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15 May 2012

you against me

by Jenny Downham

Random House. Young Adult. Paperback RRP $24.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Mikey’s fifteen year-old sister, Karyn, says a boy has raped her. Ellie is the same age as Karyn and goes to the same school. Ellie’s older brother, Tom, is the boy Karyn has accused.

Socio-economically, Ellie and Mikey are worlds apart. Ellie comes from a well-to-do family, with a big house and holidays overseas. Mikey lives in the housing estates in the middle of town. Ellie and Mikey would never normally meet, however Mikey is out for revenge for his sister.  He didn’t know Tom had a younger sister, a girl who from the first time they meet, steals Mikey’s heart.

The two try to hide their feelings from each other and their respective families, but when Ellie changes her story about the night Karyn is allegedly raped, all families are thrown into turmoil and Ellie has only one person she can turn to… Mikey.
you against me is a modern day story with hints of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Jenny Downham has captured issues that face many teenagers. The ending is unexpected and the outcome is left unresolved. I think there is a second book to come and if not, my imagination is left to finish the story my way.

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13 May 2012

The Koala Bounces Back

by Jimmy Thomson, illustrated by Eric Löbbecke

Random House Australia. Australian, Children’s Picture Book. Hardback RRP $19.95

Karri the bouncing koala is a hero who helped save children from a fire. Now he lives in an area protected from men with dogs or saws, cars or trucks. It’s peaceful in Karri’s Corner.

That is until some cats move in. The small animals and birds are now frightened and ask Karri to move them on.

Karri asks the cats to move on but the cats refuse. They have nowhere else to live. When Karri threatens to turn to the humans for help, the cats get scared. Jinksy, the cat leader, realises there is need for compromise. So he initiates a game of footy… if the cats win they stay, if they lose they will move on.

And so the game begins.

This is a wonderful Australian story. It will teach young children about the Australian bush and what happens when native and domestic animals are forced to co-exist.

The illustrations are cute and cuddly like Karri, or scratchy and scary like Jinksy. Children will love reading the story and identifying native Australian animals. I loved the big, tall emu.

http://www.jimmythomson.com/
http://www.tinpotstudio.com.au/

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11 May 2012

In the Sea there are Crocodiles

by Fabio Geda

Random House. Children’s Fiction, YA. Paperback RRP $24.95

In the Sea there are Crocodiles is based on the story of Enaiatollah Akbari, a young Afghan asylum seeker, told in first person by the Italian novelist, Fabio Geda. Enaiatollah keeps interrupting the narrative to add comments in his own voice. This unusual telling allows the missing information to be ‘guessed’ when Enaiatollah cannot remember, while at the same time giving a child’s perspective.

Enaiatollah’s is a sad story. He leaves his home and family to travel from Afghanistan to Pakistan with his mother when he is around ten years of age. In Pakistan they stay in a “motel” for three nights. Then his mother makes him promise, before he falls asleep, to never use drugs, to never use a weapon and to never steal. When he wakes up she is gone.

Over the next five years, Enaiatollah lives as an illegal immigrant in countries and conditions we could never imagine. He quickly learns how to survive and amazingly ends up in Turin, Italy, to be granted political asylum. His journey to Italy is one of danger, heartache and courage. He walked for 28 days over the freezing mountains from Iran to Turkey and when he and four other boys travel in a blow up dingy across the Mediterranean Sea, one doesn’t survive. He also has incredible fortunate experiences - from the kindness of strangers to climbing onto the right container at the right time.

Truly inspiring.
http://www.fabiogeda.it/

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09 May 2012

Nation

by Terry Pratchett

Random House. Adult/Junior Fiction. Hardcover RRP $49.95

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell
Two kids. Two cultures. An ending you won’t expect.
Mau is on his way home from Boys Island when the world ends. Now he can never complete the ceremony that will make him a man. The Nation, everyone and everything in it, is gone.

Ermintrude, who decides she would rather be called Daphne, is shipwrecked in the tidal wave that destroys the Nation. She is the only survivor but soon discovers there is someone else on the island.

Initially, Mau and Daphne have nothing in common. She is a distant descendant of the English king, a child of privilege and money. Mau is an islander boy who has led a life isolated from the world outside Nation’s island archipelago. To him, Daphne is a ghost girl, one of the ‘trousermen’. To Daphne, Mau is a savage.

As they struggle to overcome the language barrier, they soon realise they share more important things – resourcefulness, tolerance, and compassion. Daphne learns the ways of the Nation and Mau even tries on a pair of trousers. As other people find their way to the island, Mau and Daphne find themselves rebuilding the Nation. It’s not easy. There are many obstacles to overcome – the growing group, cannibalistic sea raiders and mutineers and the ethereal voices of the grandfathers insisting on telling Mau what to do.

