The Reading Stack

The Delta

2011-12-07T12:15:00.001+11:00

by Tony Park

PanMacmillan. Australian, Thriller. Paperback RRP $32.99

Guest Reviewer – Ian Brown

Australian Author, Tony Park,divides his time between Sydney and SouthernAfrica. He has written a number of adventure novels set in Africa.

The Delta isset in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. The story is about ex-soldier turnedMercenary, Sonja Kurtz, who, after a failed attempt to assassinate thepresident of Zimbabwe, hides out in the Okavango Delta, were she spent a largepart of her youth. She wants to leave her mercenary life and start anew withher daughter who lives in London.

She is recruited to help savethe Delta from destruction. Her job is to halt a dam that will destroy the delta’sswamps and waterway’s. This involves Sterling Smith her former boyfriend whoruns a safari camp in the delta, Martin Steele, her mercenary boss, andAmerican TV wildlife presenter Sam Chapman, who is in Botswana doinga reality gone wrong.

Murder,intrigue, action and plot twists make this a book you won’t put down in a hurry.A great read it certainly made me want to search out more of Tony Park’s Africanovels.

The Reading Stack reviewed Shane Bryant with Tony Park’s War Dogs in September 2010.

http://www.tonypark.net/

Whisper

2011-11-16T01:57:00.002+11:00

by Chrissie Keighery

Hardie Grant Egmont. Australian, Young Adult. Paperback rrp $16.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Demi is a normal teenage schoolgirl. She’s attractive, friendly and is struggling with schoolwork and family issues. But Demi’s circumstances have changed in the past two years and her and her friends and family have had to make a lot of adjustments. A lot of adjustments because of Demi.

At fourteen-and-a-half Demi contracts meningitis and ends up near death. She survives but she loses one sense. Her sense of sound. Her whole life has evolved around her hearing and talking and now everything is silent … totally silent.

After struggling for two years, Demi feels that no-one really understands her anymore and she ends up attending a school for the deaf. After one day Demi feels like she belongs. Everyone is open when they talk and they all know how she feels. And so Demi’s life starts to take an upward turn. Her grades are getting better, she has new friends and she also has the admiration of a hot looking guy from the hearing school next door. What could be worse?

Whisper is a wonderful tale that could be telling a story about racism and misunderstanding. Deaf people versus hearies. Speaking versus signing. Laughing with or laughing at. Couldn’t put it down!

The Reading Stack reviewed Chrissie Keighery’s outside IN in September 2009.

The Sky Dreamer

2011-11-15T00:07:00.001+11:00

by Anne Morgan, illustrated by Celine Eimann

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

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

Liam is struggling to come to terms with the death of his sister, Cassie. On the day before his birthday, late at night, he sees Cassie sailing a boat through the sky, ‘The Sky Dreamer’. While Cassie sews a birthday present, Liam must learn to sail the sky by himself – a touching metaphor for facing life without her.

When Cassie leaves, and Liam wakes in bed, he has his special birthday gift to help him feel warm and safe.

The Sky Dreamer is a story written to help children cope with grief.

Dr Anne Morgan writes heartfelt words from her own experience and Celine Eimann’s soft pastel images add a sense of comfort.

http://www.annemorgan.com.au/
http://www.celineeimann.com/

Ruby Blues

2011-11-14T11:50:00.001+11:00

by Jessica Rudd

The Text Publishing Company. Australian, Adult Fiction. Paperback RRP $29.95

Ruby Stanhope is political advisor to the Australian Prime Minister, whom she helped get elected two years before. Ruby fell into the position whilst holidaying from England, knowing nothing about the Australian political system. She was perfect for the job. Efficient, effective and with an eye for detail.

But now Ruby’s life is falling apart. The never-ending fights with her partner, Luke, who got her her job in the first place, have escalated to the point where she never seems to have time for him, only for her job. Her long-distance sister, her gay aunt and pregnant partner are all trying to pin her down for her birthday. Then there is her new assistant who is over enthusiastic, super-capable and way too perky for Ruby’s frame of mind. Ruby is turning 30. A disaster slowly building up from the inside and waiting to explode.

With Ruby’s hectic schedule everything that could go wrong does and with the Prime Minister facing a losing battle with published leaks and bad press, Ruby’s job gets harder and harder.

With the complications of past male friend, present boyfriend and cute, single vet being served up on her platter, it’s a wonder Ruby has time to sleep. But Bettina, her new assistant, helps her in that department … accidentally.

Ruby Blues is a funny but could be a very real story of a woman who has it all except for the hidden obstacles that seem to ensure she doesn’t keep it. Ruby Blues is the sequel to Campaign Ruby, both of which I loved and would recommend to read separately or together.

The Reading Stack reviewed Campaign Ruby in January 2011.

The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship

2011-11-01T09:53:00.001+11:00

by Lisa Verge Higgins

Allen and Unwin. Adult Other. Paperback RRP $27.99

Reviewer - Barbara Brown

Four girls, friends since high school. All now comfortable in their own worlds. They meet up when they can. But then Rachel Braun dies. The daredevil of the group, her death is a surprise but not completely unexpected. After all, she did spend her life travelling the world for the next thrill – jumping out of planes, off mountains and buildings.

The three that are left behind each receive a letter from the grave asking them each to do one small favour. The stay-at-home busy housewife/mum Kate is asked to jump out of a plane. Easier said than done, since Kate has a fear of heights. But when Kate lands on terra firma in front of the two remaining friends her life takes a big jump as well.

Sarah is an international relief worker/nurse living in a backwater town in Africa helping the locals survive against disease, bandits, starvation and the government. Her task seems simple and something she has longed to do. She is requested to search the world for her one true love. With the help of her friends, Sarah confronts the past which will allow her to continue with the future.

Jo, the advertising mogul, once voted ‘least likely to breed’, is given a request that she is positive has been a mistake. Not only is it wrong but how could Jo, the girl who grew up in foster homes and was never really loved by anyone, care for and rear Rachel’s seven-year-old daughter?

Rachel, it seems, really didn’t know what she was thinking when she wrote these three friends’ their letters… or could Rachel see past what Kate, Sarah and Jo are too blind to acknowledge?

The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship has been put on the top of one of my favourite stories to read. A wonderful story that I did not want to end.

http://www.lisavergehiggins.com/

Gamers’ Challenge

2011-10-21T14:01:00.000+11:00

by George Ivanoff

Ford Street Publishing. Australian, Junior, Young Adult, Science Fantasy. Paperback RRP $16.95

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

It all started when they broke the Designers’ Rules. They kissed. Then everything changed. Now Tark and Zyra are no longer part of the game. Zyra is now susceptible to every human hurt and habit. Tark is ‘unheard and unseen’ but he feels free from the dependency of Designers’ Paradise where they had lived unchanged and ageless, each one programmed with specified speech patterns.

But a different game starts when Zyra and Tark come into contact with Tee, an Outer, which they too have now become, who has left the game and lives in a community of similar minds. The two are faced with another challenge; another quest. They discover that they have been character constructions, players trapped in a never-ending game that exist in a world of technology that recreates them over and over.

The Outers are being chased by a ball of static known as VI –Viral Interface, comprised of pieces of computer Interface that have escaped into the environment and become lethal. The worst is that the VI becomes larger and more powerful with every kill. It also multiplies as it grows, splitting into additional killers with increasing power and momentum.

The Outers discover the existence of an Ultimate Gamer, with an ultimate exit code that can remove him from the game environment and into the real world. Thus begins the quest to find him and uncover the cheat code. But they are unprepared for what this means. One revelation leads to another inside a labyrinth of options connected with the countless deceptive personas of the Ultimate Gamer. Will Tark and Zyra be able to discern what reality is as they play one last game?

With zombies, knights and dragons, bloody battles, chaos and catastrophe, and magik portals, the reader will view computers, viruses, corrupted files and anti-virus programs with new eyes. Here they become metaphors for danger and destruction in a world where conformity is the ultimate game.

This is the sequel to the charged, Gamers’ Quest. The Reading Stack interviewed George Ivanoff in March 2010.

http://www.gamersquestbook.com/

http://www.georgeivanoff.com.au/

Virals

2011-10-18T14:12:00.002+11:00

by Kathy Reichs

Random House. Young Adult, Mystery. Paperback RRP $29.95

Guest reviewer – Ian Brown

Virals is the story of Tory Brennan who, after the sudden death of her mother, goes to live with her marine biologist father whom she has never met, on a remote island in South Carolina.

Tory hangs out with a group of other teenagers who also live on the island. Together they explore the nearby Loggerhead Island and discover there is something strange going on at the Research Institute.

The group rescue a dog from the top secret laboratory and are exposed to a rare virus. This virus gives them the senses and reflexes of a canine. Now they have to solve a murder if they can stay alive long enough.

This is a great read for teenagers who like a lot of action - mysterious men with guns, an old murder, breaking into the labs, having your DNA changed. There’s many plots and twists to keep the reader involved.

http://kathyreichs.com/
http://viralstheseries.com/

The Key to Starveldt

2011-10-15T10:33:00.001+11:00

The Rare: Book Two

by Foz Meadows

Ford Street Publishing. Australian, Fantasy, Young Adult. Paperback RRP $19.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Solace Morgan and her group of friends each have unusual gifts – the Rare.

A prophecy was left to Solace from her parents – the parents she never knew – and now she and her friends, Evan, Manx, Electra, Jess, Laine, Paige and Harper have to unravel the cryptic clues it contains about each of them.

“The Rookery lives at the Sign of the Singing Hawk. My daughter, if you read this, seek Liluye there. She can be trusted. Mayhap she knows more of the prophecy. At the very least, she can guide you – not only to Sanguisidera, but in yourself. Homewards.”

They leave the confines of their safety house somewhere in Sydney and enter a different realm, the Rookery, where everything is so different it is hard to imagine anything normal again. But the Rookery is safe for Solace and the Key to Starveldt, the one thing that Grief, Solace’s evil brother and Lord of the Bloodkin, wants.

Solace has problems with her friends and relationships within the group - add danger, lies, secrets and death into the mix and the eight friends start questioning each other and their gifts. Has Grief infiltrated the group without having to step into the Rookery? Can the eight find the Castle of Starveldt before Grief does?

