Confessions of a Liar, Thief

and Failed Sex God

by Bill Condon

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

Neil Bridges is a 16-year-old Catholic school boy who doesn’t know what he wants to do or where he wants to go. It is 1967 and the all-boy’s school he attends is run by teachers and priests who believe that a leather strap is the best way to learn manners, mathematics and the right way to being a better person. His strict but loving parents are hard-working and try to bring up Neil and his older brother, Kevin, as good Catholics.

What Neil wants is to grow up. But there are too many distractions. The girls in the girl’s school next door, his brother leaving for service in Vietnam, and the loss of his best friend.

When Neil loses his best mate in a strange accident, he doesn’t know where to turn. He is confused and angry. When he starts to form an alliance with a boy that was expelled from his school, indirectly due to Neil not telling the truth, his life starts to take an upward turn.

Bill Condon has written a book that is universal in time – set 40 years ago, it is equally relevant today. I guarantee you cannot put this one down. I read it in one sitting. More than the confessions of a teenage boy, it is a record of the journey into adulthood. Sometimes that journey seems so fast, it’s in danger of spinning out of control.

Bill Condon’s Dogs (2001) and No Worries (2005) were Honour Books in the Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Awards. No Worries was also short-listed for the Ethel Turner Prize in the 2005 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Daredevils made the long-list in the inaugural Inky Awards.

The Reading Stack reviewed Bill Condon’s Daredevils in Issue 1 and Give Me Truth in Issue 14.

Truth

by Peter Temple

The Text Publishing Company. Australian, Crime, Mystery. Paperback rrp $32.95

A woman is found naked and dead in a glass bath, in a brand new luxury apartment in a complex that boasts the best casino in the world and the latest security. How did she get there and how did she die? When Inspector Stephen Villani, head of the Victorian Police homicide squad, starts to ask the easy questions, he finds that even the simplest of them is impossible to answer. Too many high profiles are attached to this new high-security tower.

Across town, three men are found butchered. They are all members of a drug group. With each of these killings Villani’s job becomes more difficult.

Villani is also battling personal demons. His marriage is falling apart; his teenage daughter has run away to the drug addled streets he is trying to clean up. His father is fighting a raging bushfire against the family property and large forest Villani and his dad lovingly planted many years ago.

Truth is a novel about the consequences of not being truthful. It is about honesty, love, lies, corruption, family and murder. Both fans and newcomers to Peter Temple’s crime writing will not be disappointed.

The Reading Stack reviewed In the Evil Day in Issue 5 and Shooting Star in Issue 7.

I Spy Dad

by Janeen Brian. Illustrated by Chantal Stewart

New Frontier Publishing. Australian, Picture book. Hardcover rrp $24.95

Some books are wonderful fun and I Spy Dad is definitely one of those. The little girl has a paper telescope to her eye looking for her Dad but she finds all sorts of fathers.

I can see a splashing dad, a crashing dad, a dashing dad,
A rowing dad, a mowing dad and a snip-snap sewing dad.
But none of them belong to me.

So many dads to choose from but eventually the little girl finds the one that is just right.

There’s my dad who loves me so.
He’s the one for me.

The words rollick across the page in glorious read-aloud rhythm. Newly independent readers will excitedly barrel along. The illustrations are full of humour whether dad is falling backwards while pulling out weeds or creeping along with the crawling toddlers. I love the way Stewart draws young faces – so full of fun and mischief. Dad looks mischievous too!

This book is a celebration of fatherhood. The perfect gift from a young son or daughter.

http://www.janeenbrian.com/

Halloween in Christmas Hills

The Legend of Stingy Jack

by Karen Tayleur. Illustrated by Heath McKenzie

black dog books. Australian, Young Reader, Junior. Paperback rrp $16.99

Want to buy a Halloween present that won’t rot their teeth? Halloween in Christmas Hills, The Legend of Stingy Jack will be perfect!

Take one look at the large format front cover and its funny, creepy illustration will lure you inside.

Miles Cameron Johnson is the youngest of five children. The family lives in Ash Crescent in Christmas Hills. Everyone has a favourite holiday except Miles.

When Miles is finally old enough to go trick-or-treating with his siblings, he has to stay in his street. There are only ten houses in the crescent and some of the neighbours don’t believe in Halloween. So there isn’t a lot of candy to get.

And worse still, Mr Jack lives in number six. Stingy Jack to the local kids. He keeps lost balls that go over his fence and probably eats kids for supper. No-one goes there! That is until Miles Cameron ventures out on Halloween. But Miles has been warned…

This is a funny and quirky story – it’s not scary but a lot of very strange things are going on. Heath McKenzie’s almost cartoon-like illustrations enhance the sense of goofiness surrounding the Johnson family. A great story to read on Halloween … and every other holiday in between!

http://www.karentayleur.com/
http://www.heathmck.com/

Karen Tayleur’s Chasing Boys was reviewed in Issue 2 of the Reading Stack and Hostage.
Heath McKenzie’s The Aussie A to Z was reviewed in Issue 1, The Australian 12 Days of Christmas in Issue 3, The A to Z of Aussie Activities in Issue 5, and The Number One Aussie Counting Book in Issue 9 of the Reading Stack.