Inspired by the eruption of Krakatoa and with a touch of the Atlantis legend, Nation is a satire expertly wrapped in humorous story-telling. Themes of nationhood, coming of age, religious belief and identity are explored but never at the expense of the story. From beginning to end, this is a wonderful read.
http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/

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07 May 2012

Tweenie Genie

Genie in Charge

by Meredith Badger

hardie grant EGMONT. Australian, Junior, Fantasy. Hardback rrp $16.95

Genie in Charge is the long awaited book three in the Tweenie Genie series. And, like the other two books, I was not disappointed.

Poppy, our young Tweenie Genie, is now in her stage three of training and to graduate she, and the other stage three tweenies, must mentor a stage two tweenie. When tweenies graduate they are granted a special wish to work in the job they want. Poppy, of course, wants to work in the royal stables looking after all the magic carpets.

On Mentor Day the Velodrome Bottle has been transformed with balloons and banners. Poppy is excited. She hopes she will get a wonderful match since she is a “golden” genie (a genie with a good heart). She doesn’t mind who it is just so long as they love flying. Poppy loves taking care of the Royal magic carpets and can’t wait to go flying with her new student.

But things don’t seem to go as planned. Everyone is matched perfectly except Poppy. Her student, Aggi, hasn’t turned up for the matching process. Why would she miss this important day? When Poppy finally meets Aggi she is confronted with a rude genie who doesn’t like riding magic carpets at all.

What happens if Poppy doesn’t graduate? How will Poppy ever get her wish if she can’t mentor Aggi? And why doesn’t Aggi want to dress like all the other tweenies?

Tweenie Genie fans won’t be disappointed in this next exciting instalment of the adventures of Poppy and her friends. And if you’ve ever wondered what happens when a genie’s bottle is broken … you will have to read Genie in Charge.

The Reading Stack reviewed Meredith Badger’s Tweenie Genie. Genie in Training in May 2009 and Tweenie Genie. Genie High School in February 2010.

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05 May 2012

Violence 101

by Denis Wright

black dog books. Young Adult. Paperback RRP $16.99

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Hamish Graham is highly intelligent and from a stable and loving home life. Hamish is fourteen and most detention centres have expelled or rejected him. So why is Hamish committed to the harshest juvenile detention centre in New Zealand?


Hamish Graham is extremely violent. By the age of ten he had killed an old man. In Hamish’s words “It was my fault that he fell into the water, because I pushed him, but it was not my fault that he hit his head on the way down…”

There is always another side of Hamish’s sensational actions and so when the head of the detention centre suggests that Hamish write a journal, he is only too happy to oblige. And so begins the self analysis of Hamish Graham.

Violence 101, the Psychology of Violence, is the subject that Hamish wrote to the Minister of Education about, including a suggested course outline and achievement standard. He also thought that it should be compulsory. He feels that violence is treated as a taboo subject whereas most great men in history were very violent. Leaders of great war campaigns, Hamish feels, would all be locked up in detention centres in peace times due to their violent natures.

Violence 101 is written with both sides of the story being told, the teachers at their weekly meetings and Hamish’s through his journal entries. You even tend to side with Hamish and his crazy thoughts at times. But when something happens that turns everyone’s lives upside down, you start to see the glimmer of a strange but intelligent young man.

Although this is a genre for young adults, especially teenage boys, adults will find it an eye opener into the mind of a violent child. A must read.

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03 May 2012

About Face

Words by Robert Moore, Pictures by Monkeystack

IP Kidz. Australian, Children, Picture. Hardcover RRP $26.00

About Face is a funny, quirky and definitely colourful story of a boy who has a dream that his facial features leave his face and roam the house.
                “My eyes jumped out of their sockets.
                My nose fell on the floor.
                My ears unscrewed themselves.
                Then my lips slid off my mouth.
                And opened the door.”

The adventures of six appendages (two eyes, two ears, a nose and lips) making pies, listening to music and sneaking about the house will delight children. The wonderful 3D graphics will mesmerise the reader and I was just waiting for the eyes to blink.

A wonderful and different story that is soon be turned into an animation film. Now that will be one to keep your eyes and ears posted out for…

http://www.moorethemerriest.com/
http://www.monkeystack.com.au/

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01 May 2012

The Iron Witch

by Karen Mahoney

Random House Australia. Young Adult. Paperback RRP $18.95

Donna Underwood is home schooled because of an incident that happened when she attended the local high school. She has been labelled Freak by her old classmates. Donna agrees. She’s never seen herself as anything but.

When Donna was seven her father died trying to save her from a fey attack and her mother went mad. Donna also nearly died from horrific injuries that day but with the help of magic, her body is complete again… except her hands and arms have now been intricately tattooed with iron.

Her parents were great alchemists and now Donna is realising, as a young adult, that her heritage is not going to let her live a normal life.