I loved Solace and Grief and waited impatiently for The Key to Starveldt. Now I have to wait again … for the third book Falling into Midnight.

The Reading Stack reviewed Solace and Grief - The Rare: Book One in March 2010.

http://fozmeadows.wordpress.com/

Kangaroo and Crocodile

2011-10-14T13:23:00.000+11:00

My Big Book of Australian Animals

by Bronwyn Bancroft

Hardie Grant Egmont (Little Hare Books). Australian, Picture. Hardcover RRP $24.95

Reviewer - Sandy Fussell

I’ll confess it up front. I collect Bronwyn Bancroft’s beautiful picture books. I often give them as gifts. They are a wonderful way to introduce young children to indigenous art.

The bright coloured pages are filled with Australian birds, animals and insects. My favourite colour is purple, and I was immediately drawn to the purple pages – the purple and blue of the bottlenose dolphin, great white shark and the purple and blue of the gecko and frog.

The pictures will lead to lots of questions and parents will be pleased to find the answers in the fact pages at the back of the book.

http://www.bronwynbancroft.com/

How it Feels

2011-10-13T17:46:00.000+11:00

by Brendan Cowell

Picador. Australian, Adult fiction. Paperback, RRP $22.99

The artist, the businessman, the bouncer and the girl. Three best mates and a girl friend growing up in the Sutherland Shire, all finishing their final year of school together – out for the last hurrah. Over the course of their last night as high schoolers an action soon becomes a chain reaction and nothing will ever be the same again…

Over a decade later, at the wedding of two of the friends drugs, debauchery, alcohol, sex, lies, deceit come to a head with powerful consequences.

Neil, Gordon, Stuart and Courtney – four friends, four tortured souls. One becomes famous, two find each other and another dies. What happened to this friendship and the twisted existences of these main players?

How it Feels is a book that is powerful, graphic, interesting and modern. It is very dark, disturbing and confronting with a touch of comedy. I can’t say I liked it but then I couldn’t put it down. I won’t stop talking about it either.

Samuel’s Kisses

2011-09-20T05:51:00.004+10:00

by Karen Collum, illustrated by Serena Geddes

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

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Here is a beautiful book to give to a child, a parent, a grandparent or anyone who needs a kiss!

Samuel loves going shopping with his mother and on this particular day Samuel encounters lots of people – in the post office, the supermarket, the bank. When Samuel smiles at the people that are cranky, tired, impatient or have things on their mind, these people don’t smile back.

Samuel’s solution to help these people – as only a toddler can – is to send them a kiss. What happens next is a wonderful thing.

The simple art of sending a kiss can brighten up anyone’s day. In Samuel’s Kisses Collum and Geddes bring this feeling to us all through the wonderful words and simple but beautiful illustrations. Geddes has captured the expressions on each and every face perfectly. It has brightened my day.

http://www.karencollum.com.au/
http://www.reeni.com.au/

SmartyCat Series

2011-09-18T04:49:00.002+10:00

Thunder

by Louise Park, illustrated by Jeannette Rowe

ABC Books. Australian, Picture, Learning. Paperback RRP $5.99

Here is a great series for children that will help answer some of the most simplest but difficult to answer questions.

In Thunder, SmartyCat asks Who and How, two brave little owls, the question “What is thunder?”. The two owls then explain how thunder is created and what it is. Young children need never be scared of it again.

With Rowe’s bright coloured flat illustrations and Park’s simple wording it is great to know that a child will easily retain the explanation and the answer and understand it as well. With a joke and an activity at the end of each book, a child can further reiterate what they have learnt. The reader will not even realise they are learning.

With 12 books so far in the series including Rain, Shadows, and Frog I think they would be a wonderful addition to any child’s library and great as an information source for primary schools.

The Reading Stack reviewed Jeannette Rowe’s Whose Dinner? in April 2009.

http://www.jeannetterowe.com.au/smartycat_b.html
http://www.smartycatbooks.com/

Diva Series

2011-09-16T04:41:00.002+10:00

Girls Stuff/Girls at Sea

by Sue Lawson

black dog books. Australian, Children’s. Paperback RRP $7.99

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Girls Stuff and Girls at Sea are the fifth and sixth books in the Diva Series originally printed in 2007 and rereleased this year with new eye catching, silver foil jackets.

The Diva Series follows the adventures of teenager Micky Farrell as she pursues her dream to become a singing star. Each book is a complete story on its own and can be enjoyed independent of reading the complete series.

Within the first few paragraphs of Girls Stuff, the reader learns Mickey was previously in the finals of the Diva singing competition and now is embarking on a new job working as the co-host of a television show called “Girls Stuff TV”.

In Girls at Sea Mickey completes her first real assignment for Girls Stuff TV. Mickey and her co-hosts go to the ocean to whale watch and interview people and along the way she learns about keeping secrets and looking out for your friends.

Both books contain unexpected twists and turns to keep the reader intrigued. There are simple, unpatronising life messages for young girls about friendships and trust. At the end of each book is a quick quiz which is fun. You can find out if you are a good friend or a worry wart.

Diva books are a particularly suited to girls aged 8 to 12 years.

The Reading Stack has reviewed Sue Lawson’s Finding Darcy in Issue 9, August 2008, After in September 2009 and Dare You in October 2010.

http://www.suelawson.com.au/

Australian Children’s Classics Series

2011-09-14T02:38:00.006+10:00

Mulga Bill’s Bicycle

by AB Paterson. Illustrated by Kilmeny and Deborah Niland

Harper Collins. Australian, Picture, Poetry, History. Paperback RRP $14.99

Now I will confess to never before reading Banjo Paterson’s Mulga Bill’s Bicycle and to finding the poem funny and entertaining. Kilmeny and Deborah Niland’s illustrations made it all the more hilarious. They have captured the antics of Mulga Bill perfectly and the expressions on the faces of the animals and Mulga Bill’swill keep the children turning the pages and giggling throughout.

A wonderful poem that has been turned into a book that children will want to read again and again.

http://www.kilmenyniland.com/
http://www.deborah-niland.com.au/

Click Go The Shears

Illustrated by Robert Ingpen

Harper Collins. Australian, Picture, History. Paperback RRP $14.99

Click Go The Shears is an outback classic and a lot of adults today would know a verse or two, however some children may not know it at all. An important piece of rural Australian history is in this wonderful traditional song of the Australian shearer.

Robert Ingpen has created beautiful illustrations that bring to life the Australian outback in the early 1900’s and compliment the words that lie beneath the story.

A graphic way to introduce children back to the Australian historical culture of the not so distant past.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ingpen

Advance Australia Fair

by Peter Dodds McCormick - Illustrated by various Australian artists

Harper Collins. Australian, Picture, History. Paperback RRP $14.99

Originally penned for £100, in 1984 Advance Australia Fair became Australia’s national anthem, 77 years later selected based on a nationwide opinion poll.

This beautiful book is a look at Australia through the words of Dodds McCormick and paintings by Australian artists of the past century from such as Tom Roberts, Margaret Preston, Albert Namatijra and Arthur Boyd.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

2011-09-12T02:16:00.002+10:00

by Tom Skinner, illustrated by Annie White, Audio CD read by Antonia Kidman

New Frontier Publishing. Australian, Children. Hardback with CD RRP $27.95

Music Box Series is an excellent way to introduce young children to classical music and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is the third book of this series.

Rizwan is a young apprentice at the Wizard Car and Camel Wash. Rizwan is like most children – looking for an easier way out, and when he starts to cast his own magic on the mayor’s camels and long car, you just know it isn’t going to

end well for him.

The story is a funny tale that has some lessons gently embedded in it. The narration will help young readers follow the words with Paul Abraham Dukas’ music playing in the background – perfect for car travel. The tension rises as the magic and Rizwan’s mistakes reach a crescendo. The illustrations by Annie White tie the story together into a wonderful package. Readers and listeners will want to repeat the experience. Fantastic!

The Reading Stack reviewed Flight of the Bumblebee in March 2009 and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in August 2009.

Bobo, My Superdog

2011-09-10T01:45:00.004+10:00

by Michael Salmon

Ford Street Publishing. Australian, Picture, Children. Hardback RRP $19.95

Bobo is a typical dog. He burys his bones in the garden, has his own doggy kennel in the backyard and barks at the possums at night but Bobo has a secret and only his young human owner knows it. Bobo is Super-Bo, a dog with super powers that spends his days fighting to save princesses from dragons, explorers from ferocious snakes and the city from a slimy monster.

Bobo and his owner have to keep his secret hidden from the boy’s parents and everyone else so Super-Bo wears a mask and an old striped beach towel for a cape. When the parents think Bobo is sleeping all day in his kennel, he is being a super dog.

When the mayor wants to reward this super dog with a medal, how will Bobo ever hide his secret?

A funny story of one super dog and his master with wonderfully detailed illustrations.

http://www.michaelsalmon.com.au/

Barry

2011-09-08T01:36:00.004+10:00

by Colin Thompson

Random House. Australian, Picture Book. Hardcover RRP $24.95

In 1952 Barry came to Earth to save the world. But Barry fell down the back of a sofa and his creators couldn’t get him out again. So he stays in the back of the sofa, controlling the world with his brain back on his home planet, far away.

Barry receives messages to create floods or bring butterflies to the South Pole. He doesn’t question his commands, he just does them.

One day, Barry is discovered and he sees what he has done to the world. Barry realises his mistakes and starts to fix things. Is it too late?

A very entertaining book which will inspire discussion of many environmental issues that are relevant to today’s world. With Thompson’s quirky and fun illustrations this is a great book to have to read and look at.

The Reading Stack has reviewed Colin Thompson’s Free to a Good Home in July 2009 and Fearless in February 2010.

http://www.colinthompson.com/

thyla

2011-09-06T03:42:00.000+10:00

by Kate Gordon

Random House. Australian, Supernatural, Mystery, Young Adult. Paperback RRP $17.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Tessa has no memory. She remembers her first name but that is all. She was found in the woods near Hobart, naked, alone, with strange horrible scars across her back and no memory.

Policewoman, Connolly, helps Tessa to adjust and enrols her into an elite boarding school where Connolly’s daughter, Cat, once attended … until she went missing.