Spells

by Emily Gravett

Pan Macmillan. Junior. Paperback $16.99

This is a book that I just had to have in my library. From the beautiful matt black cover with gold twinkling stars and shiny frog inside a crystal ball - to the half-pages that make up the different spells in between. This book is one you will immediately want to savour, sense and touch.

Spells is the tale of a little frog who wants to grow up as a handsome prince. He is hopping around on an old spell book when an idea pops into his head. He locates the spell for the Handsome Prince but the pages are all torn so he needs to find the right pieces to form the correct spell.

This is a wonderful and funny story with absolutely beautiful pictures. Children will delight in being able to create different spells using changing combinations of top and bottom pages. My young reader and I giggled when the pictures corresponding with the new spell created strange and unusual animals - from a Snird (Snake and a Bird) to Nabbit (Newt and Rabbit) and even a Fake (Frog and Snake).

A wonderful book to give as a gift to treasure or just read aloud for family fun.

http://www.emilygravett.com/

BLINKY BILL

The Complete Adventures of

by Dorothy Wall

Harper Collins. Australian, Junior. Hardcover rrp $39.99

Blinky Bill was first published in 1933 with Blinky Bill Grows Up following in 1934 and the third book, Blinky Bill and Nutsy published in 1937. These three much-loved Australian classics were combined into The Complete Adventures of BLINKY BILL in 1939.

For those who don’t know (surely there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know?) this is the story of a loveable but naughty young Koala, Blinky Bill, who likes to go on great adventures in the Australian bush. He constantly tries his mother’s patience but befriends many interesting and unique Australian animals along the way. He is always getting into mischief and trouble but eventually comes home to his mother.

Harper Collins have faithfully kept the text and charming illustrations of the original editions. An interesting feature of the latest version is the addition of a comprehensive biography of Dorothy Wall and early reviews of the first edition.

The Complete Adventures of BLINKY BILL is a book that will be treasured by the whole family. Dorothy Wall’s timeless language and illustrations will keep the current generation as entranced as their grandparents were. My 1947 copy has been placed lovingly back on the shelf and my new 2009 is already being read to my children.

Letters to Leonardo

by Dee White

Walker Books Australia. Australian, Young Adult. Paperback rrp $16.95

Matt lives with his dad. They are happy and settled. But when he receives a 16th birthday card from his dead mother, his life is thrown into confusion and chaos.

Matt’s journey to find his mother is a search for his own identity and place in the world. Why did his father lie to him? Why hasn’t his mother contacted him before?

When Matt’s teacher sets a project which sees Matt writing to Leonardo di Vinci, Matt begins to find his way. Like Matt and his mother, Leonardo was an artist. Like his mother, Leonardo struggled with mental illness. And the similarities continue to unfold. Matt and Leonardo even share the same birthday.

With the help of his friend Troy, Matt attempts to bring his mother more actively into his life. But she is not the person he wants her to be. Or even the person she wants herself to be. Her life is a constant battle with bi-polar disorder.

Mental illness has cruel and harsh consequences for everyone affected by it. Matt ultimately realises this is what his father tried to protect him from. But he realises too late.

Letters to Leonardo is a confronting book best suited to the mature reader. It deals honestly and openly with the sensitive issue of mental health and its impact on the family unit. This is not a fairy story. The ending is both crushing and hopeful. But this is what makes the story important and a must to read.

http://www.deescribe.com.au/

Speech Pathology Australia

Book of the Year 2009

The Speech Pathology Australia Book of the The Year Award winners were:

The Terrible Plop (Ursula Dubosarsky, Viking, Young Children, 2 - 5 years)

The Gobbling Tree (Mark Carthew, illus Susy Boyer, New Frontier Publishing, Lower Primary, 5 - 8 years)

Noodle Pie (Ruth Starke, Omnibus, Upper Primary 8 - 12 years)

Congratulations everyone.

The Gobbling Tree

by Mark Carthew, illustrated by Susy Boyer

Random House. Australian, Picture Book, Young Readers. Hardback rrp $24.95

What young reader, or their parent, doesn’t love a well-written, brightly-illustrated rhyming story? Such a book is not only perfect for young listeners but makes an excellent text for young readers who find the rhyming a helpful reading aid.

The Gobbling Tree is the tale of a troublesome tree that swallows everything thrown or poked at it, accidentally or on purpose. First it swallows Zac’s ball, with a wonderful ‘Swisshhh… crick, crack!’ Then it proceeds to gulp down everything the children use to try and retrieve the ball – brooms, football boots, ladders, boomerangs and even… Simon.