Donna’s only friend is her neighbour, Navin Sharma. A normal boy who has no idea of who or what Donna is and has never questioned why she won’t reveal what is underneath her gloved arms and hands. Navin is a true friend that accepts Donna unconditionally.

When Navin is kidnapped by the dark and evil wood elves, Donna must finally use what she knows to help save her friend.

With the help of a boy, Xan, who has secrets of his own, Donna has to confront not only the elves, but her alchemist teachers and guardians and the secrets that they have kept from her. Will she betray what her father died trying to protect?

A wonderful and enchanting modern story that seeps with old mystical tales of fairies and elves. Donna Underwood’s story will continue with Book II coming soon. Karen Mahoney has had her short story anthologies published in The Eternal Kiss and Kiss Me Deadly which the Reading Stack reviewed in September 2009 and September 2010 respectively.

http://www.kazmahoney.com/

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29 April 2012

douglas

by g.n. Hargreaves

Hardie Grant Egmont. Young Children. Paperback RRP  $17.99.

douglas is the story of a dog. Not just any dog but a very clever dog. Douglas likes to do things that humans like to do, such as playing the tuba, sorting his stamp collection and driving his car. He doesn’t care for things such as chasing cats and balls, or drinking out of a bowl and going for walks.

Douglas was very clever indeed, however, he was very sad as well. Douglas could do anything he put his mind to except for one thing.

Douglas could not wag his tail.

And this is where douglas the story begins. How does a smart dog who can do anything set about to do the impossible? With the help of a bird named Basil. That’s when the fun begins.

A cute story of a dog reader’s will fall in love with. The drawings are simple, colourful and children will delight in seeing all the different poses Douglas can do. Included at the back of the book are over 20 stickers of Douglas and Basil.

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27 April 2012

Revived

by Cat Patrick

hardie grant Egmont. Young Adult. Paperback RRP $22.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Daisy Appleby is stung by a bee. Daisy Appleby is allergic to bees. Daisy Appleby dies.

Daisy is only 15 when she is tragically stung by a bee at school, on a day when she has forgotten her epipen. But then Daisy Appleby isn’t her real name. And this is Daisy’s fifth death.

RevivedEvery time Daisy dies she is brought back to life by a secret government super-drug called Revive. If she is killed by damaging vital organs she cannot be revived, and she must always have her “parents” close by so they can administer the drug quickly. But there are rumours that Revive doesn’t always work.

Daisy has always been a loner, never getting too close to others just in case she has to leave abruptly. Every time she dies, she must move to another city and change her name. She is, after all, a government secret. She has a number of friends who are also in the same program but she rarely sees them and only gets to chat to them over the internet.

Now Daisy is 15, discovering friendship and first love. Can she stop dying and be a normal teenager for a while? She can… until her past catches up and she realises that her life is in danger… danger of dying for good.

A unique story that was a race to the finish to see if Daisy’s next death will be her last.

The Reading Stack reviewed Cat Patrick’s Forgotten in April 2011.

 http://www.catpatrick.com/

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25 April 2012

Millie’s Special Something

by Tania Cox and David Miller

Working Title Press. Australian, Picture Book. Hardback RRP $24.95

Millie is a small dinosaur with a beautiful, feathery tail. She has lots of friends and they like to play. But when big bad Reggie comes and frightens Millie, her friends gather round to save the day. They all have unique talents that scare Reggie away but all Millie can do is shake with fright.

Millie goes home, alone and upset, wishing she had a special talent too. Along comes Reggie again and this time her friends aren’t there to save her. Maybe Millie will end up being Reggie’s dinner. But as Millie turns away to hide, something miraculous happens and Reggie ends up begging Millie to stop. Millie finally finds her special something.

This is a wonderful story that answers some of the age old problems of childhood fears and bullying. David Miller’s unique paper sculptures on painted backgrounds give the story a striking 3D effect. My favourite, but scary, page is of Reggie and his big spotted tongue and bulging eyeball. Children will delight in turning the pages and reading how Millie overcomes her fears and they will enjoy “patting” her feathers and poking Reggie in the belly. A fun story with a very real underlying theme. Excellent.
The Reading Stack reviewed David Miller’s Rufus the Numbat in August 2010 and Big and Me in Issue 12, November 2008.
http://www.taniacox.com/

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23 April 2012

Do Not Forget Australia

by Sally Murphy, illustrated by Sonia Kretschmar

Walker Books Australia. Australian, Picture Book. Hardcover RRP $29.95

Reviewer – Vicki Stanton

Do Not Forget Australia is a fictional story based on the link forged between Melbourne and the French village of Villers-Bretonneux during World War One. It explores the links between Australia and France forged on the Western Front through the eyes of two boys: Henri from the French village of Villers-Bretonneux and Billy in Melbourne.