Are Cat and Tessa connected somehow? There is more to the two girls than just Connolly, their age and the school. The mountains behind Hobart have many hidden secrets and Tessa starts to learn more as she tries to remember her past. Her dreams show Tessa glimpses of a past that doesn’t seem to be from the present but over a hundred years ago.

When Tessa’s roommate finds a book with a photograph of Tessa, her world starts to make less sense than ever before. And when it couldn’t get any worse, her scars start to cause incredible problems.

thyla is a book that will appeal to readers who are over the vampires and werewolves but still like that supernatural genre. vulpi is the awaited sequel which will be out soon. I can’t wait.

http://www.kategordon.com.au/

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove

2011-09-04T03:32:00.002+10:00

by Lauren Kate

Random House. Young Adult. Paperback RRP $24.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Natalie Hargrove has fought her way to the top of the high school social ladder and there isn’t anything she won’t do to ensure she stays there.

Natalie has everything now, the most influential, gorgeous boyfriend who will be Prom King to her Prom Queen; the beauty and looks that others try to emulate; and a past that has quietly been hidden from everyone.

But before Natalie and Mike are crowned as the Palmetto Prince and Princess there are a few things to be fixed. Like J.B. Mike’s friend and Natalie’s forgotten past.

Natalie and Mike play a little prank on J.B., but then things turn out horribly wrong. What’s a girl got to do to keep her reputation clean? Obviously go back to her feral past and get the assistance she needs.

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove was Lauren Kate’s first novel before her best-selling books, Fallen, Torment and Passion. I didn’t find it had the same pull as her later books however the ending was one of the biggest shocks I’ve read for a while. There is something about a not-so-happily-ever-after ending that I like and Lauren Kate has done it well. Great story just for the ending.

The Reading Stack reviewed Fallen, Torment and Passion in February 2010, February 2011 and June 2011 respectively.

http://www.fallenbooks.com/

Star League

2011-09-02T01:02:00.004+10:00

by H J Harper

Random House Australia. Australian, Junior. Paperback RRP $9.95

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

Star League is a new, easy-to-read, series of books best suited to independent readers aged 7-10 years or reluctant upper primary readers.

The Star League consists of a movie star, werewolf, ninja, robot, zombie and animancer. Together they fight crime and solve problems. Each book is a Secret File based on one of the characters.

In Secret File 1: Lights, Camera, Action hero, movie star Jake must lead the Star League to rescue his friend Jefferson. In Secret File 2: Curse of the Werewolf, Connor Lowe (the werewolf member of the team) is having trouble when the criminal appears to be a werewolf. In Secret File 3: Raising the Dead, zombie Roger Romero’s magic potion is stolen. Without his Loosification Juice he falls apart! In Secret File 4: The Ninja Code, Asuka discovers a ninja threat to the Star League.

These books successfully target their audience with a mix of humour, worry, action and mystery. They are sure to prove popular with Zac Power and Space Scout fans.

http://hjharper.blogspot.com/

Riley and the Grumpy Wombat

2011-08-31T01:44:00.000+10:00

A journey around Melbourne

by Tania McCartney, illustrations by Kieron Pratt

Ford Street Publishing. Australian, Picture. Paperback, RRP $22.95

Guest Reviewer - Vicki Stanton (http://www.buzzwordsmagazine.com/)

The intrepid Riley is off in his red bi-plane for his fourth adventure. This time he flies to my hometown of Melbourne and encounters a grumpy wombat. Riley wants to discover the reason for her grumpiness and help her but first needs to find her again.

McCartney’s concept of searching for the grumbly wombat is perfect for showcasing the sights of Melbourne and further afield in regional Victoria. Just a few of the many attractions included are: Bourke Street Mall, Flinders Street Station, St Kilda Beach, the Dandenong Ranges, Sovereign Hill and the Great Ocean Road.

The format follows the previous Riley books with black-and-white photographs, some of which were contributed by McCartney, overlaid by Pratt’s bright and cheeky illustrations. Numerous gadgets are at Riley’s disposal, something that kids will love (and wish for).

I loved the inclusion of Riley’s friends from his previous adventures. They hang from the plane’s wings and operate contraptions in a bid to find the wombat. An underlying thread of friendship and concern is evident.

Riley and the Grumpy Wombat is a great introduction to Melbourne for those that don’t know her and for those of us that do it might just make you yearn for a visit. It did me!

The fifth Riley adventure, Riley and the Jumpy Kangaroo: A journey around Canberra is due out in 2012. You can also read a review of the third Riley adventure Riley and the curious koala at Buzz Words Books.

http://www.taniamccartney.com/
http://www.poppybooks.com.au/aboutillustrator.html

Hazard River Series

2011-08-29T10:39:00.002+10:00

Toad’s Revenge/Blood Money

by J E Fison

Ford Street Publishing. Australian, Junior. Paperback RRP $12.95

There’s always something happening at Hazard River and the two most recent titles in the series are no exception.

In Blood Money Jack and his brother Ben ‘the Stinkfinder’ discover a bag of money. Together with their friends Mimi and Lachlan ‘Master of Disaster’ they find not only the owner but a trail of endangered animal smuggling.

In Toad’s Revenge the friends embark on a time machine adventure to a future where cane toads have involved into even more vicious predators, threatening human existence.

The series is easy-to-read and action-packed, best suited to boys 7-10 years. There is an element of predictability which will appeal to newly independent readers and reluctant readers, while the action will keep them turning the pages.

Readers of Justin D’Arth’s Extreme Adventures series and Alison Reynolds Ranger in Danger series will equally enjoy the Hazard River series.

The Reading Stack reviewed J E Fison's Snake Surprise in December 2010

http://www.hazardriver.com/

The Language of Flowers

2011-08-14T09:36:00.004+10:00

by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Random House. History, Adult Other. Paperback RRP $32.99

Guest Reviewer - Di Bates

The language of flowers, sometimes called floriography, was a Victorian-era means of communication in which various flowers and floral arrangements were used to send coded messages, allowing individuals to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken. This is the crux upon which this unusual book is premised.

Victoria Jones has spent her childhood in foster care with a caseworker, Meredith, who cares less about her charge. Victoria’s first person account begins, when, at the age of eighteen, she is emancipated from her San Franciscan group home and enters the world without any relatives, friends or even a home. For a decade she has spent every spare moment memorising the meanings and scientific descriptions of individual flowers and collecting books such as the Dictionary of Flowers. She knows, for example, that a marigold represents grief, that basil means hate and that dahlias stand for dignity. This knowledge is to stand her in good stead when Meredith leaves to fend for herself with a twenty-dollar bill and a note that reads, ‘Buy food and find a job.’

After a period of homelessness, Victoria begins casual work with a florist, Renata, who, realising the teenager’s skill with flowers, increases her hours and responsibilities, and gives her a sense of belonging. Victoria finds it difficult to relate to people except through plants, so that when a mysterious man at the markets where Victoria buys flowers starts a tentative relationship, Victoria begins to realise that perhaps she can find happiness in relationships. Her career flourishes and she finishes up becoming a sought after wedding floral designer.

This is an easy-to-read book and enjoyable for anyone who relates to flowers and how important they can be in one’s life. I found it odd that a person like Victoria would only relate to others through the medium of flowers. However, I allowed myself to go on the journey with the protagonist as she develops self-esteem and confidence in her dealings with others and moves from homelessness into shared accommodations.

This quirky novel, which has at its heart the story of mother-daughter relationships, abounds with interesting characters. It moves between past and present, building up a picture of Victoria to explain why she is sometimes remote, difficult and asocial. A first novel, the book has already sold into 25 countries, so obviously the publishers have great expectations of it.

http://www.vanessadiffenbaugh.com/

Silvermay

2011-08-12T09:28:00.005+10:00

by James Moloney

Harper Collins. Young Adult, Australian. Paperback RRP $24.99

Silvermay tells the story of Silvermay Hawker and her journey to the mines of Nantoch with Tamlyn, Nerigold and baby Lucien. They are fleeing from those who would harm Lucien, hoping the recently discovered murals of Nantoch will provide an answer to help them escape. But the prophecy of the murals holds an even greater threat.

Set in a fantasy world with strong olde England overtones, the characters are both familiar and unique. Silvermay and Nerigold are common fold, humans who live in the villages. Tamlyn is Wyrden, a physically powerful creature who can wield magic. The Wyrden have no emotion, their only enjoyment comes from what they can take from others. They are heartless and cruel but their inability to get along prevents them from working together. Individually they serve wealthy humnas, including the King.

Silvermay must also take a more personal journey. Can she trust Tamlyn? No Wyrden has ever been able, or wanted to, reject his nature before. Are his smiles and tears real or is she blinded by her increasing feelings for him.

Action, adventure and a little romance – upper primary, young adult and older readers will enjoy this first book in the Silvermay trilogy.

http://www.jamesmoloney.com.au/

Dark Matter

2011-08-10T09:21:00.003+10:00

by Michelle Paver

Hachette (Orion). Adult, Horror. Paperback RRP $26.99

Reviewer - Sandy Fussell

Subtitled A Ghost Story, Michelle Paver’s Dark Matter is equally an exploration of isolation and what happens to a man segregated from society.

When Jack is offered the opportunity to join an Artic expedition to Gruhuken, he embraces the opportunity for change and new experiences. His companions are wealthy, educated and well prepared. But circumstances conspire and one by one they are forced to leave the Artic.

Jack decides to continue on alone, taking the scientific measurements and looking after the huskies. But is he alone? When the sun disappears for the polar night, Jack learns to fear.

This is a story for those who like Artic tales, and ghost stories. But you might not want to sit up alone and late at night in bed to read it.

http://www.michellepaver.com/

Pillars of the Earth

2011-08-09T09:11:00.002+10:00

by Ken Follett

Pan Macmillan. Adult Historical Fiction. Paperback RRP $24.95

This is a work of enormous scope. Set in medieval 12th century England, it revolves around the fictional Knightsbridge Cathedral. Even more than the absorbing details of cathedral building history, are the lives of the people who live, work and wield power there.

Three strong story threads build not only the cathedral of stone and coloured light but also a vivid and intimate tale that stretches across lives in different social strata. This is a time where great privilege and power is in the hands of a few, the kingship is in constant turmoil and the villages suffer through it all.