The rhyme twists and turns with the story, changing its meter to suit the action:

‘Don’t worry Zac,’
Said Zac’s friend Jack.
‘I’ve got a plan to get it back.’

I’m not going to spoil the ending but there is a wonderful two page illustration detailing exactly what happens when the wind begins to blow. Susy Boyer’s artwork is glorious – like the sunrise on my favourite page. Big and bold, bright and colourful. The pages are packed with illustration. There are wide-eyed possums and cheeky children, dragonflies dodging cricket balls and a very naughty face on the tree.

The Gobbling Tree is based on a common scenario in every playground. Young readers will immediately identify with this problem and enjoy the humour as Zac and his friends try everything they can think of to solve it. Recommended for children 4 – 8 years.

Mark Carthew's Five Little Owls was reviewed in Issue 1 of The Reading Stack and Can You Keep A Secret in Issue 13.

http://markcarthew.com.au/

http://susyboyer.com/

Fire Song

by Libby Hathorn

ABC Books. Australian, Young Adult. Paperback rrp $14.95

Set in the Blue Mountains following World War II, Fire Song is a snapshot of the time – broken families, the effect of war, intolerance towards migrants and economic hardship. Twelve-year-old Ingrid revels in having enough to eat, misses her brothers ‘sent away to work’ on a farm, wonders about Uncle Maurice killed at Tobruk and is the only one willing to befriend the new ‘Jew-girl’ at school.

But this is also a book about issues every young person faces today. It is a story about choices – the choices we make and the choice others force upon us. It is how we handle these choices that define who we are.

When Ingrid’s unstable mother asks her to commit a crime, to burn down their home, Ingrid is confused. She loves her Grandma’s old house and all the memories it contains – from Uncle Maurice’s photos to Grandma’s treasured things. She knows it is morally wrong and worries about the fire escaping to do more damage to nearby homes. Who can she turn to? Her mother says they need the money and apparently her estranged father is in financial trouble too. But more important to Ingrid, her mother says the money will enable her brothers to return.

Ultimately Ingrid must make her own decision and deal with the consequences. She cannot depend on what others tell her. Ingrid is growing up. When her mother is hospitalised with a stroke, the crisis point is reached. Isabel makes her choice.

This is an excellent read for many reasons. The historical context provides a unique look at every day life in Australia in the 1950s. Ingrid’s dilemma is universal across time and place. But perhaps most important of all – we care about Ingrid and want everything to work out right for her.

http://www.libbyhathorn.com/

Ghosts & Lightning

by Trevor Byrne

Canongate Books. Adult Other. Paperback rrp 24.95

Ghosts & Lightning is the story of Denny, a young Irishman with not much going for him. He escapes Dublin to try and find a better life, only to be called back when his mother dies.

Denny and his sister, Paula, struggle to come to terms with the sudden loss of the woman who kept them all together. Bound by shock and loss, they procrastinate through the days, weeks and months, doing nothing. Their mother’s once pristine and well kept home is now a squalor of filth, dirt and drop-ins.

Denny’s friends are a bunch of junkies, madmen and con artists but they keep Denny going. When Paula claims there are ghosts in the house they all rally to help. The séance scene is funny, bizarre and witty. A true pivot point. It is worth reading the book just to enjoy this chapter.

Ghosts & Lightning reads with a broad Dublin accent and anyone shy of rough and raw language should take heed. The language flows along with the “lilt” in the air and what some might term vulgarity, is totally appropriate and in character context. This is a story of a life devoid of even the hint of wealth, glamour or famous people. This is the story of an unlikely hero, putting one foot in front of the other, and finding his own riches along the way.

Death in Venice, Jeff in Varanasi

by Geoff Dyer


Text Publishing. Adult Other. Paperback RRP $32.95

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

This novel is pure escapism. It is in two parts that are held together by a common thread but appear as separate stories. The first centres on a journalist who hates his job and finds his life intolerable. But he initiates change by dyeing his hair for the first time and allowing himself liberties that he’d never considered before.

His assignment is to cover the Biennale in Venice and secure an interview with ageing beauty, Julia Berman, on her daughter’s new CD album. He’s also pressured to get permission to publish an early provocative drawing of Julia by a now famous and popular artist. This meeting leads to more temptation and awakens sleeping desires.

His desires are propelled further forward by a meeting with the enigmatic Laura, to whom chance is everything. He embarks on a sexual, intensely sensual journey with her as they spend most of their time making love, attending parties and snorting coke, leaving the Biennale imprinted on his life as an unforgettable journey through love and renewal.

The second part finds the journalist sent to India to write a travel piece. In Varanasi he initially begins his exploration by following the masses to the Ganges, watching the many funeral pyres that are a display for the tourists, avoiding the countless beggars that swamp the streets, and viewing the abject poverty and filth that constitute the chaos of daily life.