Murphy immediately catapults the reader into Henri’s world. Initially, he does not know or care about Australia. He is more concerned with the war coming ever closer to his village and one afternoon he and his mother are forced to flee.

The story then switches to Billy who fears for the safety of his father fighting over in France.

Henri returns to his village, damaged by battle and meets the Australian soldiers camped nearby. Henri appreciates their efforts in freeing his village and also empathises with their sadness over fatalities. Henri befriends a soldier, Billy’s father, who talks of his son in faraway Melbourne.

When Billy receives a letter from his father mentioning Henri a link is forged between the two boys and between Melbourne and Villers-Bretonneux. Ultimately, this leads to the rebuilding of the Villers-Bretonneux school with funds raised by Victorian school children. The full page author’s note explains the campaign to raise £20 000 to rebuild Villers-Bretonneux including the Do Not Forget Australia sign displayed at the school.

That the book is a quality production is evident right from the start with the symbolic endpapers with poppies and Australian icons. Sonia Kretschmar’s skill in portraying the two boys’ worlds with her use of colour and detail is commendable. Readers are drawn into the two boys’ worlds and feel the angst and worry, and the devastation wreaked by war without being exposed to the full horror.

Do Not Forget Australia is an important book for all Australians. It is one that should be on all school, home and public library shelves.

The Reading Stack has reviewed Sally Murphy's Pearl Versus the World, Snowy's Christmas, and Toppling in August 2009, December 2009 and March 2010 respectively.

http://www.sallymurphy.net/
http://soniak.com/

Vicki Stanton is the editor and publisher of Buzz Words, an e-newsletter for writers and illustrators of children’s books.

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06 April 2012

The Little Vegie Patch Co.

by Fabian Capomolla and Mat Pember

Pan MacMillan. Australian, Nonfiction. Softcover RRP $45.00

Reviewer - Sandy Fussell
The Little Vegi Patch Co. is a gardening guide that focuses on growing vegetables in small spaces.
I wasn’t expecting to learn anything. I already know a great deal about vegetables and container gardening. I have other vegetable reference books but none of them are set out so beautifully or so easy to read and locate information. The photographs are delicious, and the power of a mouth-watering image to inspire a morning working in the garden should never be underestimated.

The vegetable information pages (A-Z of Edible Plants) detail growing guidelines, space considerations, soil preparation and potential problems. Other useful information includes sections on composting, worms, fertilising, water, saving seeds (which I found particularly interesting), recycling and even building a scarecrow.

There are detailed descriptions on how to use small spaces and recycled products – raised beds, no-dig gardening, propagating in toilet rolls and a golf club trellis. The discovery of the ‘spud tower’, a wire cylinder lined with straw and a centre of compost, allowed me to finally grow potatoes in my suburban backyard.

The authors, Fabian and Mat, belong to families who take great pride in their freshly grown produce. The book is filled with personal anecdotes. They admit a passion for home-grown tomatoes, one I enthusiastically share. When Mat’s Italian grandparents migrated to Australia, the most treasured possession was packed in the middle of the suitcase, in a jar, in a jar, in a jar – Nonno’s finest tomato seeds.

This book is a visual feast and a wealth of information. It is an invaluable reference for all things vegetable – small spaces and otherwise. I can’t imagine any vegie gardener who would not love to receive this book as a gift.

Visit the Little Vegie Patch Co. website http://littleveggiepatchco.com.au/ 

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04 April 2012

Why We Broke Up

 by Daniel Handler, art by Maira Kalman

Hardie Grant Egmont. Young Adult. Paperback RRP $24.95

Reviewer - Barbara Brown

A very interesting tale of love, lies and deceit. It’s a wonderfully written, quirky novel that is easy to read.
Girl meets boy. Boy likes girl. Boy and girl start dating. Girl thinks it’s a long term relationship. Girl finds out there is another. Girl dumps boy. The end.
Or is it?
The book begins with Min and a box of things she is delivering to Ed’s place. Each chapter starts with a wonderful illustration of the next item in the box and the next item in the relationship. Every item has a story and the items are in chronological order so we, the reader, get to experience the relationship of Min and Ed from flourishing, awkward beginnings to brittle, upsetting end. Some chapters are complicated. Others funny and brief. But to sum up a relationship in a box is brilliant.
Handler’s use of very old movie metaphors in all the actions Min does is somewhat confusing since I’m not a movie buff however, it makes me understand Ed since he has no idea what Min is on about in the beginning. That is why he falls for her and the reader starts to understand her personality. Kalman’s artwork is simple and colourful and every piece could be torn out and framed.
A great book that was fun to read.
www.whywebrokeupproject.com
http://www.mairakalman.com/