The Master Builder Tom and his blended family offer an insight not only into village family life but also an exploration of a man confronted with a difficult decision. He loves his family but there are times when it seems he loves the cathedral even more.

Prior Philip is a good man who is sometimes blinded by the laws and rites of the Church. He is an excellent organiser and planner and his work often brings him into conflict with the ambitious elements of the Church. The building of the Cathedral, the successes and failures, map his own progress against a backdrop of the historical power struggle between State and Church.

Lady Aliena’s life of luxury is brutally overturned by the political climate. Her struggle to re-establish a place in society and restore her brother to his inheritance is constantly thwarted by William Hamleigh. William’s violent cruelty is protected by his position as the son of an earl, his usefulness to the scheming Bishop Waleran and his service to the king.

It’s a complex story. A medieval tapestry weave. A must read.

http://www.ken-follett.com/

those who come after

2011-08-08T20:55:00.001+10:00

by Elisabeth Holdsworth

Picador. Australian, history. Hardcover RRP $29.99

Juliana Stolburg is an Australian woman who has travelled the world as an intelligence specialist for NATO. She has now come to the end of her amazing career and looks forward to what will follow. Juliana’s life has been eventful and drawing from her colourful family background, past and present, she relates to the audience how she has arrived at where she is now.

From Middelburg in the Netherlands to a farm outside of Goulburn, the life of this diplomat has come to a fork in middle age. Juliana is looking at living with her husband, Oscar, on his mother’s farm in Goulburn – that is until Oscar meets Frederick. Her last living relative, Lady Katrien, has died and Juliana is left the surviving family jewels and a small castle, Buitenrust, surrounded by German bunkers in Middelburg. She must travel back to her ancestral home to sort out the paperwork and decide what is to be. Oscar and Frederick decide to tag along.

Juliana is the narrator of her story and we meet her titled famous family and travel along with them on their journey through two wars, floods and droughts - her Jewish mother who is tortured in Dachau and survives to live a strange existence; her eccentric father who loves his daughter and wife but also his motorbike and his job. When Juliana’s father’s parents die he decides the best course of action is to take his precious family to Australia, a warmer place, a place where they can mend their bodies and minds.

those who come after is slow to start but soon you are caught up in this marvellous mismatched group of characters and the surprises keep happening. There is no hero or heroine. There is no suspense. Instead there is one wonderful woman’s story.

http://eholdsworth.com/

Spaced Out/Camp Croc

2011-07-12T09:37:00.000+10:00

Lightning Strikes Series

Walker Books. Australian, Middle Reader delights. Paperback RRP $12.95

Guest reviewer Jo Burnell

It’s often really hard to find spell-binding stories for middle readers, but Walker books nail it with their Lightning Strikes Series. Of their most recent releases, Spaced Out and Camp Croc are my favorites. How can you choose between the two? Don’t. Enjoy them both.

Spaced Out

by Moya Simons

Jessie lives hundreds of years in the future, but he’s no different to any 12 year old I know. Impulsive decisions get him into trouble regularly. However, instead of getting detention or being grounded, he travels clear across the Universe to Centuria, the Shopping Capital of the Universe. All he has to do while there to keep out of trouble is stay inside the city borders. How hard could that be?

Jessie isn’t very good at forward planning or self control so the situations he encounters stretch him to the limit. It all starts when he buys a life-like robot boy, only to watch it walk ‘home’ to the dodgy salesman.

Things get complicated when robot boy wants to find his own kind. Rumour has it they all live in the Farlands. You guessed it. The Farlands are outside the city walls. Will Jessie break the rules again? There’s only one way to find out. Get ready for a fast-paced story with intrigue and unexpected twists. Perfect for anyone who wonders what the world might be like in a few hundred years.

The Reading Stack has reviewed Simons’ Let Me Whisper You My Story, Walk Right In Detective Agency Series and Hello God.

http://www.moyasimons.com/

Camp Croc

by Trudy Trewin

This is it: the camp that the whole class has been waiting for. Set in tropical outback Queensland, the boys can’t resist exploring just a little bit further than the actual camp boundary. A rope dangling over a trickling creek is too tempting to pass up.

However, life is never that simple and one thing leads to another. A close encounter with a giant crocodile is just a blip in the boys’ series of heart thumping exploits.

An extra bonus in Camp Croc is Dak’s Fact boxes with a difference. Dak’s words of wisdom are not quite like any I have come across before. They make even the most serious reader crack a grin. For example, ‘teachers with names like Longbottom should just suck it up. I mean, do they really think kids can let a name like that go un-messed with?’

High action and debacles combine with Dak’s fact boxes to make a surprisingly quick read. I wondered where all the pages disappeared to.

http://trudietrewin.com/

Fall Girl

2011-07-03T06:33:00.001+10:00

by Toni Jordan

The Text Publishing Company. Australian, Crime. Paperback RRP $32.95

Reviewer – Barbara Brown

Here is a wonderful book that challenges classification. It has a bit of crime, a hint of mystery, a touch of romance and a smidgen of passion – and it is a very clever story.

Dr Ella Canfield is not yet in her 30’s and seeking funding for a very unorthodox research project – in search of the last Tasmanian Tiger, but not in Tasmania, around Wilson’s Promontory in Victoria.

Daniel Metcalf is the young, attractive, distracted wealthy benefactor who Ella is seeking funding from.

But both are not what they seem. One of them is posing as someone else – or is it both? One is wealthy – or is it both? One is a professional scammer – or is it both?

A brilliant story with some fantastic twists. Once you read Fall Girl you won’t believe anyone ever again!

http://www.tonijordan.com/

Vinnie’s War

2011-07-01T00:35:00.002+10:00

by David McRobbie

Allen and Unwin. Australian, Children’s Fiction. Paperback RRP $15.99

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

Hitler’s first air raid hits London just as children are being sent away to the country as public evacuees. Vinnie is amongst them. Or

phaned at 11 years old, he was allocated by welfare to a sterile and emotionless home environment. Vinnie secretly worked at the local pub. Befriended by the pub owners and Isaac, a Jewish refugee, he got a taste of the laughter and warmth that had been missing from his life. He learnt about music and it became an integral part of his life. But those temporary joys ended with his evacuation.

Vinnie, siblings Kathleen and Joey, and Dobbs, all travel, arrive and stay close at Netterfold where they are billeted out to families. Vinnie goes to the ageing but aristocratic Miss Armstrong who initially remains unseen. But he is content to be enveloped in the kindness and caring of the housekeeper.
Vinnie is always warring with someone or something in his search for a place to belong. In Netterfold he finds himself in a more confronting war than the one he’d escaped. This war is declared by the town’s children who see the evacuees as usurpers to their established way of life. They bully and ridicule the newcomers who also have to cope with separation from family, home, and everything dear and familiar.

Rationing becomes everyone’s way of life. Others find rorting the system and using children to their advantage, another alternative to surviving the austere measures enforced by the war effort. But Vinnie’s life is transformed when Miss Armstrong turns out to be more than he had dared hope. As the war ends, he realises that he is not who he was, that he has found his place in the world.

The ‘Afterward’ allows the reader into the writer’s life as a child during the war years. These experiences were the starting block for this book; a book about displacement and separation, about war and its casualties which were more than the wounded. It is a book about strength and courage; about compromise and community.

Mole Hunt

2011-06-29T00:22:00.002+10:00

The Maximus Black Files: Book 1

by Paul Collins

Ford St Publishing. Australian, Science Fiction, Young Adult. Paperback RRP $19.95

Guest Reviewer - Di Bates

Mole Hunt is the first book in a science fiction series set in the future and in a universe far beyond earth, a place with floating cities where people can regenerate and mankind is out of control, killing and maiming at will. The protagonist – and anti-hero -- is teenager Maximus Black, who works for galactic law enforcement agency, RIM. He is a tightly-drawn, unlikeable psychopath trained to kill – and he does: he also commissions others to do his terrible bidding. Orphaned at the age of six when his parents are murdered, Black is so enraged by their deaths that he seeks to exact revenge: he plans to amass an enormous cache of Old Empire weapons as his way of controlling the galaxy. Black is extremely clever, able to cover his devious tracks as he progresses towards his goals.

There are two narrative points of view in the novel, that of Black and Anneke Longshadow, both of whom are orphans, pitted against one another. Black, a mole who has infiltrated the RIM operation, has no conscience, whereas Longshadow has. Early in the book she sets out to unearth the mole, her quest made more urgent when her adoptive father, her uncle Viktus is murdered. Conflict occurs when, in a world full of spies and secret agents, the Black and Longshadow again and again work out ways to dominate one another.

This fast-paced and bloody tale, tightly-plotted and exciting, is marketed as a young adult novel, but it is really cross-over, also ideal for adult reading. Highly recommended.

The Reading Stack reviewed Paul Collin's picture book The Glasshouse in October 2010.

http://www.paulcollins.com.au/

Last Chance Café

2011-06-26T02:04:00.002+10:00

by Liz Byrski

Pan Macmillan. Australian, Adult Fiction. Paperback RRP $32.99

Reviewer - Barbara Brown

I was looking forward to opening Last Chance Café and getting lost again in the wonderful writings of Liz Byrski - and I was not disappointed. This time around I have also recommended it to my husband to read as it is a wonderful story of relationships and secrets.

Margot is on the verge of turning 70 when she realises she has never accomplished what she set out to achieve in her twenties. Is it too late for an older woman to reinvent herself and follow a passion long ago lost?

Dot was Margot’s best friend but had disappeared on one of her many adventurous journ

eys. An accomplished journalist and activist, she returns to the local Melbourne suburb in spectacular fashion. Can a secret that she has kept hidden from her best friend since the 60’s be kept locked up or will it help heal Dot and her tortured life to bring it out into the open?

Phyllida is Margot’s completely opposite sister. She has been married for 50 years and on the night of their anniversary, Donald, her husband, is rushed to hospital with an aneurism. The one constant thing in Phyllida’s life has changed. Can a woman who has never looked at anything other than what is face value start to read between the lines and see all the deceits and lies that may have been there?

These three women may be the crux of this story but there are many minor players who are just as important and strong in Last Chance Café - Margot’s two daughters and ex-husband, the old Polish woman and her nephew, and the young activist neighbour of Dot’s. A wonderful story with a historical background of Australia’s awakening to the 60’s.

