the
Tsar's daughter, convinces the Tsar that the time is ripe for a new
Imperial Enchanter and entreats him to start the Crown's Game to
protect her brother, the Tsaravitch. Pasha, the Tsaravitch, is soft
and unlike his father the Tsar. He defies the royal pomp and as a
result his best friend is an orphan, Nikolai. But Nikolai is more
than just an orphan - he has been brought up an enchanter, and
thrust unwillingly into a game where he must kill or be killed.
Things only grow more intense as a love triangle emerges between
Vika and the two boys and they are all forced to think on who must
die. There is no way out of this game.
Set in imperial Russia during the years 1801-1825, the story focuses
on Alexander I and his Tsarina Elizabeth's two fictional children
Pasha and Yuliana. By adding layers of mysticism, Skye produces a
wonderfully rich fantasy filled with magic, drama, and Russian
curses.
Kayla Gaskell (University student)
The good people by Hannah Kent
Picador, 2016. ISBN 9781743534908
(Age: 16+) Highly recommended.
This is the second book from Hannah Kent, whose award winning first
novel 'Burial rites' received great acclaim. That novel, based on a
true story, was set in the cold bleak environment of northern
Iceland in 1829 and told the story of Agnes Magnusdottir condemned
to death for murder. This latest book 'The good people' is about
another 'dark happening in a cold place' and is set in 1825 in
south-west Ireland at a time of poverty and hunger and fearful
superstition. Kent immerses us completely in the hard frugal lives
of the people trying to eke out a living with potatoes and the milk
from the cows when available, living in windowless cabins under
thatch rooves with dirt floors and soot stained walls from the
hearth fire.
We are drawn into the lives of three women gathered around a strange
child - they are Nora, the distraught widow left to struggle on her own with
the care of her grandchild; Mary, the young girl who has left a home
with too many mouths to feed, taking on chores with Nora for the
sake of food and shelter; and Nance, the mysterious old woman at the
edge of the village, she who consorts with the 'good people', the
fairies who wreck havoc with people's lives.
Nance knows the special herbs and cures. People furtively seek out
her help with their troubles, careful to avoid the anger of the
disapproving local priest. But when one misfortune follows another,
and there are signs that the fairies have been about, fear and
distrust leads to rumours about her. Is there an evil spirit amongst
them, is it the child, or is it Nance, or are all three women
involved in something bad?
The world of Nora, Mary and Nance and the surrounding villagers is
very real. Kent has thoroughly researched every detail, and she
brings it all alive - the austere lives, the dirt, the smells, the
struggles and fears, the bitterness and spite, even the language of
the time. The book held me to the very end - it is an intriguing
story that leaves us, like the villagers, with still a few questions
lingering in the mind.
Helen Eddy
Sunset shadows by Bronwyn Parry
Goodabri bk. 3. Hachette Australia, 2016. ISBN 9780733633317
(Age: 15+) Recommended for fans of romantic suspense. This is the
third book in the Goodabri series, following Dead heat
and Storm
clouds, but could be read as a stand-alone although as
with all series, some background is given in the previous books.
Steve Fraser and Tess Ballard, both police officers, save the lives
of 50 cult members but put their careers on the line when it appears
that one of them may have killed the cult leader. One of the cult
members is Steve's sister who has two children, and he finds himself
having to deal with long buried family issues while trying to
protect them. Tess, too, is hiding secrets from her past and has to
confront the feelings and the danger that she is facing because of
the cult.
Readers will enjoy the vivid descriptions of the Australian bush and
the small country towns of northern New South Wales, as Parry brings
to life what it is like to live in outback Australia. Her
descriptions of cult life and the effect that it has on its members,
even when they have managed to escape the confines of that system,
are quite harrowing and bring a depth to the story that elevates it
above the average romantic suspense story. There is much tension and
excitement as the pair trail the cult leaders and drug dealers
through the bush.
Readers who have read the first two in the series will be happy to
follow the story of Steve Fraser and the unexpected conclusion to
his troubles, and Tess is a gritty heroine, whose determination to
overcome her past is engaging.
Bronwyn Parry has won awards for her romantic suspense stories and Sunset
shadows will not disappoint her fans.
