Faerie Winter

by Janni Lee Simner

Random House. Young Adult, Mystery, Fantasy. Paperback RRP $18.95

Reviewer – Barbara Brown

I had just finished reading Simner’s Bones of Faerie when I found the sequel, Faerie Winter, so I was excited to continue on with Liza’s plight of humans versus faerie and the plight of the children that were born after the war would become. Sometimes sequels can be a bit disappointing but Faerie Winter was so good I read it in just over a few hours. I couldn’t put it down.

Liza has returned to her village with her friend Matthew and Tara, her mother who they rescued from the world of Faerie. Life in the village is as normal as it can be when every child has a magical gift. However, when a young boy enters the village the trouble begins.

Ethan is a firestarter. He doesn’t seem to be able to control his power and Liza and Tara end up with a burnt house and the townsfolk demanding Ethan leave. But Ethan is only young and badly injured, so he is given a reprieve of three days to prove he is not a threat. Matthew sets out, in his wolf form, to get help from Faerie friends in another village to tend to Ethan’s injuries. The evil trees are dying now but a new danger lurks in the forests.

Liza ends up with a lot more than she expected when she brought Ethan to her home and it isn’t good. How can she help others when she has no control over her own powers and thoughts?

If you have never read a fantasy tale before then I recommend you read both Bones of Faerie and Faerie Winter. Loved them! And would it be wonderful to see on the big screen?

The Reading Stack reviewed Bones of Faerie this month.

http://www.simner.com/

Five Bells

by Gail Jones

Random House Australia. Adult Fiction, Australian. Paperback RRP $29.95

Five Bells is my favourite Kenneth Slessor poem and I was immediately drawn to the title and the promise of a revisit to the Circular Quay area where I spent my early twenties.

The first page did not disappoint. Five Bells is a book of beautiful images painted from a number of different viewpoints.

James is looking for absolution. He recalls the best memories of his life – his childhood friendship with Ellie. He is coming to meet her at the Quay, hoping the years have changed nothing, and she will make him happy again.

Ellie remembers the past vividly and hopes James still feels the same, emotionally and sexually, and that there is a second chance for them. It is Ellie’s optimistic descriptions of a Quay bathed in light that I loved most.

Pei-Xing is a Chinese immigrant whose past has followed her to the Quay. She visits her former jailer and torturer, with grace and gentleness.

Catherine is a tourist from Ireland, looking to escape the pain of her brother’s accidental death.

Each of the four characters sees the Quay through different eyes and experiences. It begins to rain. Who will fulfil the prophecy of Five Bells?

While I thoroughly enjoyed this story I wanted more closure for the late introduced fifth character. She drew them together but her own story was unfinished – and it eats at me still.

Rabbit’s Year

by Melissa Keil and illustrated by Jedda Robaard

black dog books. Australian, Picture Book. Hardcover RRP $14.99

2011 is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit and what a wonderful present to give to a newborn, child or even an adult born in the Year of the Rabbit. If you don’t know the correlation between animal and birthdate there is a Chinese Zodiac at the back of the book.

Rabbit is sad and lonely but loves to play music. When he starts to play he finds that his music draws in the other animals and together they make a wonderful noise. Rabbit finds he isn’t lonely anymore.

All the animals in Rabbit’s Year are from the Chinese zodiac and the beautiful and soft drawings make the reader feel they are being soothed by Rabbit’s beautiful music. A wonderful lyrical story with pictures that add an extra sensory dimension.

Blood Ninja

by Nick Lake

Allen and Unwin. Young Adult. Paperback, RRP $15.99

Set in feudal Japan, this exciting adventure has all the action readers would expect in a tale of samurai and ninja. With a twist. These ninjas are also vampires – which is surprisingly good when explaining many of the supernormal skills attributed to the ninja.

This is a classic tale of a young noble boy, Taro, delivered for safe keeping to a poor fishing village family. He grows up unaware of his true heritage, happily helping his parents and spending time with his best friend Hiro.

Until the ninjas arrive.

 

Taro is rescued by Shusaku, a samurai who has become a vampire ninja. Taro, Hiro and Shusaku are now on the run. Taro must learn the ways of both ninja and samurai to survive. And perhaps even harder than that, when he finally discovers who his father is, he must decide where his loyalties lie.

Blood Ninja has all the elements of a great action historical adventure. With vampires!

The Reading Stack reviewed Nick Lake's book, The Secret Ministry of Frost, in July 2009.

The Midnight Zoo

by Sonya Hartnett

Penguin. Australian, Young Adult. Hardcover RRP $24.95


Reviewer - Sandy Fussell
I review a lot of books. I read even more. Most I pass on to other readers and school libraries. This one I am keeping on my bookshelf.

The Midnight Zoo is a paradoxical telling – a gentle tale of violence. Two gypsy boys, Andrej and Tomas, carry their baby sister away through a war ravaged land. They are tired, hungry and have seen things no child should.

They stumble into a zoo with a motley assortment of animals trapped in their cages, without care and food. These animals can talk – the lioness, the wolf, the bear, the eagle, the chamois, the seal and even a kangaroo. And they don’t like humans much.

As the children and the animals share their stories, they find similarities in the loss of freedom and once enemies, man and animal, find a new trust.

The Midnight Zoo is a wonderful combination of beautiful, emotive writing and a compelling story. It teaches and entertains. There is always hope.