But his visit evolves. By degrees, he embraces the calm lifestyle, the disowning of material possessions, and the questioning. He is greatly influenced by all he sees and experiences. His travel article becomes an intimate portrait of life and death; of survival. Amidst a smorgasbord of language and images, the journalist exposes India in all its shades through the eyes of someone extremely familiar and accepting of the customs, rituals and religions of this complex land.

The writing is extremely visual, superbly entertaining, energetic and clever, humorous and human. The writer is an observer of human habits, weaknesses and pretentions, all of which he intricately dissects.

Hostage

by Karen Tayleur

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


Guest Reviewer - Jo Burnell

After being hit by the twist in the final pages of Chasing Boys, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Karen Tayleur’s latest release Hostage, and wasn’t disappointed.

It’s irritating when you can’t put a book down and Hostage held me captive. More twists and turns than a bowl of spaghetti kept me glued to the page as Tully’s story unfolded. Her story to the police, (marked by date and time) didn’t always match her memory – or did it? And what about Tully’s recollections of people and places in the past? Were these also blurred by time?

Where does reality stop and the story begin?

Is there a difference?

Parcels of information in chapter-sized chunks are presented like clues in a detective mystery. It took the entire book to put the full story together. Just as Chasing Boys left questions lingering, Hostage kept me guessing.

Seemingly unrelated threads have been masterfully tightened to form a delicate net. One Tully couldn’t escape and neither could I. Was she a hostage in an abduction? Who could she really rely on? As I visited the many places she had lived, the layers of her short life took shape.

Déjà vu kicked in with the last words on the final page. I couldn’t believe the author caught me out again. The entire story turned on its head and I wanted to start reading the book again – immediately.

Be warned. This book can’t be put down and there’s no point flicking to the last page for a shortcut to the punch-line. You won’t ‘get it’ unless you read every page of Hostage.

Karen Tayleur’s Chasing Boys was reviewed in Issue 2 of The Reading Stack.



http://www.karentayleur.com/

Hollywood Ending

by Kathy Charles

The Text Publishing Company. Adult Other, Australian. Paperback rrp $32.95

We’ve all read or heard about people that do tours around Hollywood’s seamier side. Visiting places where famous people have died or are buried. When does the fascination stop and the strangeness of its reality begin?

Hilda and Benji are two lost seventeen year olds. They met over the death of a cat near their high school and soon realise they have much in common. After returning the body of the cat back to its owner, the two hook up and start to venture around Hollywood’s “dead” spots.

They love visiting the sites of death, whether it’s an old theatre being pulled down or the movie scene of real life tragedy Sometimes they keep mementoes, Benji’s in his parent’s mansion locked safely away in a glass cabinet, Hilda’s in a box in the small bedroom she has at her aunt’s home. Hilda’s parents died tragically so her fascination with death is not surprising but is Benji fascinated with Hilda or her past?

During the summer holidays, they go to Echo Park. A place that is a tired and faded memory of a once successful movie business. Amongst the rundown buildings they visit an apartment where a silent movie star stabbed himself in the bathroom with a pair of nail scissors. Initially, they only want to take a photo and maybe a tile from the bathroom. But Hilda is intrigued by Hank, the old man who now lives in the apartment and who seems to be holding a bigger secret.

Hilda starts to visit Hank without Benji. Benji has immersed himself into a cult of celebrity death whilst Hilda is trying to climb out of it. Then Hank’s downstairs neighbour, Jake, starts turning up at Hank’s. What does Jake want with Hank and even more suspicious, what does he want with Hilda?

Hollywood Ending is a tale of death, celebrities and cults. It is a sad reflection of the seedy, grimy side of Hollywood. It dragged me in and made me a voyeur in this weird and strange world. I have always loved Hollywood and its movie stars. Once such a shiny image it is now dark and strange.

http://www.kathycharles.com/

American Rust

by Philipp Meyer

Allen and Unwin. Adult Other. Paperback RRP $32.99

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

The title of this dark but compelling novel is a metaphor for the slow decay of life in rural America from opportunities lost along with jobs and hope. Through the lives of the characters and their predicaments, we view lives spiralling out of control from one unpredictable event that leads to a sequence of irreversible decisions.

Isaac and his sister Lee are the smartest kids in the county. Lee, by going on to Yale, escaped all responsibility for her damaged father. Isaac chose to stay and care for him after an accident left him in a wheelchair. His mother also escaped by exiting the picture by drowning herself five years previously. But now Isaac has decided at last to get away and start a new life using the large sum of money stolen from his father’s stash. He goes in search of his friend Billy Poe in the hope that they can make the escape together.

