Cindy Pon, Want, Simon & Schuster, April 2019, 352 pp., RRP $15.95 (pbk), ISBN 9781481489232 Dystopian fiction may have fallen from the original Hunger Games heights, but a new, more nuanced interpretation may be ready to take its place in the form of ‘Cli-Fi’. While stories of apocalypse driven by environmental and ecological damage date back to John Whydham’s The Day of the Triffids, it is not surprising that given the rapid and highly evident impacts of climate change young people may turn to fiction that echoes their dystopian feelings. Want is the first of a series by Cindy Pon which combines high-octane action and high-tech adventure with an all too…
Author: Admin
Jane Smith’s inspiration behind a world of historical female trailblazers Carly Mills was actually a minor character in two of my Tommy Bell, Bushranger Boy books. I didn’t have her series in mind when I wrote her character then, but I liked her – she’s a straightforward, no-nonsense, honest, brave girl – and it soon became clear to me that she deserved a series of her own. I decided to make it a companion series to the ‘Tommy Bell’ books, following a similar format: a contemporary girl goes back in time to have adventures with women from the past. Carly’s the sort of girl who could make the world a…
Jane Smith, Carly Mills Pioneer Girl: A New World, Big Sky Publishing, May 2020, 144 pp., RRP $12.50 (pbk), ISBN 9781922265074 Carly Mills is a country girl about to embark on a new journey; though this adventure is going to be bigger than she expected! Carly has never been on a plane, and here she is, in Sydney for the summer with family friends before her trip to Brisbane where she’ll start boarding school. She’s excited and a little overwhelmed by the big smoke, but her new friend Dora is guiding her through the city when they stumble upon the museum. Soon, she picks up a fallen scarf,…
Charles Hope, Robots: The Future is Now, Wild Dog Books, June 2020, 24 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781742034799 It is good to see a series of information picture books about complex technological topics. This particular book is about robots while some others in the series cover 3D printing, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Beginning with a definition, the contents move on to look at robots in myth and culture and the history of robots, including mechanical automatons from the 16th century. Later sections look at examples of robots, where they are currently put to work and why they are used. The concluding page examines their future. This square hardback is similar in…
Sally Scudamore (text) and Lexie Watt (illustrator), Rusty Runs Away, Little Steps Books, February 2020, 32 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925839777 Based on the true story of Rusty, the Australian Terrier, who managed to hitch a ride from Goondiwindi in Queensland to Snowtown in South Australia, a journey of about 1500 km. The family sets off on their summer holidays without Rusty, who is left behind with Farmer Gruff. His second alternative is Grandma Jude. Neither has time for him, so Rusty sets off on his own adventure, becoming footsore and weary. He spies a prime mover cabin and climbs aboard. He and the driver…
Aaron Blabey, Dawn of the Underlord (The Bad Guys #11), Scholastic Australia, May 2020, 192 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760668662 This is the first of the Bad Guys series I have read, and I think it will be the last. I can understand why it is been so popular, with its zany characters who are now out to party to celebrate their success: Mr Snake, Fox in a girl, Wolfie, and the others. For me, though, it was hard to read because so much of the text is written in upper case, often hand-written, with multiple lines forming the letters. I understand that everyone was shouting above…
Jennifer Bell, Wonderscape, Walker Books Ltd., June 2020, 352 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781406391725 When Arthur, Ren and Cecily investigate a mysterious explosion, they find themselves trapped in the year 2473. Lost in the Wonderscape, an epic in-reality adventure game, they must call on the help of some unlikely historical heroes to play their way home before time runs out. The premise of Wonderscape is a fascinating concept – a massively multiplayer galaxy-spanning real-life game, played in the late 25th century by adventurers young and old, through worlds inhabited by lifelike automatons. It’s a fresh and original story that has been well-conceived and brilliantly executed, and is jam-packed with excitement and adventure from start to finish. Bell…
E. Lockhart, Again Again, Allen & Unwin, June 2020, 304 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760295943 My little brother is an addict. This is the mantra that has repeated in Adelaide’s head like a broken record since her younger brother Toby nearly died due to a drug overdose. Adelaide holds a deep sadness and shame in herself which she has learnt to cope with and hide by donning a new sparkly, charming, chatty and easily distracted personality. However, lack of sleep and inability to concentrate lead to plummeting grades at her new fancy boarding school. For the final term of her junior year she is placed on academic probation, adding to the well of shame inside…
Heath McKenzie, The Colouring Competition, Scholastic Australia, April 2020, 32 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760158859 Oscar sees a poster and sets about colouring for the competition. Henry is doing the same. But they’re not satisfied with keeping their art on the paper. Their colours spill over into the rest of the world: across everything and constantly outside the lines; bold vibrant colour erratically across all pages. The boys visit the park, the zoo, a market and busy streets. They forget the purpose of their colouring, so intent are they on adding brightness to their black and white environment, and all the time their friendship is blossoming. There are opportunities for readers to add their own…
Anthony Horowitz, Nightshade (Alex Rider #13), Walker Books Ltd., April 2020, RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781406395877 It’s been a while since I’ve read an Alex Rider book – my son was obsessed with them – and I’m not even sure how old Alex is now, but suffice to say he’s is still in high school and has a resume that would make James Bond envious. Alex Rider, teenage spy and all-round action hero, is trying to have a normal life with (sort of) normal friends and normal homework, but by now he knows what it means when a mysterious car lurks outside his school and men…