The Reading Stack reviewed Liz Byrski’s Bad Behaviour in September 2009.

http://www.lizbyrski.com.au/

Stolen Girl

2011-06-24T01:50:00.005+10:00

by Trina Saffioti and illustrated by Norma MacDonald

Magabala Books. Australian, Picture. Paperback RRP $19.95

Guest Reviewer - Jo Burnell

This easy-read picture book lingers in the mind and heart long after the story is told. A young girl, taken from her Aboriginal mother, remembers. Everyone she loves is taken from her. In return, she receives a new name and hand-me-down clothes.

She gets into trouble if she speaks her native tongue and is not supposed to remember the world she was taken from. The sorrow and helplessness of Stolen Children is depicted with heart breaking simplicity.

When an older girl is chosen as a domestic servant to a white family, she is seen as one of the lucky ones. This strengthens the little girl’s determination to believe and remember her old life. She dreams of her mother, her people’s stories and her land. Will she succeed in escaping?

The story ends on a hopeful note, but I couldn’t help wondering about the tens of thousands of Stolen Children who never saw their families again.

While young children will enjoy the simplicity of language and beautiful illustrations, Stolen Girl is for people of all ages. It allows those with no idea about the Stolen Generations to be dipped in the harsh reality this Government Policy created.

Stolen Girl is a Timeless Treasure.

The Goannas of No 1 Martin Place

2011-06-22T01:43:00.001+10:00

Vicki Steggall and illustrations by Danny Snell

ABC Books. Australian, Picture, Children. Hardback RRP $24.99

Moreton and his parents, Go-ma and Go-pa live in the beautiful Sydney Botanic Gardens. Their life is perfect except more and more of those pesky humans are invading their home. So Go-pa goes out searching for the perfect spot – sunny, away from humans and high.

Finally Go-pa comes home one evening with the exciting news of a new home - No 1 Martin Place is the GPO clock tower and at the top is a little glass room. Perfect for a goanna family - quiet, sunny and away from humans.

Soon after Martin is born and life for Moreton becomes even better with a little brother to play with. But they learn that there is someone who doesn’t like the goanna family living on his turf, the Pitt Street Cat.

Moreton befriends some unlikely helpers in the quest to get rid of the mean and nasty Pitt Street Cat so everyone can live a safe and happy life in No 1 Martin Place.

The Goannas of No 1 Martin Place is a story of unusual friendships and life in the big city told from the unusual perspective of a goanna. With the eye-catching illustrations you can enjoy the story even more. The Pitt Street Cat is a mean looking fellow!

A book that children will treasure. When you take them to Sydney the first sightseeing stop will be the GPO clock tower – where they might just catch a glimpse of a little goanna.

http://www.dannysnell.com/flash.html

Death Mask

2011-06-20T01:27:00.006+10:00

by Kathryn Fox

Pan Macmillan. Australian, Crime, Thriller. Paperback RRP $32.99

Guest Reviewer – Ian Brown

This is a powerful book about the culture of American football heroes although it could be set anywhere and based on any sport.

Death Mask starts with a young bride about to marry Brett, her boyfriend and a major football star. Hannah, a virgin, has saved herself for her wedding night but ends up contracting multiple sexually transmitted diseases.

When a woman is raped by five major football players no one believes her despite all the evidence. It causes a major scandal and the media and fans blame her.

Dr Anya Crichton, a forensic and sexual assault expert, is asked to get involved by the team managers. As she investigates further she uncovers a history of violence and abuse that she could not have imagined.

With the help of private investigator Ethan, they attempt to find the truth.

Death Mask is a fast paced thriller that is hard to put down. You never know what is about to happen. Highly recommended.

http://www.kathrynfox.com/

Chic on a Shoestring

2011-06-18T01:38:00.005+10:00

by Mary Jane Baxter

Simon and Schuster. Adult Non-Fiction. Paperback RRP $29.99

Here is a wonderful book that I just had to possess. Money is a bit tight these days and I love to “collect” things and in my world of recycling and reusing, Chic on a Shoestring is perfect.

Have you got some wonderful outfits in the wardrobe that no longer fit or are a bit unfashionable but you don’t want to throw them out? I have and Mary Jane Baxter has shown me how to give my clothes, shoes, bags and hats a new lease on life. Even my broken jewellery can be created into some wonderful new accessories.

Who knew that an old tie could be reused into a cute purse, or the 60’s pom pom – wow what you can do with them! A change of a few buttons and voilà, your dress, cardigan, jeans or jumper have a trendy new lease of life. There is very little sewing and what there is, is explained step by step in the front of the book. So no excuses!

This is great for new ideas - my cheap plain umbrella has been transformed into a striking accessory for trudging through the rain!

http://www.maryjanemillinery.co.uk/

Passion

2011-06-16T01:32:00.003+10:00

by Lauren Kate

Random House. Young Adult, Fantasy. Paperback RRP $24.95

Reviewer - Barbara Brown

This was a highly anticipated third book about Luce and Daniel. However I was a little disappointed as the whole book is about Luce travelling backwards to find out why she has to die every time she kisses Daniel. Daniel is also travelling back in time to try and find Luce and to stop her from getting trapped. The last 13 pages of this 420 page novel are when the two finally get together! And of course it was worth it but just a little bit frustrating.

Passion is about Luce, a human, and her angelic soul mate Daniel, a fallen angel. Luce must solve why her past lives have always ended up in a flaming death, usually after a very passionate embrace with Daniel. So why does Luce not die when she kisses Daniel in this lifetime?

Both Daniel and Luce are battling their feelings for each other and working out why Luce doesn’t combust every time they are together. Is it because Luce has no faith and has never been baptized? Or does it go back to how Daniel became a fallen angel?

While Luce has help from a gargoyle named Bill, Daniel is on his own. When Satan manifests himself and decides to start meddling then things are set for a great battle in the last book.

Fallen and Torment are the first two 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 later this year. Can’t wait!

The Reading Stack reviewed Fallen and Torment in February 2010 and February 2011 respectively.

http://www.fallenbooks.com/

Follow the Money

2011-06-14T01:19:00.004+10:00

by Peter Corris

Allen and Unwin. Australian, Crime, Mystery. Paperback RRP $29.99

Guest Reviewer – Ian Brown

Peter Corris has been writing about P.I. Cliff Hardy for a long time although this is the first Cliff Hardy novel I have read. Follow the Money, is set in Sydney. Cliff has lost his P.I. license and all his money thanks to his unscrupulous financial advisor. The advisor has disappeared, presumed dead, but there have been reports of him sighted.

Cliff has been asked by a lawyer to find the advisor and Cliff’s money. He manages to get bashed, shot at as he chases the money.

As a first time Hardy read this was a great place to start. Corris has created a truly likeable character. The plot has plenty of twists, lots of action, and set in the seed underbelly of Sydney.

The Reading Stack is a big fan of Peter Corris and has done several reviews of his works. In 2007 The Big Score, in 2008 Blood Brothers and Open File.

http://www.petercorris.net/

The Great Expedition

2011-06-12T01:36:00.003+10:00

Written and Illustrated by Peter Carnavas

New Frontier Publishing. Australian, Picture book. Hardback RRP $24.95

Guest Reviewer - Jo Burnell

When illustrations partner with text to multiply viewpoints and reveal hidden meaning, a winner is born. The Great Expedition is one such winner.

The trials of Burke and Wills are mirrored in the modern day by two smaller heroes. Robert and Will head off with their brave and resourceful team under strict instructions as to their mission. Alas, things go wrong. Even the toughest fall by the way side. Thirst and harsh conditions threaten the expedition’s success.

Will anyone survive? This tale of friendship, resilience and courage is irresistible. Parallels with the historical expedition of Burke and Wills are poignant. I wonder if you’ll guess where these tiny travellers are trudging.

Don’t peek or you’ll spoil the surprise. The Great Expedition is a delight to explore, whether you are 3, 4, 104 or any age in between.

The Reading Stack reviewed Peter Carnavas' Sarah's Heavy Heart in June 2009.

http://petercarnavas.com/

White Heat

2011-06-10T01:19:00.002+10:00

by Melanie McGrath

Pan Macmillan. Mystery, Crime. Paperback RRP $32.95

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

The setting for this fast-paced murder/mystery is the Arctic Circle where nature and the breathtaking frozen landscapes are the pivotal characters. Fearless Edie is a hunter, guide and teacher; a divorced woman doing a man’s job. For this she is ridiculed and marginalized but none-the-less more capable than most of the men of her area whose lives are ruled by manipulative and corrupt elders, alcoholism and boredom. Having grown up in the Inuit settlement, she is as familiar with every rock and rivulet of the tundra as with her life’s breath.

When her beloved stepson Joe dies and his death is ruled as suicide as a way to escape his gambling debts, Edie goes to pieces and back to the bottle she’d kicked two years previously. She absolutely rejects the possibility of suicide by a person who for years had dreamed and saved to make a life in nursing.

When the bones of two missing visitors are discovered and the deaths are again adeptly brushed aside, Edie takes matters into her own hands. She slowly links Joe’s death with the bones unable to stay hidden beneath their shroud of snow. For Edie knows bones. She is a hunter ‘as familiar with the icy ground as with her own skin’. It is this familiarity that results in her discovering the evidence she has been seeking, and claiming the truth denied to her.

The imagery is superb throughout the book. The reader can feel the chill of the wind and hear the sound of the water rushing by within the boundaries of the shrinking Arctic. The dips and rises of every turn are visible as is the sense of isolation in the inaccessible area. The Arctic is projected perfectly through the tense, tight, and precise prose woven by a knowledgeable sense of place, space and time.

http://www.melaniemcgrath.com/

Odd and the Frost Giants

2011-06-08T01:13:00.002+10:00

by Neil Gaiman

Allen and Unwin. Children Fiction. Hardback RRP $22.99

This freezing cold Viking tale complete with Norse gods and a trip to Asgard tells the story of Odd, a young crippled boy.

Life is not easy for Odd. His father was killed in an accident and his mother has remarried Fat Elfred, who is not interested in a crippled stepson.

Odd spends most of his time in the woods. He loves the warm seasons and waits for winter to pass. But this time it goes on forever.