Billy is a failure due to his disregard of the countless opportunities life presented to him. His father has abandoned them and his mother, Grace, a gentle and loving person has failed to replace him permanently with anyone worthwhile, regardless of her on again-off again relationship with the loyal Bud, their county sheriff.

Billy consents to accompany Isaac for part of the way. They find shelter in an abandoned barn which is also the stopping place of several other fugitives who come upon the two boys. Isaac feels uncomfortable in their presence and decides to leave. Billy as usual, postpones making a decision and remains. But Isaac returns soon after to find Billy at knife point and the incident that follows sweeps the boys’ future out from under them.

Meyer has captured a real sense of time and place. The six parts of the book examine the damage done to each individual life by the choices they made. The language, like the story, is hard and gritty, and the fine line between life and death is always visible. It’s a book that won’t be easily put down.

http://www.philippmeyer.net/

A Letter from Luisa

by Rowena Mohr

Allen & Unwin. Australian, Young Adult, Girlfriend Fiction. Paperback rrp $14.99

Luisa is a teenage girl who seems to be in control. Very controlled. She has her homework sorted, her musician father and little ballerina sister organised and the Motherwell High School Twilight Fete running along smoothly. Everything is just right.

But nothing ever happens as it should when your heart strings are pulled. And Luisa’s strings are being twanged all over the place by Year 12 rock god, Jet Lucas. Luisa decides that Jet must play at the fete and Luisa must be his sound technician. What could possibly go wrong? Jet can play, Luisa’s dad has all the sound equipment and Luisa knows how to use it.

Luisa overlooks one very important fact - friendships, family and boys shouldn’t be all organised. Things should be left to play to their own beat. When the fete turns upside down with cars exploding, dogs burning and teachers being arrested for terrorism, Luisa starts to realise that her song is just beginning!

A Letter from Luisa is a funny look at when we set our sights on something we can be blinded by the different notes beating out of rhythm around us that we ignore all the right notes and go straight to the bad ones.

My 13-year-old daughter is a fan of the Girlfriend series– a huge recommendation because she isn’t serious about reading. Yet. Girlfriend fiction is helping change that. A Letter from Luisa is the sixteenth book in the series.

My Life and other Catastrophes (Issue 5) (also by Mohr), What Supergirl Did Next, Something More, Little Bird and Fifteen Love are Girlfriend Fiction Series titles previously reviewed in the Reading Stack.

http://www.allenandunwin.com/girlfriendfiction/

Ching Chong China Girl

by Helene Chung

ABC Books. Australian, Adult Non-Fiction, Biographical. Paperback RRP $ 32.95

Guest reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

Helene Chung’s life is filled with many firsts. She was the first non-white reporter on Australian television, and the first woman to be posted abroad by the ABC, a job she got into by accident and which gave her the opportunity to travel the world. The reader accompanies Helene through the rich and intelligent narrative to the countries she visited in recollections and with the use of diary entries and letters. The famous people she came into contact with for her commentaries and interviews include Sir Edmund Hillary, and Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace. She has also included a moving testimony of the early, heartbreaking loss of her husband to cancer.

Helene’s mother, the colourful Dorothy Henry, was Miss China, 1942. She divorced her husband when Helene was just a toddler and her sister Lehane a little older, and lived a bohemian life as a single mother. This proved a pathway to an interesting but not always friendly position in life for her. She worked as a nude model and moved in cultivated circles beside the men she met and others that passed through her life – artists and other eccentric and famous contacts which also opened new worlds for the girls; intellectual worlds, of art exhibitions, books, theatre and music.

None of Dorothy’s choices seemed to have had a negative effect on her children. Helene was a well-adjusted child; a tomboy who grew up free and uninhibited by her gender. Lehane was embraced by everyone because of her gentle and loving nature.

Helene Chung confesses that this book was ‘conceived purely as a memoir of (my) childhood and experience of being an Australian Chinese’ but ended up incorporating so much more. It exposes the clash of cultures, the difficulties the family faced without the support of a father and her interesting family tree. She uses a rich history of the times as background, moving between her Chinese and Australian life, which includes her own family’s story from the 1880s to now, and the many secrets held hidden or unknown for years.

Time of Trial

The Fourth Volume of The Laws of Magic

by Michael Pryor

Random House. Crime, Fantasy (Magic), Australian. Paperback rrp $17.95

Aubrey Fitzwilliam is a magical genius and the son of the Prime Minister of Albion. The Laws of Magic series follows his adventures with friends George and Caroline as they try to capture the elusive Dr Tremaine, a magical genius who seems even more powerful than Aubrey. It’s a risky mission as Dr Tremaine wants to lure Aubrey into his evil plans.

Time of Trial starts out with a cricket match Aubrey is hoping to win even though the odds are against them. But unfortunately Aubrey senses magic and before anyone can say “out”, the cricket match is a flurry of wind, rain, lightning and magic. There seems to be only one target - Aubrey. When Aubrey is hit by the powers of the storm he collapses but, just as fast as the storm started, it quickly dissolves. Has Dr Tremaine won so easily?