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02 April 2012

The Smallest Bilby

and the Easter Tale

by Nette Hilton, illustrated by Bruce Whatley

Working Title Press. Australian, Picture, Children. Hard Cover RRP $24.95

Reading The Smallest Bilby and the Easter Tale reminded me of the magical Christmas stories I read as a young child. Only this time it was about Easter.
Billy and his little band of bilbies are on their way to deliver Easter Eggs to all the wildlife in their habitats. They must be silent, quick, not get caught; and hide the eggs where the animals will find them. Then an accident happens and one of the bilbies is stuck. What will they do? How will they get all the eggs delivered before Easter morning?
A wonderful tale which brings a bit of Australian tradition to a world-wide holiday. Bruce Whatley’s beautiful and colourful illustrations are so cute, I just want to reach out and cuddle one of the bilby’s.
Just in time for Easter – here is a book that should be read on the night before Easter…
The Reading Stack reviewed Nette Hilton's Pyro Watson and the Hidden Treasure in February 2010 and Bruce Whatley's Zoobots and Martha Doesn't Share in June and October 2010 respectively.
http://www.nettehilton.com.au/

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31 March 2012

Tatiara

Written and Illustrated by Jo Oliver

New Frontier Publishing. Australian, Picture Book. Hardcover RRP $24.95

This book tells the story of a friendship between a young girl and an injured seal she names Tatiara.
The girl wears a back brace and is unable to swim in the ocean. She watches Tatiara, who has come to the quiet waters of the bay to heal. The healing ocean reaches out to include the girl, through her relationship with Tatiara. When her brace is removed, the girl can finally swim in the bay with the seal.
Extensive use of blue and brown brings to life the quiet water of the bay, the waves the whales ride and the sepia tinge of history.
Tatiana is set around the Tathra Wharf, an area I know well. The words and illustrations evoke a wonderfully accurate sense of place. This is a safe haven:
 The wharf shelters from the Great Southern Ocean in the crook of the bay’s arm.
The text also contains a gentle conservation message about whaling, once common in the area:
It’s been forty years since they were hunted here. There were only one hundred left before they were protected.
A truly beautiful book.


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29 March 2012

Skin Deep

by Laura Jarratt

Hardie Grant Egmont. Young Adult. Paperback RRP $22.95

Reviewer - Barbara Brown

Skin Deep’s byline - Ugly people don’t have feelings – explains the story behind this book. I felt sad and angry at the beginning but then my emotions were taken on a trek up and down hills and valleys until my journey ended in the last pages. This is a book I couldn’t put down.
Jenna is a fourteen year old who was disfigured in the car crash which killed her best friend. She has been transformed from an average pretty girl to a person that children gawk at and adults try not to notice. A person that is stared at for all the wrong reasons.
After several months of staying at home recovering, Jenna returns to school but not life as she knew it. People are mean and treat her like a freak. She retreats further into her own world and it looks like she will never come out.
But then Ryan arrives. A sixteen year old who travels the waterways on a long boat living with his mother. Not usually accepted in the villages and towns, Ryan has dealt with hatred and stares all his life. He hopes this place will be different as he tries to integrate. He is honest and easily gets his first paid job, which he loves. His mother said they may stay longer in this lovely place. Ryan hopes so.
Ryan shows Jenna how to ignore and believe in herself. Jenna shows Ryan how to love. Everything seems perfect. Jenna learns to cope with the stares and Ryan learns to cope with his mother’s mood swings.
But then a body is found and all eyes look towards the travelling boy.
Skin Deep encourages you to guess. I thought I knew the murderer … but I was wrong. A book I would like to see on the big screen.
http://www.laurajarratt.com/

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17 March 2012

Sounds Spooky

by Christopher Cheng, Illustrated by Sarah Davis

Random House Australia. Australian, Picture Book. Hardcover RRP $19.95

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

In a creaky old house, a ghost child hears strange, scary noises.

Whistling wind through the treesSqueaking bats flying pastKnocking noises at my window…
When the door creaks the word winds itself around the gargoyles.
I am not scared, the ghost girl whispers as the noises grow closer

              thumping, clicking, whirring, whispering
At the same time, a group of children are nervously making their way through the house.

Plinketty Plunketty Plonk Plink Plunk Twang!
When the children and the ghost girl finally meet, everyone is frightened and everyone insists they are not scared. The ironic humour is immediately evident in the facial expressions.

The text is a celebration of sound and perfect for reading aloud and encouraging young readers and listeners to play with onomatopoeias.

One look at the cover and a flip to the credits page sets the illustration tone. This is a visually stunning book. Go to the Random House Australia web site and look for yourself http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/christopher-cheng/sounds-spooky-9781864718799.aspx. The ghost girl glows with a soft fey luminescence. The use of midnight blues and purples creates a darkness that is deeper than black and twice as magical.