The Frost Giants have invaded Asgard and banished the gods – Thor, Loki and Odin to Midgard where humanity lives. When Odd saves a bear, a fox and an eagle he finds himself caught in the struggle to free the world from winter.

Can a crippled boy be any help to three powerful gods? Can he return the hammer that is beyond even Thor’s mighty reach?

With Odd and the Frost Giants, Neil Gaiman has ice-carved a new adventure in Norse mythology.

Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book was reviewed in Issue 14 of The Reading Stack and Instructions in July 2010.

http://www.neilgaiman.com/

Abandon

2011-06-06T11:12:00.000+10:00

by Meg Cabot

Pan Macmillan Australia. Young Adult Fiction, Paranormal. Paperback RRP $14.99.

Reviewer - Sandy Fussell

Abandon is the first book in the Abandon trilogy which is an imaginative telling loosely based on the Greek myth of Persephone. Persephone was abducted by Hades, ruler of the Netherworld.

Pierce is always getting into trouble – family problems, friend problems – and then there’s the murdered teacher. And like Persephone, Pierce has now attracted the attention of the Lord of the Underworld. John Hayden is dark and handsome and always turns up to rescue Pierce at just the right moment.

He is also violent and aggressive and he wants Pierce to stay in the Underworld with him forever. Even if she’s not dead.

Although Pierce wants John, she has already had a near death experience and never wants to go back to the netherworld. She is torn between her growing desire for John and a need to be part of the living world with her family and friends.

Abandon is a promise of the wider story to come and I am already looking forward to Book 2, Underworld, due for release in 2012.

This is paranormal with a difference. It’ll make you start to think very seriously about life after death.

http://www.megcabot.com/

Faerie Winter

2011-05-24T04:19:00.003+10:00

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

2011-05-23T03:39:00.000+10:00

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

2011-05-22T04:07:00.002+10:00

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

2011-05-21T04:10:00.006+10:00

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

2011-05-20T03:44:00.000+10:00

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

2011-05-19T04:01:00.004+10:00

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

2011-05-18T01:43:00.000+10:00

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

2011-05-17T01:37:00.004+10:00

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

2011-05-16T13:34:00.000+10:00

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/

The Heroes of the Kokoda Track

2011-04-04T06:15:00.004+10:00

by Nicolas Brasch

black dog books. History, Junior non-fiction, Australian. Paperback RRP $16.99

The Kokoda Track is an important part of Australian history. You may all know of the hard ache and problems that accompanied the men that fought along the track. But The Heroes of the Kokoda Track is more about the history of why the track was so important and why our troops were sent to Papua New Guinea.

In this fascinating and richly illustrated book, there are lots of visuals to keep a young mind interested.

I think the title is a bit misleading as it isn’t all about the men who braved the track but more about the local area and the topography and the elements these men had to face. The locals who played a key role in keeping the Australian men alive.

If the first text box on the first page doesn’t get you interested then you must have already walked the track.

‘Try this… Put six bricks into a backpack, and climb the steepest hill you can find. But don’t do it until it’s been raining for days, so you keep slipping. Now don’t make a sound because in the bushes around you, there might be enemy troops, armed with rifles and bayonets, poised to pounce at the slightest sign of activity. Then imagine this is no game, this is reality, this is war – this is Kokoda.’

Every Australian school library should have this book proudly displayed on their shelves.

The Reading Stack reviewed Nicolas Brasch’s Gallipoli. Reckless Valour in May 2009.

Forgotten

2011-04-02T06:11:00.004+11:00

by Cat Patrick

hardie grant Egmont. Young Adult. Paperback RRP $22.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

London Lane forgets her past. At precisely 4.33am her brain resets ready for a brand new day. But London never forgets her future – and the future of all around her. She sees the future in bits and pieces and it is something that London cannot forget.

Every morning the first thing London does is check her bedside table and the notes that are there to remind her of what has happened in the past couple of days and things she may need to do today. Most of the mundane things like eating, dressing, her room and school, teachers, best friend and her mum are firmly entrenched into her future memories that she knows what to expect and there are never any real surprises. But when London meets Luke she realises he isn’t in her future memories, therefore she won’t remember him. And Luke is someone London really wants to remember.

Everyday London meets up with Luke and even though she knows they are going out, Luke always takes her breath away. Why isn’t Luke in her future? Yet months into their relationship he is still there in her past and present but nowhere in her future memories.

Then London starts to dream of a funeral. Whose funeral is it? She sees a person who must be her grandmother and the father that she has never remembered. She wants to ask her mother but her mother has been hiding a secret from London and with the help of Luke, London starts to get answers. But the funeral must be in the future so whose is it? When she starts to see that Luke isn’t in her future does that mean this funeral is his? Is that why he isn’t in her future memories?

Forgotten kept me reading until the end – several hours later. A very interesting and yet gripping novel that could be classed as a love story but also could be classed as a suspenseful thriller. Neither classifications are correct. It’s the story of a girl with an interesting abnormality. This is Cat Patrick’s debut novel and it is good – truly not to be forgotten.

http://www.catpatrick.com/

Christina’s Matilda

2011-03-31T06:07:00.003+11:00

by Edel Wignell, illustrated by Elizabeth Botté

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

Everyone knows (or should know) who wrote the words to Waltzing Matilda – Banjo Paterson. But who wrote the music?

Christina’s Matilda is the story of Christina Macpherson, a woman born to a wealthy family in Victoria in 1864. Her story is interesting, not only in relation to the famous song but her family were the last people to be held to ransom by Mad Dog Morgan.

When Christina’s mother died, she moved up to Queensland to be with her brothers and father on their large property, Dagworth. In the early 1900’s Christina met up with an old school friend, Sarah Riley who was engaged to Banjo Paterson. They spent many evenings entertaining with songs and poetry and readings.

Over the course of one such evening Christina played a tune by ear that she had heard at a race and Banjo started to write the words. The two spent the evening collaborating and ended up with the first verse of Waltzing Matilda.

But Christina was not recognised as the original composer when the publisher organised for another woman, Mary Cowan, to create a tune to go to the words. It wasn’t until 1983 that Christina Macpherson was acknowledged for her part in the history of the song.

This is a fascinating story where the use of historical photographs brings the story of the swagman to life. Australia has a wonderful and colourful history and Christina’s Matilda is a great book to read, to look at, and to learn from.

The Reading Stack reviewed Elizabeth Botté’s The Giggle Gum Tree in August 2009.

http://www.edelwignell.com.au/
http://www.coroflot.com/minium

Samantha Seagull’s Sandals

2011-03-29T06:04:00.004+11:00

by Gordon Winch, illustrated by Tony Oliver

New Frontier Publishing. Australian, Children’s Picture book. Soft Cover RRP $14.95, Hardcover RRP $24.95

Samantha is a seagull who wants to be different.

‘Why am I the same as all the other young gulls? she asked.’

She feels that she needs to be different even though Simon, her friend, thinks she is beautiful and is already special. But Samantha still tries very hard to change and the only way to change is to try different human shoes.

Samantha ends up in all sorts of trouble with her high heels, her gum boots, her slippers and her sandals. And every time Simon is there to help her out.

Samantha Seagull’s Sandals is a story that will delight children and teach them some interesting facts about seagulls. Tony Oliver’s quirky but true to life illustrations add a sense of fun to this wonderful story.

This book is a special 25th Anniversary edition of continuous publication.

http://www.gordonwinch.com.au/

Matched

2011-03-27T06:02:00.000+11:00

by Ally Condie

Penguin. Futuristic, romance. Paperback RRP $19.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Reading Matched I found myself comparing it to the 1970’s movie Logan’s Run. When we think of the future we think we will go forward or completely back to the dark ages. What happens when we do both?

Cassia is turning 17 and she will be matched to her life partner. Who will that person be? Will he be handsome? They should get on as they have been perfectly matched. But when Cassia stands at the Matching Banquet to see her match up on the screen, something goes wrong and the screen remains blank.

Normally matches live in different Provence’s or sections and have never met, however on very rare occasions some people do know their match. When Cassia finds out her match is her best friend and childhood playmate, Xander, she is relieved (she knows him like a brother) and happy (Xander is the most handsome boy and she will not have to move away from her family).

However when Cassia goes home to look at the statistics and personality of her match another’s face displays. Only briefly, but long enough that Cassia recognises the face, her neighbour Ky. The Officials acknowledge the error and ensure Cassia that all is well, her match is still Xander.

Cassia’s life is dictated by the Officials. Everyone wears the same clothes, eats the same food and there is no difference in anyone’s life. Jobs are designated to what your family does and how well they do it.

Now matched to Xander, Cassia has what others would say is a perfect life. Everything will be happy and she will, if she hasn’t already, fall in love with her perfect man. They will live a disease free existence and die knowingly and happily on their 80th birthday. Perfect.

Except Cassia starts to question the mistake shown to her and everything now doesn’t seem right. What if the other boy was the right one? What if it wasn’t a mistake? Can Cassia do something that no-one has done for hundreds of years – choose?

Matched is a book I picked up and read in less than 24 hours. My problem is I want more and luckily it is the first of a trilogy so I can expect to continue on with Cassia’s story, hopefully soon. This is one book I will reread again and soon. The second book Crossed will be released in November 2011 in the US.

http://www.allysoncondie.com/

Henry the Goat

2011-03-25T06:59:00.002+11:00

by Ella Watkins

hardiegrant EGMONT. Australian, Children’s Picture Book. Soft cover RRP $16.95

Henry the Goat is a very enthusiastic goat. He lives with his parents and grandpa. The problem with Henry is that he loves to play and he doesn’t realise the mess he makes.

When his friends come over to play, everything goes wrong. But Henry is enjoying himself and doesn’t notice when the garden is upset and the washing gets wet and his friends and he get muddy.

A fun story with wonderful illustrations of Henry – you just have to love Henry.

Ella Watkins is only fifteen years of age and Henry was created when she was eight. She self-published her first book, Henry’s Holiday, when she was twelve.

http://www.henrythegoat.com.au/

FEVER

2011-03-23T06:46:00.002+11:00

A Dark Touch Novel

by Amy Meredith

Random House Australia. Young Adult, Mystery, Science Fiction, Fantasy. Paperback RRP $17.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Book three of the Dark Touch Novel series starts with a severe heatwave hitting Deepdene. Along with this heatwave is a plague affecting the citizens of the small coastal holiday village for rich New Yorkers. No-one has died from the plague despite the fever, rash and then skin falling off in chunks.