After recovering Aubrey is given a mysterious Beccaria Cage. This small gold pendant hangs around his neck and keeps his body and soul together – a problem that occurs every time he uses magic. Will this be the key allowing Aubrey to continue using his magic without killing himself?

But nothing is ever as it seems and after Aubrey, George and Caroline escape from a fate that would be worse than death, they travel to the country of Holmland and the home of Dr Tremaine.

Is this Aubrey’s chance to capture Dr Tremaine? Or is everything that has happened so far part of Dr Tremaine’s larger plan for world war? Time of Trial is full of plot detours and turns.

This has to be one of the best young adult magic fantasy series I’ve read in a long time. There is always one more layer of story and you will find yourself gleefully anticipating the next twist. Brilliant storytelling!

The Laws of Magic series has been shortlisted for three Aurealis Awards, a longlisted for a Golden Inky and selected as a Notable Book in the CBCA Awards.

Book three of The Laws of Magic, Word of Honour was reviewed by the Reading Stack in Issue 14.

The Brightest Star in the Sky

by Marian Keyes


Penguin. Romance. Paperback rrp $32.95


One address. Four flats. Seven occupants. At 66 Star Street Dublin there seems to be a lot happening and someone is watching them all. We start off at Day 61 and as we turn another page and pass another chapter we also are counting down to Day 1. But what will happen on Day 1? And why is the “watcher” counting the days and picking and choosing?

Of the seven occupants at 66 Star Street, the “watcher” is trying to decide who to choose. There are some obvious choices and some not so easy. Jemima is in her 80’s and can sense a presence but she isn’t ready … just yet. Matt and Maeve are married who live on the bottom floor only seem like the perfect couple. Young Lydia, stuck living with two unfunny Poles, has a lover but much anger and hatred. And then there is Katie on the top floor. She has a perfect man in Conall, she is turning 40. Could she be the one?


Love, lust, passion, death, tragedy, friendship, endings and beginnings; it is all happening at 66 Star Street. When secrets are uncovered the “watcher” knows it is time to choose.

The Brightest Star in the Sky kept me entranced. How could so much happen in one tiny block of units? How many endings could one book have? And not tied with neat bows either. This is a book with wide general appeal. Buy it for yourself and give it as a gift. You won’t regret either decision.

This Charming Man by Marion Keyes was reviewed in Issue 7 of The Reading Stack.

http://www.mariankeyes.com/

Gone

by Michael Grant

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

I originally started to read Gone but I then had to ask my 17 year old to take it as I got scared. I didn’t like thinking of the possibilities and consequences of the story outcome. It reminded me of the book and the movie, Lord of the Flies. And anyway, I reasoned, it’s young adult title. Much better to have a review from a teenager.

My son took it into his room and … it has never seen the light of day since. Gone! (If you will pardon the pun…) My question as to if he had read it came with the reply “oh yeah.” “And?” “It was good. Really liked it.” “Can you write a few lines about it?” “Maybe.”

And there you have it.

The story is about children who, one moment are sitting in a small town classroom then, in a blink of an eye, everyone over the age of 15 has disappeared. Even the teacher. After that, chaos ensues. Some kids automatically become leaders, others followers and some just want to cause havoc.

I was too scared to read on and that’s a review in itself. An excellent book for readers who like a story guaranteed to make them shiver and one my own teenager wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. Another three books in the series, Hunger, Lies and Plague, are scheduled to follow.
http://www.egmont.co.uk/gone/

Slow Cooker

by Sally Wise


ABC Books. Australian, Adult Other. Paperback rrp $24.99

I often work from home but I never seem to have enough time to whip up a truly delicious meal for the family. Many times I have cooked dinner in the early morning before working and left it to sit in the oven or on the stove or in the fridge. I didn’t know about slow cooking.

Then one day in the supermarket I picked up, by mistake, a sachet to make something interesting and different. Unfortunately, as much as the recipe sounded great, it was for a slow cooker. What’s that? I asked myself. Then I found that my mother owned one, most of my friends, the mothers in the playground… almost everyone except me! Why hadn’t I heard about slow cooking? This would make my life so much simpler. So I bought one.

But what to cook? There are only 4 or 5 meal sachets on the supermarket shelf and the recipes that come with the cooker were not inspiring. What a joy to find Sally Wise’s Slow Cooker.

I have tried several of her recipes so far and they are all easy and taste great. Most of the ingredients are in my cupboard already.

The smell when Tilly’s Indian Sweet Curry Beef was cooking made me salivate all day long – one problem with working from home! And my husband, who isn’t a fan of soups, thought the Minestrone was definitely to be repeated. The Satay Chicken is super easy and tastes delicious.