Recommended for reading out loud, playing with words and of course, Halloween.

http://www.chrischeng.com/
http://www.sarahdavisillustration.com/

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16 March 2012

6

by Karen Tayleur

black dog books. Australian, Young Adult. Paperback, RRP $18.99

An accident. Six people, five seatbelts, one car. The conclusion seems forgone. But the big question is who of the six individuals whose only common link is the school they attend. Four are in relationships. Two are football jocks. Two are best friends. One is the party boy. One is the school brain. In their final year at school, they are looking forward to the Year 12 Formal.

First, Tayleur takes us back several months when these six individuals have no interaction with each other. What seems to be a totally random event, entwines all six together in secrets and lies.
Each character tells their own story of how they end up in that car on that night. Everyone has their reasons. Some are innocent yet others are conspired and selfish. It doesn’t matter, the outcome is going to be the same.
This plot is clever, gripping and sucks you right in. Or should I say plots. I felt compelled to read through to the end as quickly as I could, … chasing from one ‘light bulb’ moment to the next, until finally I knew the answers. I never knew what was coming… the shocks are plentiful. Do not assume anything.
Karen Tayleur’s novels. Chasing Boys was reviewed in Issue 2 of The Reading Stack, Hostage reviewed in October 2009 and Halloween in Christmas Hills (The Legend of Stingy Jack) reviewed in October 2009.

http://karentayleur.com/

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14 March 2012

Pig Boy

by J C Burke

Woolshed Press. Australian, Young Adult. Paperback RRP $18.95

Pig Boy is a very confronting book. While I was reading it, a bullied school boy in the United States walked into his classroom and opened fire. It was eerily resonant. Could Damon Styles’ end up like this boy in the US?
Damon Styles is in his last year at school in the small country town of Strathven, where everybody knows everybody’s business. Damon has been bullied his whole high school life and taunted with the nickname of Damoink. He is intelligent but fat. He wins literary awards but the Principal never acknowledges him. He loves playing violent on-line video games but has trouble shooting a real weapon. He has anger issues with nearly the whole town.
Could he kill for revenge?

Damon’s eighteenth birthday starts badly and by lunchtime he has been expelled from school. What happens next will change Damon’s life. What did Damon stumble upon? And is there someone who knows what Damon saw?  
With paranoia setting in, Damon comes up with a plan. He knows what he has to do. First, he needs to make a list.

                TO-DO LIST
·         Google for info
·         Check newspapers etc
·         Get a padlock
·         Look into renewing firearms licence – book safety course, call rifle club re rejoining and course availability
·         Visit Pigman about a job

With no-one to turn to and no-one to trust, Damon is forced to take matters into his own hands.  
But when his careful planning begins to unravel, there is someone unexpected there to help him after all.

Pig Boy is a riveting read. The first half of the book builds Damon’s character looking back at what he has endured all his life. The second half of the book goes at a flying pace that before you realise, you are at the end and your heart has been beating double time and you desperately need to come up for air. A twisted story with a fantastic climax.
http://www.jcburke.com.au/

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12 March 2012

Australian Story

An Illustrated Timeline


by Tania McCartney


NLA Publishing (National Library of Australia). Australian, Picture Book. Paperback RRP $24.95

Guest Reviewer – Jackie French
It’s all here, from the discovery of gold to Cathy Freeman’s Olympic glory, from dinosaurs to the Black Saturday bushfires. It’s a picture book that you can leaf through in five minutes, or find a lifetime of inspiration to follow. Australian Story isn’t the actual stories of Australia: it’s a tantalizing time line that will lure kids to find the history behind the images in the book.

Tania McCartney has done a brilliant job, choosing not just what events matter, but the ones that matter to kids- beginning, of course, with the dinosaur. The national library material she’s worked with is stunning: images, photos, paintings and sketches from their archives that tell our history in a way that is simple to understand but also beautiful.
This is a book that every six year old needs to read, to see as early as possible the threads of our history. It’s also a book that every high school should have, so the stories a history lover knows, can be put in chronological context.

http://www.taniamccartney.com/books.html

The Reading Stack reviewed Tania McCartney’s Riley and the Grumpy Wombat in August 2011.

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10 March 2012

Stella Makes Good

by Lisa Heidke

Allen and Unwin. Adult Fiction, Australian. Paperback RRP $29.99

Stella is happily separated from her husband. He has moved out and living with a new partner. Stella has the children and the house and everything is perfect.
Having a drink with her best friends, Carly and Jesse, at the local pub begins as an innocent catch up but ends with Carly and Stella discovering what the supposedly ordinary suburban neighbours get up to behind closed doors. All quite a giggle until a face in the crowd seems familiar.
Carly and Stella are torn between protecting their friend, Jesse, or revealing to her that, maybe, her life is all a lie. When all gets too much, Jesse seems to know the answer… but is it the right one?
One night changes everything for all three women. Carly starts to look at her own marriage and her and her husband’s fidelity. Stella reassesses her life and maybe Mike, the wonderful single doctor, is just what she needs, or is she waiting for the fall? Jesse is having trouble keeping her overworked husband happy at home and keeping herself sane. Let’s have another Chardy…

This is a funny but frank and honest look at life, and what we make of it. There is danger, excitement, suspense and romance. In the end do we really want to know the truth?