Pat Pledger
Geis: A matter of life and death by Alexis Deacon
Walker Books Australia, 2016. ISBN 9781910620038
(Age: Upper primary + ) Highly recommended. Geis: (genitive singular geise,
nominative plural geasa)
1. a solemn
injunction , especially of a magical kind, the infringement of
which led to misfortune or even death
2. a tabu , spell or prohibition
This is going to tick a lot of boxes for quite a number of your
readers. Firstly, it is yet another sumptuous graphic novel I have
had the pleasure of receiving recently. Secondly, it is supernatural
AND historical AND fantasy. Finally, it is the first in a trilogy so
readers who love the continuation of a saga will really go for it.
The matriarch chief/ruler of an island lies dying and has no natural
heir. She summons her strongest magic ever. One of you I will spare. For the rest I claim you all! Your
hearts will beat to feed my magic, your bodies will be shells for
my puppets and my slaves, your minds will be shattered and broken.
Fifty souls are called in the night for a contest that will
determine the one worthy of taking her place. This is a trial like
no other and begins the first task.
This is another first novel and I predict the start of an amazing
career for Alexis who graduated in 2001 from the University of
Brighton with a first class Honours in Illustration.
Definitely a name to watch - this is highly recommended for readers
from Upper Primary onwards.
Sue Warren
A dog called Bear by Diane and Christyan Fox
Faber, 2016. ISBN 9780571329434
Lucy has always wanted a dog and has read all the books about them
and saved her pocket money to buy all the stuff that a dog needs.
And so she begins her search... not at a pet shop but in her
neighbourhood. First she encounters a frog who pleads his case but
he does not meet Lucy's requirements. Neither does the fox. But Bear
seems to and because it's late and she's tired, she decides he will
be fine.
It's an unlikely partnership but it works until Bear did what bears
do in winter - hibernate. Lucy was not pleased. She not only wanted
a full-time dog but also one that lived up to her expectations, not
one that was messy, dug a lot and and ate so much porridge. Bear
wasn't happy either - carrying sticks, repeatedly fetching a ball
and being woken up were not his ideals. And so he runs away...
This is a charming story about what it means to have a pet and what
our expectations of them are. It would be ideal for starting a
discussion with very young children about the sorts of creatures
that make a suitable pet and what is required to take care of them -
it's more than lots of cuddles and snuggles.
One for the little ones in our lives.
Barbara Braxton
Den of wolves by Juliet Marillier
A Blackthorn and Grim novel. Macmillan, 2016. ISBN
9781743535738
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Fantasy. Another stunning read from
Juliet Marillier is sure to delight fans and new readers alike.
Blackthorn has been asked to help Lady Flidais look after a young
woman, Cara, who has been sent to her by her father. Meanwhile Grim
has been given the task of working with Bardan, a wild strange man,
to rebuild a heartwood house deep in the forest belonging to Cara's
father. Both soon realise that all is not well. Blackthorn's past
begins to catch up with her when her old enemy Mathuin attacks the
holdings of Lady Flidais' parents and it is difficult for her to
remember that she has taken a vow to seek no vengeance. Grim is
troubled by the way that Bardan is treated and suspects that there
are many secrets being kept at Wolf Glen. Grim and Blackthorn both
have to make a heart wrenching choice: to stand together or to fight
their battles alone. And what they decide could really influence the
fate and happiness of the young woman, Cara.
Told in alternating chapters by Blackthorn and Grim, each story
builds up suspense as a sense of doom spreads. For Grim, there is
mystery surrounding Bardan's background and where he has been hidden
for many years. It is strange that Cara is sent away so soon after
his arrival at Wolf Glen, and the reader is left wondering about the
significance of the heartwood house, which is made of different
woods in a certain order. Blackthorn finds that she misses Grim's
patience and solid support when he is away, but knows that both have
responsibilities that must be fulfilled. The reader hopes that
Blackthorn can keep her bond but it is obviously so very difficult
for her to do that as she wrestles with stopping the evil Mathuin or
helping Cara and Grim.
With her trade mark mix of fairy tale and historical fantasy,
Marillier brings to a very satisfying conclusion the dilemmas that
both Blackthorn and Grim face. Their complex relationship also
grows in a rewarding and fulfilling way and the reader is left
feeling content with the series, but hopeful that they will solve
more mysteries together in the future.
This was an outstanding story and I hope that there will be more
Blackthorn and Grim adventures in further books.
Pat Pledger
Little lunch: Triple snack pack by Danny Katz
Ill. by Mitch Vane. Little lunch series. Black Dog Books,
2016. ISBN 9781925381276
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. Humour. Schools. Three stories are
combined in one volume in this offering from Katz, the stories of
the fifteen interval in the school's morning session making
wonderful reading for the newly independent reader. His stories are
always recognisable, they concern things that all kids can relate
to, their backgrounds and the interplay between students are something most
readers will have experienced. The familiarity of the tree in the
school yard evoking different responses from several groups of kids
is given full reign in the first story 'The old climbing tree', where
some children love the old tree, talking of things they have done
with it over the years, while one student in particular wants it
knocked down because it forms a hazard. How will the two opposing
points of view be resolved?