Then there are the desserts! I have to wait for the weekend to cook them but am tossing up on the Apple Dumplings in Butterscotch Sauce or the Apple Golden Syrup Dumplings. I think I might need to purchase another slow cooker so I can have my dinner and dessert as well!

Red Ted and the Lost Things

by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Joel Stewart

Walker Books. Picture. Hardcover RRP $27.95

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

Graphic novels for all ages are becoming more popular than ever. As a fan of this genre, I seek out books that are different and that speak to me through pictures; that magnify the meaning of the text through the illustrations. This is one of them.

Red Ted the bear is broken hearted when his owner Stevie, leaves him on the train. He is transported by a railway worker to the Place of Lost Things. Here countless shelves of labelled, lost things, stand and wait for someone to claim them. The Place speaks of loss, disregard, negligence and sheer desolation.

In that Place, Red Ted meets crocodile who has been there a long time but as yet hasn’t become one of the homeless oddities that simply stand and wait, blending into the colourless walls. They decide that together they will escape this forlorn place and try to find their way home.

It doesn’t take long for the opportunity to arise. But which way is home? They follow the signs towards the exits, and meet a cheese-loving cat that picks up the odour permeating from Red Ted. He helps them find their way home using the smell of the cheese that Stevie had bought as a guide. The cat gets a serve of her favourite cheese as a reward and crocodile is added to the family unit.

Excellent detailed illustrations in comic style fill the pages in muted colours that blend into one another to accent the insignificance of the Lost Things. Red Ted, crocodile and cat are the only colours that stand out until they reach home and then the background remains the same, but the characters of Stevie and her mum are brought to life in bright colour to indicate the joyous reunion. This comes highly recommended by the reviewer.

http://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/

One, Two, Cockatoo!

by Sarah Garson

Random House. Australian, Picture, Young Reader. Hardback rrp $19.95

One, Two, Cockatoo! is a book that delighted not only my young boy but myself as well. There are not too many counting books that could be called fun, colourful and Australian!

Garson has cleverly captured the quirky behaviour of an Australian icon. There are plenty of white cockatoos around our home and I can attest One, Two, Cockatoo! has listed all their idiosyncrasies with great accuracy. I especially liked the “Four cockatoos dancing a jive. Another joins in and hey-presto – that’s five!”

My son and I already return to this book time and time again when the cockatoos come to the back yard. We can compare and practise a little Aussie maths... “One cockatoo on his own in a tree. Two cockatoos fly over… … that’s three!”

The Wheels on the Bus

illustrated by Mandy Foot

Hachette Children’s Books. Australian, Picture. Hardback rrp $29.99

Here the popular song “The Wheels on the Bus…” has been brought to life in a very unique Australian way. This is a book that explores the Australian countryside while through the traditional elements of the song with a new illustration perspective.

The characters are all Australian animals from the wombat bus driver to the kangaroo wearing a Hawaiian shirt. There is even a “spot the iguana” on every page. For musicians and future sing-alongs, the music is printed at the end of the book.

I especially loved the verse “The wipers on the bus go…” with the illustration of the wombat rowing the bus around the Great Barrier Reef with the emu wearing goggles and flippers swimming beside!

We have owned a Wheels on the Bus book for over 15 years. It is dog eared and very tired from the numerous hands that have turned its pages time and time again. So my family was very pleased to discover Mandy Foot’s version. It is quirky, funny and typically Australian.

Colourful, humorous and very entertaining. A great Christmas present for overseas children or a great present to share and entertain your own children. There is also an interactive website http://www.thewheelsonthebus.com.au/ where you can download games and things to do or travel around Australia.

http://www.charactersillustration.com.au/

Feed Me Now!

by Bill Granger

Harper Collins. Australian, Adult Non-Fiction. Hardcover rrp $49.99

Cookbooks come and go in my house. I have a stable of a few but mostly they are there to look good and, if absolutely necessary, I might be lucky and find SOMETHING an average cook in an average kitchen can make out of one of them. But then along came Feed Me Now!.

I opened this cookbook with expectations of difficult recipes with ingredients I wouldn’t even be able to identify as animal, vegetable or mineral.

Actually, truth be told, the book opened itself onto a double page of photos. One page was of tomatoes – attractive and nice - but the other page looked delish! I turned the page to read the recipe… Sausage, Tomato and Mozzarella Melt. Surely I could do this? The ingredients – well you wouldn’t believe it… I had everything except the ciabatta (but then when I looked it up found it was just a nice Italian bread and I could easily get something similar). The recipe – easy! The taste – heaven!

I turned the pages, oohing and aahing, mouth watering. I couldn’t wait to get home from the office. There were even recipes my fussy children would eat! And the humble pizza never looked or tasted so great.

I am really looking forward to having some friends around to try out the gooey chocolate cake with raspberries. Oh forget the friends – I think I will go now and cook!