I read Stella Makes Good in a single day. I was swept up in the drama surrounding the three women and could easily relate to all of them. My problem with this book is that it was too short and I wanted more. I will now search out more of Heidke’s novels.

http://lisaheidke.com/

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08 March 2012

Fallen in Love

by Lauren Kate

Random House. Young Adult, Fantasy. Paperback RRP $22.95

Reviewer - Barbara Brown

Everyone who is a fan of Lauren Kate and her Fallen series, will love this unexpected interlude showing extra glimpses of the star-crossed lovers, Luce and Daniel.

Fallen in Love relates the love stories of a number of the characters in the series. Four individual stories, set in medieval England on the eve of Valentine’s Day, entwine together and explain why some of the characters act and the way they do now in contemporary time.

This collection of short stories is not a chronological volume in the Fallen series. However, it does continue on from Passion, following extracts of the storyline. It is a must read if you want to know what happens to Luce and Daniel on that night hundreds of years before.

Fallen in Love also comes with a free downloadable Fallen Books app from the App Store or Android Marketplace, where you can watch the front cover come to life and Lauren Kate talks about her books. A very clever marketing tool in this modern world.

Fallen, Torment and Passion are the first three books in this wonderful story of love, right and wrong, good and evil, heaven, earth and hell. And I would definitely recommend them. Rapture, the final tome will be out the middle of 2012.

The Reading Stack reviewed Fallen, Torment  and Passion in February, February 2011 and June 2011 respectively and The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove in September 2011.

http://www.fallenbooks.com/

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06 March 2012

The Cartographer

by Peter Twohig

 4th Estate Fiction, Australian, Adult Fiction, Paperback, $29.99

Guest Reviewer - Vicki Stanton

The Cartographer is a book unlike any I have ever read before. Told from the perspective of the eleven-year-old unnamed narrator, it draws us in to the shadowy world of working class Richmond (Melbourne) in 1959. It is a world filled dodgy, sometimes lovable characters, including his Grandfather; bent cops; oddball and damaged people; and some who are just downright mongrels in the extreme.

Twohig uses the vernacular of the times to totally immerse the reader in this world as well as many references to the comics, superheroes, music, television shows, politics, and of course being Melbourne, the football. (I laughed out loud at the line: Life can be murder when the footy season is over).

The heart of The Cartographer lies in the boy’s attempts to make sense of his world following the death of his twin but never does he do this in a maudlin way. With spirit and guts, and the help of his superhero alter-egos and his brave sidekicks (his trusty dogs) he maps his surroundings, above ground and under. 

Above all, The Cartographer is a nod to the innocence and resilience of childhood, even when viewed through glasses tinted with vice and loss.

http://www.petertwohig.com/

Vicki Stanton is the editor and publisher of Buzz Words, an e-zine for writers and illustrators for children.

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04 March 2012

I Love You Book

by Libby Hathorn, illustrated by Heath McKenzie

IP Kidz. Australian, Picture, Children’s. Hardcover RRP$26.00

A wonderful romp along with Libby Hathorn’s words and Heath McKenzie’s funny and colourful drawings, I Love You Book tells the story of a young girl and the books she meets.

‘The pictures that you show me,
The stories that you tell.’

‘Yes, book you are my friend,
And though you take me far away,
You always, always, always, book,
You bring me home again!’

This is a book that children will enjoy reading, because it is just that… a book about reading and the stories that you discover along the way. For any child that doesn’t like to read, this may just be the right book to get them started. For others, it is a gentle reminder of why we love to read.

http://www.libbyhathorn.com/
http://www.heathmck.com/

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02 March 2012

Plague


by Michael Grant

Hardie Grant Egmont. Young Adult, Mystery, Science Fiction. Paperback RRP $19.95

Guest Reviewer - Ian Brown

This is the fourth book in the series; Gone, Lies, Hunger and now Plague.

It’s been eight months since all the adults have disappeared, from FAYZ, the Fallout Alley Youth Zone centred on Perdido Beach. You need to have read the previous books, to be up-to-date with what has happened in the FAYZ.

In Plague, fresh water is running out and a fatal flu hits the town, killing many of the children.

The series of books are filled with dark, violent and sometimes gory action. There is a large cast of characters, and multiple storylines to keep the reader in suspense. While Plague does answer many questions, others remain, to keep the reader intrigued. Each new book in the series brings new stories within a complex main story.

If you are a fan of authors like Stephen King and love a good horror story, but have yet to discover this series of books, check them out. As for me I can’t wait for the next instalment, Fear out in 2012.