The second is just as engrossing as the twins leave school without
anyone knowing why. The corridor outside class 6E becomes a whodunit
as the kids try to work out what has happened to their friends,
using the flimsiest of details to form the most exciting of stories,
revealing how gossip begins.
And the third, 'The relationship', will intrigue and surprise
the readers as the group so well known now from the television
series is in turmoil as a grade six girl asks Rory out.
The stories are short and with funny illustrations, larger print and
some words emphasised with a different font, all adding to an easy
to read snack pack of tales to absorb.
Fran Knight
Clever Trevor's stupendous inventions by Andrew Weldon
Puffin, 2016. ISBN 9780143309154
Clever Trevor's name is not really Trevor. It's Stuart. But nothing
rhymes with 'Stuart' and because he is so clever - he invented and
built the Rabbit Brain Booster out of his dad's old computer and a
car battery - his friends have renamed him Trevor. But for all his
cleverness Trevor was still failing at school, especially this year
with Mr Schmedric. Nothing Trevor submitted for his assignments met
Mr Schmedric's expectations - but then Mr Schmedric was one of those
teachers who thought there was only one way to do anything. He won't
accept Trevor's inventions as acceptable solutions for assignments
and bullies him mercilessly. He is the epitome of a nightmare
teacher - and thankfully one that no student will ever meet.
So you can imagine Trevor's shock when he discovers that Mr
Schmedric is not only confiscating his projects but he was selling
them... and making a lot of money, which he makes sure Trevor
knows about. So Trevor and his friends hatch a plot to get their own
back, but Mr Schmedric is smarter than they give him credit for.
When he threatens to make Stuart repeat his class next year, they
have to come up with a new plan...
This is another very funny book-length cartoon from the talented
Andrew Weldon. We first met Clever Trevor as a friend of Steven, in
The Kid with the amazing head, and now he comes into his own.
It is an engaging tale which brings up all sorts of issues about the
ethical use of information and ideas as well as the concept of
power. Can authority be misused? Is it possible for the underdog to
win? Can brains overcome brawn?
Younger readers, particularly the boys and those who are reluctant
readers, will enjoy this story in its very accessible format and
will be eagerly awaiting a new adventure from this talented creator.
And in the meantime they can use the makerspace to create their own
great invention!
Barbara Braxton
Malkin Moonlight by Emma Cox
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408870846
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. I actually finished reading this a
couple of weeks ago and the writing of this review has taken so long
because this is so different and so charming I have found it
difficult to find the right words. I could just say it's an animal
adventure story but it is so much more than that. It really puts me
in mind of such titles as Watership Down or even Mrs
Frisby and the rats of NIMH. Rarely does one read an animal
story which truly projects the protagonists as completely sentient
thinking creatures.
A small kitten loses one of his nine lives when he narrowly escapes
drowning along with the rest of his litter. Little does he know but
he is destined to become a hero. The Moon recognises this and
blesses him with her naming of him 'Malkin Moonlight'. This small
feline with a huge and magnificent tail has an acute sense for the
distress of those in need and quickly loses another life in the
first of many rescues.
On his third life, he is rescued in turn by a Domestic named Roux.
Together these two form an unbreakable bond and fall in love. Roux
chooses to abandon the comforts of domestic living and runs away
with Malkin. As they search for a new home they come across a
recycling centre populated by cats who are divided into two warring
camps: those on the 'good' side of the centre where they have
accommodated themselves comfortably and are cared for by the
workers; and those who lurk on the toxic dump site over 'the wall'.
Only Malkin can unite these two factions and create a peace that
will last forever. The adventures and dramas along the way are
gripping and tense but the love, respect and true compassion of this
singular cat and his friends are a remarkable lesson for all
readers.
This first novel is destined to become a modern classic in my
opinion.
Highly recommended for readers from around 9 years up.
Sue Warren
Fright Club by Ethan Long
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781681190433
This is one of the cutest board books I've seen for ages. Forget
about sweet and pretty - this one is just in time for Halloween and
a fun story for little people.