          … and in its cage, the eagle shook its wings and readied itself to fly.

The Midnight Zoo was shortlisted for the 2011 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year for Older Readers.

The Cat in the Hat

Knows a Lot About That! Series

Random House. Children. Paperback RRP $6.95

Dr Seuss books have been a big favourite in our house for many years, in fact I remember growing up with them and that was a very long time ago.

When I brought these books home, my seven year old son grabbed them with glee, went into his bedroom and started to read! The rhyming is catching. I asked what he thought of them and his words fell out all over the place, the story, the pictures and even the glow-in-the-dark stickers.

I sneaked a peak and thought that for $6.95 it is a quality treat – the stickers are really good quality as is the book itself. Brightly coloured pictures with stories that are fun and will have children engaged in reading for hours.

These new smaller paperback series are just the right size and format for newly independent readers to enjoy the adventures of the Cat in the Hat. The books are a tie in with a brand new animated television show.

http://www.catinthehatbooks.co.uk/
http://www.seussville.com/

If I Stay

by Gayle Forman

Random House. Young Adult. Paperback RRP $17.95

Guest Reviewer - by Anastasia Gonis

The day starts with a spontaneous family outing, a decision made after a sequence of cancellations from schools and workplaces because of the heavy snowfall. By the end of the day, Mia, a gifted cellist, will see her life and her promising future at Julliard hang by a thread. This book is about choosing life regardless of the odds and events we experience, and why we are often defined by our choices.

The story is told in an omniscient point of view through the voice of Mia who has left her body while in an unconscious state after a tragedy robs her of her entire family. The narration is in sparse and perfect prose with constant references to music as background. Each character’s connection to Mia is built up slowly piece by piece like a jigsaw puzzle in each consecutive chapter, and we see how loved she is within her circle of family and friends; how comfortable and treasured her life is.

The most influential character appears to be Adam, Mia’s boyfriend, whose life also revolves around music but of a different kind. It is left to him to try and call Mia back to life. But it is not as easy as he expects. Mia’s strong ties to her family, and the grief and loss she has experienced, keep her in a limbo of indecision until the final explosive climax.

Forman is an experienced journalist in young adult affairs who has written for Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, and other top magazines. Travelling around the world to obtain her interviews brought on the creation of her first book, You Can’t get There From Here: A Year on the Fringes of a Shrinking World. This current book shows what a polished professional she is. At times funny, then deeply moving, the book will remain unforgettable. Its sequel, Where She Went should be available soon.

http://www.gayleforman.com/

Bones of faerie

by Janni Lee Simner

Random House. Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery. Paperback RRP $18.95

I hesitated before picking up Bones of faerie. There are so many “fairy” and mystical beings books around that I could not possibly see how this one could be anything new. Luckily I was wrong.

A war between humans and Faeries has occurred. Most of the world has been devastated and now people live in small communities surrounded by myth and fantasy and the dangerous world of magic. It isn’t just Faeries that are to be watched but now the plants have tasted blood and thrive on attacking humans who venture too far from their well-tended paths. Once you have been caught by a tree do not expect to live.

Liza has watched her father protect their town by destroying anything that holds magic. When her own baby sister who is born with faerie-pale hair, clear as glass, is left to die on the hillside, Liza is scared. Her mother disappears into the forest without a word and Liza is left with her father and his draconian beliefs and punishments.

When Liza discovers that she may possess magic and sees a vision of her mother she decides to escape from her father and seek her mother, even though she knows she could not have survived outside the town after dark. But her visions show her the past and the future and the present and her mother, she feels, is alive. Somewhere. But where?

Liza’s journey takes her into the realm of Faerie and back again and her powers may enable both world of Faerie and human to heal.

Bones of faerie was an incredible journey that I now want to continue with the second recently published Faerie Winter.

http://www.simner.com/

embrace

by Jessica Shirvington

Hachette Australia. Australian, fantasy, romance. Paperback RRP $24.99

Reviewer - Barbara Brown

Violet Eden is turning seventeen. Her best friend, Steph, is excited about Violet’s birthday but it’s hard for Violet to get too excited. Her mother had died in childbirth and it seems Violet and her dad will be forever constantly reminded of this day – both joyous and sad. The only good thing about the birthday dinner will be that Lincoln will be there - friend, trainer and mentor who just happens to be sexy and mature and Violet has the hots for him big time.

Before they go to dinner, her father gives Violet a gift from her mother - a box, an amulet, a poem and a letter that was written before Violet’s birth and her mother’s death. Did her mother know she was going to die? What does she mean “A big decision lies ahead … I love you. Please forgive me.”? She puts the precious gift away and goes out to enjoy her night with her father, her best friend and Lincoln. And at the end of the night Lincoln confirms what Violet has believed all along – they were meant for each other – with an earth moving kiss. But then he leaves her abruptly on her front doorstep.

Lincoln is Grigori, part human, part angel and Violet is his eternal partner. Then Phoenix arrives, an exiled angel who Violet can’t believe anyone could be any sexier and he doesn’t lie to her. Bliss is where he takes her, but is it where she should go?

embrace is a wonderful story that you should not be blindsided because it’s about angels. It is more about light and dark and a love triangle that I feel very jealous about! If you like fantasy, mind games and a bit of a sexy love story, then this is a book for you.

http://www.jessicashirvington.com/