Eve Evergold is the local Deepdene witch and with the help of her best friend Jess and Luke, the boy that seems to have Eve on his mind and he on hers, they set out to try and figure out if the plague, along with the weather, is caused by a demon or is just a virus that is running rampant throughout their small community.

But Eve has sealed the portal that allows demons to easily come and go and it still is secure. Where and what is this new demon?

With more and more friends getting sick, the school being closed and the whole community locked in from the outside world, Eve, Jess and Luke are going to need every bit of brain, strength and knowledge that they can to outwit and get rid of this demon – who is he? Could he be one of them?

A great read for young adults that like a bit of the occult and are sick of vampires but still like to see a girl kick some bad ass butt!

The Reading Stack reviewed book one Shadows, in June 2010. Book two, The Hunt, was released in late 2010 and book four, Betrayal, will be out soon.

Walker Stories

2011-03-21T09:27:00.000+11:00

Walker Books. Australian, Childrens. Paperback RRP $11.95

Guest Reviewer Jo Burnell

Move over Aussie Nibbles, you’ve got company.

The Walker Stories have arrived. Three short stories in each book dovetail to make irresistible early readers. Layers of meaning, plenty to smile about and satisfying endings are sure to hook even the most reluctant reader to these pages.

The Lost Treasure

by Jan Stradling, illustrated by Cassandra Allen

Pirate Ruby is happy most of the time and loves to help people, while Pirate Hamish is nearly always cross. He loves taking treasure. Short sentences with lots of action lead to a surprise ending. Of course, there’s a moral to the story, but can you guess where the treasure is? All is not as it seems.

http://www.cassandrallen.com/

Mr Tripp Smells a Rat

by Sandy McKay, illustrated by Ruth Paul

Mr Tripp is round like a teddy bear until he goes on a diet. He’s scared of rats too, but he’s very brave and he’s good at telling jokes. Mr Tripp insists that everyone is good at something and his students don’t let him down. So much is packed into this little chapter book, it left me breathless. There are no less than 10 jokes, advice about nits and head lice as well as plenty of action. Who wouldn’t want to visit this classroom where there is so much fun and so much to learn?

http://www.ruthpaul.co.nz/

The Dead of Winter

2011-03-16T01:39:00.010+11:00

by Chris Priestley

Allen and Unwin. Young Adult, Horror. Paperback RRP $22.99

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

Michael is left orphaned and desolate after his mother’s death, his father having died during the war saving the wealthy Sir Stephen Clarendon of Hawton Mere, who has now become Michael’s legal guardian. The boy reluctantly sets off to spend the Christmas holidays at the distant mansion and meet the man who lives instead of his father.

But Michael’s guardian is of no comfort to the grieving child. The inhuman treatment experienced in his youth at the hands of his father, has left him an emotionally damaged man living in a world of his own suffering.

Hawton Mere is a bleak and isolated place; a dark and foreboding house set alone in an endless moor. Michael already feels he has ‘walked into a fog of mystery and whispers’ when he awakes the day after his arrival, still preoccupied by the ghost of a mysterious woman seen by the road.

But something more threatening than the ghostly woman soon makes contact with the boy. It has a presence and a breath, but no body, and carries horror incorporated with it. The countless secrets that Hawton Mere and its inhabitants harbour magnify Michael’s fears. Even the actual building seems to pulse with a life of its own. Learning that he has inherited his father’s abilities to see and hear the dead makes things worse. Michael is determined to find answers to his questions and the reasons for the existence of the terrors housed within the mansion.

Priestley has created another dark, riveting read to follow the outstanding Tales of Terror from the Tunnel’s Mouth. The story is fast-paced and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. The book is suitable for mature teenage readers that prefer edgy prose accompanied by a fast heartbeat, and who are not afraid of the dark.

The Reading Stack reviewed Tales of Terror from the Tunnel's Mouth in May 2010.

http://chrispriestley.blogspot.com/

the body in the clouds

2011-03-14T00:48:00.002+11:00

by Ashley Hay

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

Three men, three different times, one thing in common – Dawes Point in Sydney and what they all see from that one special spot.

Second Lieutenant William Dawes arrives in New South Wales in the late 1700s ready to explore the sky from a world away from the cultured life in England. Here in Sydney Cove there are tales of savages and animals that are larger than alligators. But Dawes sits on an outcrop and dreams of his observatory where he can lie and watch the magnificent and beautiful bright blue and white sky so different from the dreary grey colours on the other side of the globe.

Ted Parker, a young man looking for work in the 1930s, dreaming of becoming a part of the construction of the magnificent structure that will soon become the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Ted sits near Dawes Point and watches with envy as the workers climbing all over the metal curves. Ted soon finds a job on the barge underneath the workers – he is happy, he is part of the ‘team’. But he still dreams of sitting on top of the world.

Dan Kopek is an expat from Australia working as a banker in London. He hasn’t been home for over ten years. It is the 21st century and the other side of the world isn’t that far anymore but Dan finds it hard to get home – to see his mother, his neighbour, best friend Charlie and Charlie’s grandfather who was Charlie’s only living relative and who also took Dan in as well. Charlie is a famous photographer and she has a special spot for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, because that’s where her grandfather flew, the only man to survive falling from the bridge whilst it was being constructed. Dan sees Charlie’s photograph advertising Sydney in the London Tube and feels it may be time to go home.

All three men are attached to Dawes Point. And what they all see - is something or someone falling from the sky. Is it part of their belief in what is real and what isn’t or is it that all three men have a bond with each other through time.

The body in the clouds is a wonderful story, a little bit of history, a little bit of a love story - with a surprising twist at the end.

http://www.ashleyhay.com.au/

Give Me a Chance

2011-03-12T00:40:00.000+11:00

(My eight days with John and Yoko)

by Gail Renard

Walker Books. Biographical. Paperback RRP $29.99

Guest Reviewer – Ian Brown

Gail Renard was 16 years old and a huge Beatle fan since she first heard them in the early sixties.

When she discovered John and Yoko would be coming to her home city of Montreal for their famous Bed Sit In she knew she had to see them.

After having climbed the fire escape, climbing in through the window on the floor where the Lennon’s were holed up, she ended up knocking on their door. To her amazement, Yoko asked her to come in.

The next eight days she spent with the Lennon’s would be the most amazing experience of her life. Not only did she get to meet people like Timothy Leary, Tommy Smothers, she ended up playing on the recording of Give Peace a Chance.

This book is her story of those few magical days. It’s an interesting account of John Lennon’s life just prior to the end of the Beatles.

http://www.gailrenard.com/

Dreaming of Chanel

2011-03-10T02:03:00.000+11:00

by Charlotte Smith. Illustrated by Grant Cowan

Harper Collins. Australian, Adult Biographical, Adult Other. Hardback RRP $35.00

Australian Charlotte Smith inherited thousands of dresses from her American godmother. What she did with these priceless treasures was to create Dreaming of Dior, published in 2009. I fell in love with that book and was so pleased to find that Smith has created a second book, this time focusing on my favourite designer Coco Chanel.

Just like in Dreaming of Dior, the cover of the book is an attention grabber. Dreaming of Chanel is red hard covered with an illustration of a model in Chanel’s famous black suit with a puppy. But the best part is the suit, the hat, the handbag, the shoes and even the dog’s jacket are in velvet so you feel like you have just a little of that Chanel style in front of you.

Over 140 of Chanel’s designs are in this neat book and with each design there is a brief story of the outfit and when and where it was worn. Each one has been beautifully recreated by Grant Cowan and the feel of the era of the design shows through.

As I said with my earlier review for Dreaming of Dior, I am so envious of Charlotte Smith and her dresses. But I have a wonderful coffee table book that will transport many of my friends back to times when fashion was an experience.

The Reading Stack reviewed Dreaming of Dior in November 2009.

Mademoiselle Lisa

2011-03-08T01:57:00.000+11:00

by Delphine Perret

black dog books. All ages, picture. Hardcover RRP $14.99

Anybody that loves art will have a giggle and everybody else will also enjoy Mademoiselle Lisa. The famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci created comes to life in this quirky tale.

Lisa gets bored so she decides to disappear and taste the world that awaits outside the walls of the Parisian Louvre. What she discovers makes her want to go further afield and she ends up on the other side of the world in Las Vegas. But everyone misses the Mona Lisa and there are many fanciful theories about where the famous painting has gone.

Finally Lisa meets Sally and a wonderful plan is hatched which seems to work out well for all.

Mademoiselle Lisa may appear to be a children’s book but I think adults will enjoy it just as much if not more. The plain black and white illustrations with a touch of colour create a sense of artistic detail. We all dream of being famous – Perret has shown us another side of the celebrity life. Well done.

http://www.chezdelphine.net/

Out for Blood

2011-03-06T13:48:00.000+11:00

by Alyxandra Harvey

Bloomsbury. Fantasy, Romance, Crime, Young Adult. Paperback RRP $14.99

Reviewer - Barbara Brown

Hunter Wild is a teenage girl that attends a special school, the Helios-Ra Academy. This academy trains students on how to hunt and kill vampires. Hunter Wild is their star pupil and her grandfather, a famous vampire hunter, has high hopes for her. That is until she meets one of the famous Drake brothers, Quinn, and falls in love with him. The problem with Quinn is he is a vampire.

But the world is changing and vampires and humans are trying to help each other rid the world of the Hel-Blar, a factional vampire community who are hell bent in overcoming the Drakes and the vampires who side with them. They also like to kill for sport and fun – vampires included. Vampires are ruled by a matriarch who just happens to be Quinn’s mother and his sister, Solange, is next in line. The Drakes are trying to co-exist with humans but the Hel-Blar are trying hard to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Hunter is realising that the Drakes are good and without them the world will be even more dangerous. But when students start getting sick within the Helios-Ra Academy, there seems to be a darker force at work that is more evil than Hel-Blar. Can Hunter save her friends and herself?

Out for Blood is the third book in the Drake Chronicles but Harvey has written each book about a specific Drake. All three books can be read individually but the stories do intertwine together and give you some insider knowledge of the Drake family and their friends and enemies. As always there is a twist that you really don’t see coming at the end. Book four is due out later this year and I look forward to more of the Drake family.