The Reading Stack reviewed Michael Grant’s Gone in October 2009.

http://www.egmont.co.uk/gone/
http://themichaelgrant.com/  

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29 February 2012

April Underhill

by Bob Graham

Walker Books. Australian, Picture Book. Hardcover RRP $29.99

April and Esme Underhill have a special task to perform. Grandma has rung April’s mobile phone and asked April to collect Daniel’s tooth. Younger sister Esme is keen to help.
April and Esme have never collected a tooth before. It’s a big responsibility but they’re very excited when mum and dad agree they can go. When Daniel stirs, a little advice from dad via a text message from mum, helps them convince Daniel he is having a wonderful dream.

It was a smile moment for me when April expresses surprise that human children think tooth fairies are magical creatures.
Bob Graham’s whimsical illustrations bring to life these tooth fairies who use mobile phones and send text messages. At the same time he weaves in the traditional story as mum reminisces of the time before the motorway when “foxes still chased hares on the hills and things were different back then.”

My favourite page is where April and Esme fly off into the night:
              “The wind took them and shook them, pushed them and pulled them.
              It shivered down Esme’s wings and rippled through the feathers of a passing owl.”

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27 February 2012

Zelah Green

Who says I’m a freak?

by Vanessa Curtis

Hardie Grant Egmont. Young Adult, Humour. Paperback RRP $16.95

Reviewer - Barbara Brown

Zelah Green has a problem. Zelah doesn’t think that it’s that big of a problem but her stepmother has decided it is.
Zelah can’t touch people. She doesn’t like dirt and hates germs. She has to keep her bizarre and strange routines correct otherwise something bad happens, like when her mother died and her father left.
When Zelah’s stepmother sends her to a special hospital, Zelah realises her quirks may be a little bit strange, but not as strange as the other inhabitants, Alice the anorexic, Caro the self-mutilator and Sol the silent but cute guy.
Zelah Green is a funny yet touching story of modern-day problems that are very real for many children. An easy read recommended for the high school library book shelf.
http://www.vanessacurtis.com/

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25 February 2012

Warambi

by Aleesah Darlison, illustrated by Andrew Plant

Working Title Press. Australian, Picture Book. Hardcover RRP $24.95

Reviewer - Sandy Fussell

Warambi is a little bent-wing bat, born into the safety of the nursery cave, surrounded by a colony of family and friends. Her life is comfortable. She grows fur, learns to fly and hunts for moths and beetles with her mother.
One day, a terrible thing happens. “Sunlight and metal burst into the darkness. The pups and their mothers squeaked in terror, whirring and wheeling about.” In the confusion, Warambi is separated from the colony.
Alone and lost, she finds shelter but the strange noises around her new home are frightening. She feels unsafe. Then gentle human hands find her and release her into the night in a place where she can hear the sound of other bats. Warambi finds a new family.
Andrew Plant’s illustrations are a wonderful exploration of colour. The world is blue when Warambi learns to drink water. Inside the colony’s cave is a warm brown environment. The forest is bright green and the night is dark.
This is a story which provides a number of discussion points for early readers – the life cycle of the bat, environmental threats and the need to belong and feel safe. Information about miniopterus australis, the bent-wing bat, is contained inside the front and back cover.
The Reading Stack reviewed Puggle's Problem by Aleesah Darlison in November 2010.
http://www.aleesahdarlison.com/
http://www.andrewplant.com/

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23 February 2012

Unearthly

by Cynthia Hand

Harper Collins. Young Adult, Fantasy. Paperback RRP $24.99
Reviewer - Barbara Brown

When Clara turned fourteen her mother told her that she was special. The angel blood that runs through her makes her smarter, stronger and faster than humans. She is on this earth to fulfil a purpose and that she will have to follow her destiny.
Clara is now sixteen and has a dream that comes to her any time, day or night, sleeping or awake - a dream of a forest fire and a boy. This boy and the fire are Clara’s purpose. But what does she have to do? Does she have to save the boy from the fire?
Clara’s purpose leads her and her family to Wyoming. Here she meets the boy of her visions, Christian. He is the most popular boy in school and is dating the most popular girl. Others see Clara as infatuated with Christian, as are all the girls in the school.
The purpose, Clara soon realises, is only a small part of being an angel, or part-angel and she finds there are good and bad angels and that she has a bigger fight on her hand.
Then she meets Tucker. A boy who tugs at her heart. When the time comes and the forest fire starts Clara realises that both Christian and Tucker are in danger. Who does she choose? And will her decision change the purpose she is destined for?

Unearthly is the first book in a trilogy. It is a captivating story that dragged me along and had me reading it within 24 hours. Now to find out what happens in Hallowed due out in early 2012.

www.cynthiahandbooks.com

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