Melinda Salisbury, The Sin Eater’s Daughter, Scholastic, 1 March 2015, 336pp. $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 978 176015 157 7 The Sin Eater’s Daughter is an auspicious debut novel for young English writer, Melinda Salisbury. A native of a land steeped in mythology and legend, its landscape dotted with vestiges of medieval civilization, it is perhaps unsurprising that Salisbury has located her imagination and fiction in that era. It is a slow, absorbing present tense, first person read as the world of 17yo protagonist Twylla is convincingly constructed in detail with her residence in the royal court, the rituals and mythology that…
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Christopher Currie, Clancy of the Undertow, Text Publishing, 16 Nov 2015, 288pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781925240405 We’ve started to see the re-emergence of Australian YA books located in rural and regional communities whose teenagers confront boredom, unemployment, and the temptation to slide into stagnant lives. Brisbane-based author, Christopher Currie’s aptly titled, Clancy of the Undertow, shows us these realities and a lot more – a community where everyone knows your family’s business, where a car is a symbol of social status, and where finding like-minded peers is almost impossible unless you love football and beer. Clancy is certainly a fish out of…
Jenny Downham, Unbecoming, David Fickling Books, 1 Oct 2015, 256pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781910200728 Jenny Downham is the author of two other novels, Before I Die and You Against Me, both dealing with topical issues facing teenagers in realistic and powerful ways. So it’s no surprise to see that Unbecoming is both readable and emotional. While teenager Katie is the main character, the other two women in the story, Katie’s mum, Caroline and her grandmother, Mary, are both just as significant and are explored in as much detail. These three generations have lots of secrets from each other, and it’s a…
The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top books, video and audio books for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery and Printz awards – at its Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Boston. The complete list is here. Some of the more well known titles to Australian audiences include: Becky Albertalli’s Simon versus the homo sapiens agenda won the William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author. Bone Gap by Laura Ruby won the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature for young adults And David Levithan was…
Mike and Debbie Schramer, Fairy House: how to make amazing fairy furniture, miniatures and more from natural materials, Exisle, 13 Oct 2015, 189pp., $34.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781939629692 This beautiful book had me looking at natural materials in a different way. With sumptuous photographs and detailed instructions, I was inspired to collect sample material from my walks in the park with a view to making my own fairy furniture. Alas, the Christmas rush squeezed out my plans! Although not a children’s book, it is a book to look through with children, inspire their imagination and creativity and for parents/carers to embark…
Jacqueline Harvey, Alice-Miranda in the Alps (Alice-Miranda #12), Random House, 1 Sept 2015, 384pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780857982742 The adventure continues with seven year old Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones in multi-award-winning author Jacqueline Harvey’s Alice-Miranda in the Alps. In the twelfth book in the series, Alice-Miranda and her friends are off to Switzerland for a ski break, but discover an evil plan to take over her uncle’s hotel, the Grand Hotel Von Zwicky. With her trademark kindess, Alice-Miranda helps piece together the villian’s plan while enjoying the stunning ski resort in Zermatt. Set in snowy Switzerland, Alice-Miranda in the Alps simply charms readers with its lovely…
Peter Gouldthorpe (text), Lucy Gouldthorpe (illus.), Our Dog Knows Words, Lothian/Hachette, 27 Oct 2015, 24pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9780734416339 CBCA award-winning author and illustrator, Peter Gouldthorpe, teams up with his daughter, Lucy Gouldthorpe, on the picture book Our Dog Knows Words published by Hachette Australia. In this delightfully simple story, readers meet a clever dog who knows lots of words, but doesn’t always choose to obey them. Through a string of activities such as mealtime or playing in the park, the dog’s owners give various commands — Sit!, Fetch!, Down! — and the dog understands them all. But following the commands…
James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein (text), Juliana Neufeld (illus.), Secret of the Forbidden City (Treasure Hunters #3), Random House Australia, 1 Sept 2015, 448pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780099596493 Book Three in the Treasure Hunters Series by James Patterson finds the adventurous Kidds searching for their parents across the globe…and doing it the way only kids can…with lots of fun, food fights and laughs. Secret of the Forbidden City takes readers from China to Germany introducing readers to the people, sites and tastes from these fascinating places and packing in lots of action and adventure along the way. From bickering twins Bick…
Liz Pichon, Yes! No. (Maybe…) (Tom Gates #8), Scholastic Australia, 1 May 2015, 257pp., $16.99 (pbk) ISBN 978 1 76015 366 3 Episode 8 in the Tom Gates series presents the reader with more of the same humour as the previous titles. Layout and design are along the familiar lines, with diary and art journal format, an amazing variety of drawings and variations of typeface, combined with a realistic story of losing Mum’s brooch, finding her a birthday present and issues at school and at home. Tom Gates fans will love this. Book 9 in the series, Top of the Class…