The local Fright Club led by Vladimir the vampire is busily
practising their 'ghoulish faces, scary moves, chilling sounds' in
their clubhouse when there comes a knock at the door. A sweet fluffy
bunny asks if she can join the club and is promptly rejected. The
monsters continue with their very amateurish spookiness and there is
another knock at the door. This time the cute bunny is accompanied
by her foxy lawyer citing discrimination about being excluded and
pretty soon all the woodland creatures are picketing the Fright
Club. Of course eventually the monsters have to give in and let them
all join - and who knew? Those little animals can be quite scary
when they want to be!
This is just great fun with a load of good devices to talk about if
you did want to share it with older ones; speech bubbles,
onomatopoeia etc but basically it is a just a hoot for Halloween.
Check out the trailer
online.
Sue Warren
The double cross and other skills I learned as a SUPERSPY by Jackson Pearce
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781619634145
(Age: 8-12) Recommended. Smart, intelligent twelve-year-old Hale
Jordan lives with his secret agent parents and younger sister
Kennedy at the SRS Sub Rosa Society, an underground academy for
superspies. Hale struggles to pass the physical test to become a
junior agent, unfortunately his classmates call him Hale the Whale.
When his parents disappear during Operation Groundcover and the
leaders at SRS are unwilling to save them an unlikely hero emerges.
Hale uses all the spy techniques he has learnt to break into the
offices of the League, their rival agency.
Of course, the daring deeds of a young agent like Hale take him into
dangerous situations that require skill and ingenuity. There are
spies and double agents, counterplots and risky missions. When he
secretly opens the SRS files, he discovers that his parents have been
listed as eliminated on sight. The young agent befriends Ben, an
inventor, and his sister Beatrix, a computer whiz from the League
and they work together to foil the SRS plot to kidnap talented kids
and turn them into secret agents.
Pearce's protagonist Hale rises above the bullying from his
classmates and he uses his knowledge and abilities to overcome
difficult situations. The supporting characters are likeable as
well, there's Ben's with his timely and clever inventions, Kennedy's
cheerleading team help with a risky escape and Beatrix's valuable
computer skills. Jackson Pearce's The double cross is an
appealing novel, a funny, action-packed novel that is suitable for
confident readers who enjoy spy stories.
Rhyllis Bignell
Tell the truth, shame the devil by Melina Marchetta
Viking, 2016. ISBN 9780670079100
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Mystery. Marchetta's outstanding
ability as an author stands out in this engrossing and at times,
heart wrenching story. Chief Inspector Bish Ortley has been
suspended from the London Met, and still grieving from the death of
his son and the divorce from his wife. Drinking heavily hasn't
helped, and then he finds out that his daughter on a student trip to
France has been on a bus that was bombed. Desperate to find out what
has happened, Bish races across the Channel and although his
daughter Bee is safe, it turns out that Violette LeBrac, the
granddaughter of a man who bombed a London supermarket, was on
board. Bish had been involved in the arrest of her mother, Noor
LeBrac. As he begins to investigate the bombing, Violette and
another boy, Eddie disappear, and Bish begins to uncover the truth
about what had happened in the past.
Bish is a compelling character who immediately gains the sympathy of
the reader as he tries to cope with his ex-wife's pregnancy and new
husband and a cantankerous teenage daughter while traumatised by his
son's drowning. He has the knack of being able to get people to
confide in him and gradually as he talks to the teens from the bus
and their parents, a picture of what has happened begins to emerge.
His investigative skills are put to the test as he navigates through
a foreign language (French) and the social media that the students
on the bus have used to communicate what has happened. The teens'
different characters come alive on the page, with all the angst,
that comes with coping with hormones and difficult family
backgrounds. Violette is particularly compelling as she confronts
what has happened in the past and Bee's efforts to come to grips
with her brother's death and parents' divorce provide a deeper
background to the reader coming to understand Bish.
The multicultural nature of Europe provides the setting for the
novel. The racism that faces anyone who has a Middle Eastern
background and the treatment that the LeBrac family has been given
is an integral part of the story and is so realistic as to what is
happening in our modern society. Marchetta's writing makes the
reader ponder what tolerance and justice, right and wrong, is all
about as Bish follows the trail of Violetta and Eddie, while
overturning what had been considered the truth in the past.
An outstanding crime novel, Tell the truth, shame the devil
will appeal to adults, but is sure to resonate with older teens as
well.
Pat Pledger
Pattan's pumpkin: an Indian flood story by Chitra Soundar
Ill. by Frane Lessac. Otter-Barry Books (Little Orchard) 2016. ISBN
9781910959442
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Flood stories. Myths and legends. India. Many
cultures have a myth about a great flood destroying part of their
world, and this Indian story will be a wonderful addition to a
library's store of myths and legends, begging to be read and
compared with other stories in other cultures.
