Allan Stratton, The Dogs, Penguin, 28 January 2015, $17.99, 287pp., ISBN 978-0-14-357259-6 The Dogs is a gripping story narrated in the first-person by Cameron, who, with his mother, has moved five times since he was eight, because, so his mother says, she needs to escape her abusive husband. But following the last move, Cameron begins to question this portrayal of his father. His own memory of his father is quite different. Which is really correct? What are we, as readers, supposed to believe? In the isolated farmhouse which Cameron’s mother rents, Cameron seems to be encountering a ghost, the ghost…
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Jennifer Niven, All the Bright Places, Penguin, 7 January 2015, $17.99, 388pp., ISBN 978-0-14-135703-4 Although it sounds perhaps a little contradictory, this is both a tragic and heart-rending story but ultimately uplifting. It is however, a book which needs to be used with some sensitivity. Theodore Finch is bullied and teased at school. The teachers are really no help and his mental condition is never properly understood. He wants to die as he can see no other way out and we first meet him and the other major character in the story, Violet Markey, when they are both standing on…
Ellie Marney, Every Move (Every #3), Allen & Unwin, February 2015, $18.99 (pbk), 340pp., ISBN 978 1 74331 853 9 I haven’t read the first two books in this series, but I’ve read the reviews, which are universally enthusiastic. The readers and critics loved them, so I come to this last book without any bad feelings. There are plenty of clever riffs on the Sherlock Holmes idea, in this case twisted to have two young people, with the young hero called after Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft, pursued by his evil alter ego – Wild, his own Moriarty. And it is all…
Maureen Johnson, The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London #3), Hot Key Books/Five Mile Press, 5 February 2015, $16.95 (pbk), 384pp., ISBN: 9781471401800 Aurora, better known as Rory, has the skills required for a job most of us will never want. She has the ability to see ghosts and can readily communicate with them. When a series of horrifying incidents leaves Rory and her workmates in shock she can imagine nothing worse. Where is Stephen’s ghost and why was Charlotte kidnapped? The ghost squad must find out how these events are linked and reveal the twisted and complicated forty year old cult…
Jackie French, Birring the Secret Friend, HarperCollins, 27 January 2015, $7.99 (pbk), 144pp., ISBN: 9781460703212 While out collecting his twice weekly food rations in Australia’s first colony, ten-year-old Barney Bean is correct when he guesses that the big bloke in the queue behind him wants to steal his food. While running from this would-be-thief Barney is aided in his escape by a mysterious source hitting Bullock Man with a rock. So begins the connection between Barney, the orphaned son of a convict, and his new friend Birrung, an Indigenous Australian ‘adopted’ by clergyman Mr Johnson. This compelling story gave me a…
Deborah Challinor, Vietnam (My Australian Story), Scholastic Australia, July 2015, $16.99 (pbk), 254pp., ISBN 978 1 74362 800 3 Davey, Pete and Johnno are best friends. Pete is clever, Davey is average, Johnno is bad at schoolwork but good at fixing things. They live in Newcastle, and they love surfing and rock’n’roll. In diary format, Davey Walker tells the story of two years in their lives, 1968 to 1970, the years when Davey’s brother, Tom, is sent to Vietnam. Davey’s Dad served in World War II, and is proud of Tom; Mum, angry about the war and worried for Tom, joins the…
Goldie Alexander, Hanna (My Holocaust Story #1), Scholastic Australia, March 2015, $16.99 (pbk), 192pp., ISBN 0781743629673 Hanna is one of a series of novels to remind us of this terrible time, its sales supporting the Courage to Care educational program, the aim of which is to show opposition to injustice. Alexander’s story is about a Polish girl and her family during the German occupation of their country in World War II. Hanna’s life is torn apart when the Nazi’s invade. Her father’s store is closed and the family are forced out of their comfortable home to hide on a farm, then to live…
Damon Young (text), Peter Carnavas (illustrations), My Pop is a Pirate, UQP, 25 February 2015, $24.95, 32pp., ISBN 9780702253614 Following on from My Nanna is a Ninja this is a rollicking look at four quite different pops. They each have quirky personalities, clothing, forms of transport, favourite sayings, food choices, hobbies and sleeping styles. The repeated refrain “But my pop is a pirate…” will appeal to very young listeners and the alliteration, rhyme and rhythm make this a book which can be read, explored and discussed with older children as well. Peter Carnavas’s water colour and ink illustrations flesh out each…
David West and Felicity Gardner (text), Felicity Gardner (illustrations), The Complete Guide to a Dog’s Best Friend, Hachette, 24 February 2015, $14.99 (pbk), 24pp., ISBN 9780734415417 With a circle of dogs faces around the title on the front page, to the outline of dogs faces on the end papers, there can be no doubt about the importance of dogs to both the author and illustrator of this book. The characters of all the dogs shine through and the variety of expressions achieved in the illustrations is wonderful. Clues for the storyline begin upon opening the book, with a friendly dog on the…
Venetia Tyson, My Lost Mob, Magabala Books, March 2015, $12.95 (pbk), 32pp., ISBN 9781922142917 In a similar vein to the famous Are You My Mother? by PD Eastman, a young emu is lost and asks other Australian animals and a corroboree dancer ‘Have you seen my mob?’ The text weaves across the pages in a good sized clear font. The illustrations are in a naïve style in pastel using the colours of various Australian landscapes and animals. Small children will be able to follow the emu footprints, which start on the front cover and run across many pages (as a lover…