Granger has created a great recipe book that will be dog eared and food-fingerprinted-filled in no time. But I don’t mind that at all. Dinner will never be dull or too difficult again!

Check on Me

by Andrew Daddo. Illustrated by Jonathan Bentley

ABC Books. Australian, Picture book, Young Reader. Hardback rrp $24.99

There was a bidding war at The Reading Stack when Check on Me by Andrew Daddo arrived. His previous titles are firm favourites with many reviewers. But since I have the youngest child – I won! I had already read most of it before morning tea and I couldn’t wait to take the book home and give it to the other adult in the family who does the “putting to bed” routine most nights.

We both agreed with everything in the text – especially…

“There has to be a story –
first from a book
and another one from your mouth.”

And then of course, after half an hour or so…

“Oh. I’ll need a drink.”

Daddo has captured bedtime routines perfectly and Bentley has so, so accurately portrayed the “innocence” of the child trying to do everything to delay the inevitable.

Check on Me is an excellent resource book for children who have trouble going to bed and a great shared read. If you follow the steps outlined in the book, in a matter of a few minutes or so, with all the routines complete, I know in our house at least, there is one little boy happily in bed!

Andrew Daddo and Emma Quay’s Cheeky Monkey was reviewed in Issue 10 of the Reading Stack.

http://www.andrewdaddo.com/

The Wonderful World of the WotWots

by Martin Baynton

ABC Books. Young Reader, Junior. Hardback rrp $14.99

For anyone with a preschooler who watches television you will already know all about the WotWots. DottyWot and SpottyWot are two alien siblings who visit earth wanting to learn everything. They land in a zoo and the adventures begin.

Welcome to the Wonderful World of the WotWots is the first book in a new series based on the ABC TV show. The book is colourful, interesting and has many stories to keep the little ones occupied. There are also games to play.

The WotWots are cute, cuddly and it was only a matter of time before a book came out to further their popularity. Welcome to the Wonderful World of the WotWots was immediately whisked away from my desk and poured over by my young boy. A recommendation right there!

Hedgeburners: an A-Z PI mystery

by Goldie Alexander and illustrated by Marjory Gardner

Interactive Publications, Young Reader, Paperback, rrp $16.95

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

This is another title from IP Kidz, the newest imprint of Interactive Publications dedicated to themes that guide and teach young readers. This is the first of a series featuring the characters, Anna and Zach, Private Eyes, with Zach as narrator. It is based on actual crimes committed by youngsters.

Being a PI demands a lot of time as the youngsters soon discover. Anna is smart and conscientious, disciplined and organised. Zach is the opposite. He juggles caring for his numerous pets with homework and running around looking for clues with Anna. He also has a habit of associating everyone he meets with the animal they resemble, and that’s how he views them after the first meeting.

After someone sets fire to an aged but thriving hedge next door to Anna’s house, the A-Z PIs begin searching for clues. Anna’s list of suspects in her computer file grows but they have no solid proof. The third burnt hedge which also threatens human lives brings the two closer to the culprits after a long investigation and a few lucky breaks.

Zach’s friend Brett who works for the newspaper somehow becomes a suspect. When Brett goes missing, the two PIs have more on their hands than they expected. Zach is losing sleep following suspects at night. His homework is suffering. His father is stressed about his failing business.

But the PIs are getting closer. There is more involved here than just hedge burning. Some of their school mates are shop-lifting, coercing or bullying their peers into take part in illegal, careless and dangerous acts.

The theme of firebugs is just the springboard for the many issues covered here. The book teaches awareness and responsible behaviour and includes the effect adult actions and problems have on children and vice-versa. It also teaches that one should never assume anything, for sometimes things appear to be one way, but turn out to be something entirely different.

Hairy Maclary, Shoo

by Lynley Dodd

ABC Books. Young Reader. Hardback rrp $21.99

We are a family of Hairy Maclary fans. Since my first born received the gift of a Hairy Maclary jigsaw, we have continued on and upwards with books and dvds. Through three children and numerous nieces and nephews.

Hairy Maclary, Shoo was spotted as soon as it arrived on my desk and I was cajoled into reading it immediately! But I didn’t mind because there is nothing better than a Hairy Maclary book for mother-son reading aloud together.

In Shoo, Hairy Maclary decides to have a look inside a delivery van. Adult and child alike, we all know what is going to happen. Yes, you guessed it. He is accidentally locked inside the van and taken on a ride through town, away from the dairy. When Hairy Maclary gets a chance to escape he finds that he doesn’t know his way home and is told “BE OFF WITH YOU – SHOO!” at every place he visits.

Of course, there is a happy ending but as is with all Hairy Maclary books, the wonderful combination of illustration and rhyme makes you read it again, and again, and again.

My number three and I had a giggle and then out came the jigsaw…Another hit!

http://www.mallinsonrendel.co.nz/hairymaclary.asp