MURRAY, Kirsty The Year It All Ended Allen & Unwin, 2014 242pp $16.99 pbk ISBN 9781743319413 SCIS 1675365 The novel opens in 1912, when her brother, Louis, and cousin, Will, take Tiney Flynn swimming at Glenelg. Their grandfather was German, and that language is still familiar to them. But Tiney’s innocent joy comes to an end two years later, when Louis joins up, and Will goes to Germany, to fight on the other side. Some of her family are interned because of their German origins. We learn little about the boys’ experiences, because this is not a novel about the…
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MOLONEY, James Disappearing Act HarperCollins, 2014 182pp $14.99 pbk+e ISBN 9780732295752 SCIS 1661299 For many years a very old man spent every day in Martin Place writing words in a strange language on the pavement. When 12-year old Matt Cooper came into Sydney with his mother for an appointment to a specialist dentist he found he was able to add three words to complete the old man’s writing. The words came from a handwritten notebook Matt had found in his father’s garage which Matt, a keen would-be magician, began to learn and use. The strange words were in the front of…
McCAFFREY, Kate Crashing Down Fremantle Press, 2014 298pp $19.99 pbk ISBN 9781922089854 SCIS 1665898 I found Crashing Down an unusual book. The language used in the book will definitely appeal to teenagers; I confess that I had to look up twerking on the Internet. The book is also largely written in the present tense, which I found distracting at first, but it does keep a feeling of movement throughout the story. The issues covered include; driving while taking drugs, teenage pregnancy, the stress of exams and having serious relationships when you are not ready for them. I felt the book…
MASSON, Sophie The Crystal Heart Random House, 2014 313pp $18.99 pbk ISBN 9780857982070 SCIS 1666646 Kasper Bator is honoured to become a tower guard; the elite force dedicated to preventing the escape of a powerful witch. When he learns the identity of the witch he is forced to choose between keeping his promise to his country or staying true to his own morals. Along the way he falls in love and learns about betrayal and sacrifice. This gently paced and enjoyable fantasy-love story is set across two rival kingdoms. Chapters alternate between Kasper and Izolda, the princess of a rival…
MANSELL, Deryn Tiger Stone Black Dog, 2014 262pp $16.95 pbk ISBN 9781742032399 SCIS 1671955 In the year 1357 in Java, young Kancil and her mother flee persecution in their village after Kancil’s father and brother are suspected of treachery. They trek across the country from the Kingdom of Sunda to the neighbouring Kingdom of Majapahit where they seek refuge in her uncle’s house. When they arrive Kancil must hide her Sunda origins as people from there are mistrusted. She pretends to be mute and is given a job as the lowliest kitchen servant in her uncle’s household. Her muteness and…
LIM, Rebecca The Astrologer’s Daughter Text, 2014 318pp A$19.99 NZ$26.00 pbk+e ISBN 9781922182005 SCIS 1671953 Avicenna lives with her mother, a reputable astrologer sought after by all to read their stars. In her final year of school, Avicenna struggles with being different – not only because of her mother’s talent, but because a fire has left her face disfigured. When her mother disappears, Avicenna is alone, trying to manage her fear about her mother’s fate while being continually confronted by her mother’s clients demanding that she (as the next Crowe in line) becomes the reader of fortunes. As she is…
Alisa KRASNOSTEIN & Julia RIOS (eds) Kaleidoscope Twelfth Planet Press, 2014 435pp $43.75 pbk ISBN 9781922101112 SCIS 1676295 This is a collection of twenty YA science fiction and fantasy short stories from a wide range of authors, both well-known and newer. The common theme running through these stories is one of diversity, so characters have a wide range of cultural backgrounds, have disabilities, are LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender), have mental illnesses – to name a few. Apart from this theme, the stories vary widely in subject, setting and action. It’s rare to find a collection of short stories such as…
KOYCZAN, Shane To This Day Walker, 2014 70pp A$19.95 NZ22.99 ISBN 9781925081510 SCIS 1674931 To This Day is perhaps the most remarkable, passionate, honest, uplifting book ever published on the subject of bullying. It is a beautiful book, its ultimate message being that within us all is a beauty that can overcome any pain. American performance poet Koyczan was a victim of bullying at school. He knows what it is like to be misunderstood, to be tormented and ostracized and to succumb to the low self-esteem that ensues. In a crowd-sourced project he had 86 animators from around the world…
With the Cricket World Cup happening right now on cricket pitches all around Australia and New Zealand, the publication of two new books in the Glenn Maxwell series (out 2 February 2015 Random House Australia) is timely and welcome. These types of sporting books can act as a way into long-term reading for reluctant boys. Glenn has answered some questions about himself, and his hope for the books. What kind of books did you read when you were growing up? Apart from the ones you were assigned to at school, I tried to read as many cricket books as I could…
JOHNSTON, Steve The Other Side of Nowhere Hardie Grant Egmont, 2014 289pp $16.95 pbk ISBN 9781742976907 SCIS 1657944 Four teenagers, three boys and one girl, must fight for their lives after being shipwrecked on an island. They find themselves negotiating the elements and their relationship to each other as their lives are pared down to the basic instincts required for survival. Feeling forgotten and unsure of when they will be rescued, they realise they are not alone on the island and find themselves engaged in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with unscrupulous criminals. They are forced to take…