Pattan an Indian farmer tends his crops in his valley with his wife,
Kannie and their children. He finds a small plant with large yellow
flowers and takes it home. Here it grows one enormous pumpkin, so
large that it overshadows everything in the vicinity. One day it
begins to rain and does not stop. As the water rises, Pattan and
Kanni fill sacks with grain and rice to be taken to higher ground,
and he dives into the enormous pumpkin and scoops out the flesh. The
animals follow him into the pumpkin and when the pumpkin is cut from
the stalk, it rolls down into the river, with everyone safe inside.
Kanni sings to keep them calm, and when they find the pumpkin has
stopped, they look out to find they are in a lovely valley and the
rain has stopped. They then build their houses and plant their crops
and their families have been there ever since.
This makes a wonderful story of surviving the rain, of keeping your
family together, or thanking your forebears for what they achieved,
all startlingly illustrated by Frane Lessac. Readers will not be
able to take their eyes off her vibrant drawings reflecting the
Indian background and the plants and animals of that region.
Fran Knight
A child of books by Oliver Jeffers
Ill. by Sam Winston. Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781406358315
(Age: All) Highly recommended. Books. Classic stories. Every few
years a book comes along which extols the virtues of books and
reading, told in a way which initiates discussion and sharing,
illustrated so beautifully that everyone reading it will look at
the drawings more closely, stopping on each page to breathe in the
images presented. Children and adults alike will read and discuss
this book, taking time to share their reminiscences of books read
long ago or just yesterday, sharing their ideas on what makes a
classic, importuning others to read books they have read and
enjoyed.
Each page has text from a recognised classic story: Alice in
Wonderland, Treasure Island, The secret garden,
Gulliver's travels, Swiss family Robinson, Snow
White and Blood Red, Kidnapped are amongst the forty
or so mentioned. Each endpaper lists all these books, and will make
a wonderful list to begin thinking about what you would add, or discussing
with others what they might have put on the endpaper, or with a
class, brainstorming the sorts of books they would like to see
there. It is all down to personal experience with books, and many
will add a whole range of others they see as classics, and what
discussions will be had as a result!
The girl asks the boy to join her as she sails on a sea of words and
books, taking him on her voyage of the imagination, climbing
mountains, finding treasure in a cave, losing themselves in a
forest, escaping monsters, flying to the stars. All it takes is
imagination, and books hold the key offering this experience to all.
The stunning illustrations parallel the stories reflected by the
text, with mountains or seas of words holding the pair as they have
their adventure. Or the cave is made from a rockfall of words while
the forest overleaf is full of what seem like trees but are really
old fashioned books standing erect. The way Winston has used words
to illustrate the text will have readers turning the book every
which way to discover which book's lines have been used to create
the image. Even the houses on the last four pages turn into a shelf
of books. Just wonderful. This will be a treat for anyone who reads
it, the text and illustrations are beacons, leading to hours of
contemplation and discussion.
Fran Knight
Eleanor, Elizabeth by Libby Gleeson
Ill. by Beattie Alvarez. Second Look, 2016. ISBN 9780994234070.
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended.
This is a new edition of the novel published in 1984, Libby
Gleeson's first novel and Highly Commended in the 1985 Children's
Book Council of Australia awards. Her 2016 introduction explains
that it drew on her experience as a 10 year old moving to a new town
and having to come to terms with a new school, new friends, and a
new culture.
Eleanor is not happy when her family moves from the cool Tablelands
to the hot dry country plains, leaving behind close friends, and
starting a new school with a teacher that likes to crack the ruler
and Danny the bully out to get her in the schoolyard. So it is a relief to
escape into the derelict old family schoolhouse on their property
and then even more interesting when she discovers her grandmother’s
diary hidden in a tea chest. What she reads there leads her to
explore further the unknown areas up the creek and across the
fields. But exploring with her brothers and their friend leads them
all into great danger.
Gleeson's writing weaves together the different worlds of country
life, the children's games and conversations, Eleanor's private
thoughts and fears, and the diary entries of the nineteenth century.
Readers will readily identify with Eleanor's loneliness, her
curiosity and her sense of adventure, and follow along with her as
dramatic circumstances force her to assume a role of great bravery
and courage. The story still holds strong today and this new edition
with line drawing illustrations by Beattie Alvarez should be a
popular read in any school library.
Helen Eddy