The Reading Stack reviewed the first two Alyxandra Harvey’s books on the Drake family, My Love Lies Bleeding in February 2010 and Blood Feud in August 2010.

http://www.alyxandraharvey.com/
http://www.thedrakechronicles.com/

The House at Sea’s End

2011-03-03T21:28:00.000+11:00

A Ruth Galloway Investigation

by Elly Griffiths

Macmillan Publishers. Crime. Paperback RRP $ 32.99

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

In this enthralling crime thriller full of secrets, revenge, and romance, forensic archaeologist and single mother Ruth Galloway is battling the pleasures and pain of motherhood when she is called back to work. Ruth is an intelligent and questioning examiner whose opinion is greatly valued by Chief Inspector Harry Nelson, two leaders that share a mutual respect. But mutual respect is not all that ties Ruth and Harry together. They share a secret that can destroy both their professional and personal lives if set free.

Ruth joins the team to help solve a complex mystery surrounding six bodies found at the bottom of the cliff at Sea’s End, the home of the Hastings family, by a team of archaeologists examining coastal erosion.

Two elderly men connected somehow to the six dead, die within a week or so of one another. The initial finding of death by natural causes evolves into another murder investigation. This casts a shadow on the lives of the Hastings and light on secrets they’ve protected for years.

The investigation takes on a dramatic twist when a German journalist appears in response to a letter he’d received from one of the two elderly men. He too, is hiding secrets. But when he joins the recently dead, things heat up and Ruth and Harry must pass all the evidence through a fine sieve before they discover the startling truth.

This book has a strong narrative voice and its outstanding cast of characters which enter and exit the scenes, each bring with them new knotted mysteries to unravel, and additional secrets within stories and sub stories that are crocheted together into a lacework of suspense, intrigue, murder.

The Year of the Flood

2011-02-21T02:33:00.005+11:00

by Margaret Atwood

Bloomsbury. Science Fiction, Fantasy. Hardcover RRP $41.95

The Year of the Flood is the story of two women who survive a man-made disaster, obliterating the majority of the human race.

Ren and Toby both are members of a cult called God’s Gardeners at one time or another. Toby is rescued by Adam One and his followers from the hands of a maniac who has used Toby for his enjoyment and is now ready to discard her to the place of no return. Ren is dragged into the Gardeners complex by her mother when she is a child, escaping the boring life of being married to a man who doesn’t really acknowledge Ren and her mother’s existence.

Toby gradually works her way up through the ranks of the Gardeners until her closest friend and supporter dies and Toby steps into her shoes and takes up the position as Eve Six and becomes the keeper of bees and administerer of potions.

Ren spends her childhood with the Gardeners learning that their way of life is a good way of life, where animals and humans co-exist and each is treated with respect. When her mother decides to leave the Gardeners and return to her husband and his chemical company, Ren is torn.

When the waterless flood hits the world both Ren and Toby have been locked away from others and find they have been spared from the disease. But what is the new world going to be like? Who else has survived? And what of the new species of animals and humans?

With man continually tinkering with DNA and chemicals, the animals, diseases, drugs and machinery, The Year of the Flood could possibly be a story waiting to happen.

http://www.yearoftheflood.com/

This is Shyness

2011-02-18T02:20:00.004+11:00

by Leanne Hall

Text Publishing Company. Young Adult, Australian. Paperback RRP $19.95

Reviewer – Sandy Fussell

Imagine adventure, romance, a light touch of science fiction – and take one step left. Welcome to Leanne Hall’s wonderful debut novel This is Shyness.

Wildgirl is in the mood for, for forgetting and as soon as she spots him in the bar, for Wolfboy. Wolfboy can’t believe anyone like her would possibly be interested in him. In one night their worlds not only collide but change forever.

In Shyness the sun never rises. In this eternal night Wildgirl and Wolfboy embark on a dangerous mission - finding self esteem and a reason to live.

But Wildgirl and Wolfboy must first come to grips with their pasts. On this night, they do it together.

This book is unusual and unique. It’s different to anything else I’ve read but has all those elements I enjoy – it’s exciting and sensitive. It leaves you feeling that you have experienced something you could never imagine.

This is Shyness was the winner of the 2009 Text Publishing Prize, The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing.

http://thelongblinks.com/

You are a Star

2011-02-16T02:11:00.002+11:00

by Michael Parker and Judith Rossell

ABC Books. Children’s Picture Book, Australian. Hardcover RRP $24.99

Inspired by Michael Parker’s lifelong love of cosmology and his desire to explain scientific concepts to his young children, You are a Star explains how everyone has a piece of the stars inside them. A star is a celebration of a child’s place in the universe.

As the reader floats through space, fires burn and stars are born. They continue to burn until they explode. Tiny pieces fly across space to cool to become part of planets, rocks, plants, animals, trees … and the child reader.

The book is written in conversational storytelling style promoting the intimacy of a wonderful magic secret shared. The magic continues in Judith Rossell’s illustrations, with the clever use of light and dark. Stars glimmer, taking on many different shapes as they drift through space, tails streaming behind.

The story is beautiful encapsulated by this one line: “But remember, that sky way, way above your head is not cold and dark. It is the cradle from which you came.”

Recommended bedtime reading – a little magic, a little science and a strong sense of belonging.

The Reading Stack reviewed in April 2010 Judith Rossell and Mark Macleod's book Wrong Way.

http://www.michaelparker.com.au/

The City

2011-02-14T01:29:00.000+11:00

by Armin Greder

Allen and Unwin. Australian, Picture Book. Hardcover RRP $29.99

Reviewer – Sandy Fussell

I found The City a difficult book to review because reviews need words and when I closed the cover I found myself speechless and wordless.

This is the story of a mother and child. The world is a scary place and it is human nature to protect our young ones. But where do we draw the line? To learn they must be exposed to the mortal dangers and all so they can grow through experience.

The City has many dark images and words that match perfectly. My favourite is a double page of crows with the simple words: “One moonless night she died.” Another dark double page spread shows a wolf’s face preceded by another beautifully simple string of words: “One day the night suppressed him.” The child-man finally confronts his future alone.

This is a powerful picture book that defies any further categorisation. It is a story to be read to primary children; read by secondary students it will promote discussion of text, art and then. It is also a story for adults and as a parent I found a message in it just for me.

Torment

2011-02-11T01:22:00.004+11:00

by Lauren Kate

Random House. Young Adult, Fantasy. Paperback RRP $29.95

Lucinda Price, Luce known to her family and friends, has been hidden away by her angelic boyfriend, Daniel. After the angel/demon battle at the last school, Sword & Cross, Luce is not safe and has been sent to a school in Fort Bragg called Shoreline, a school for the rich with a secret class for the ‘gifted’. Normal kids try hard to get into the gifted programme but unless they have a parent who is an angel or demon, they will never get in. Except Luce.

Luce has been placed at Shoreline under the protection of the school’s Nephilim kids. These kids all have powers and Luce can be well hidden in amongst their auras from the Outcasts, immortals who want Luce dead.

The shadows that have followed and surrounded Luce all her life are still with her but she learns, with the help of her new friends and teachers, that they can be manipulated to help her see into her past and past lives. Luce has eighteen days to learn as much as she can about her and Daniel’s past before the truce between Daniel and Cam, the demon that tried to kill Daniel at Sword & Cross, finishes and then Luce may have to fend off more than one enemy.

The more Luce learns about her past, the more she realises that her and Daniel have a long past that always ends up badly. Could their relationship finally culminate in something, but what? She is a mortal and he is a fallen angel.

The Reading Stack reviewed Book one, Fallen in February 2010. You don’t have to read book one but I would recommend it just to enjoy the story of past lives and angels and demons. Can’t wait for book three, Passion which will be out mid-2011.

http://www.fallenbooks.com/

Utopian Man

2011-02-10T01:17:00.004+11:00

by Lisa Lang

Allen and Unwin. Australian, History. Paperback RRP $23.99

Utopian Man is the story of the real life eccentric entrepreneur Edward Cole told with a dash of Lang’s imagination.

Edward Cole was a man of vision. A vision that every man, woman and child could come to a place to relax and read – where trees would grow, bands played, Chinese tea served and animals romped. This vision was realised in the late 1800’s in the heart of Melbourne, where Edward William Cole created Cole’s Book Arcade.

This man was so forward thinking that he advertised for a wife in the newspaper and ended up marrying Eliza eight weeks later. This marriage was a good, faithful and happy one with five children being brought into the world. Eliza and Edward were married until death separated them.

Cole’s vision flourished but then a series of events nearly led to his downfall – the death of his youngest, the recession, his fraternising with Chinese and blacks, séances, opium dens, corruption within parliament and amongst his friends. Cole survived but only just.

Utopian Man may be an imaginary tale but Lisa Lang has brought the 1800’s to life. I looked up more on Edward William Cole after reading this book and found that he was a fascinating man and Utopian Man is a fascinating story. Corruption, lust, drugs – it has it all!

Ghost Watch

2011-02-09T13:12:00.000+11:00

The new Vin Cooper thriller

by David Rollins

Pan Macmillan Australia. Australian, Crime, Thriller, Mystery. Paperback RRP $25.00

Guest Reviewer – Ian Brown

Australia’s David Rollins has created a great series of adventure books involving special agent Vin Cooper. This is the fourth book and having only read Ghost Watch, I can’t wait to read the three previous books.

This is a gripping read from cover to cover. If you are a fan of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan or Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne, then these books are for you.

In Ghost Watch, Vin Cooper, special agent for the United States, is on assignment in Kabul to protect an Afghan politician. When that goes wrong and the politician is killed, Vin is assigned to a cushy job in Africa looking after entertainers performing to American troops. Things go wrong again, and Vin and the entertainers end up in the middle of the African Congo fighting for survival.

From then on it’s a battle to survive involving corruption, various tribes fighting each other, slavery and gold mines.

David Rollins has written a story that puts you into the heart of Africa. Go there!

http://www.davidrollins.net/

Campaign Ruby

2011-01-14T04:47:00.004+11:00

by Jessica Rudd

The Text Publishing Company. Australian, Political, Romance. Paperback rrp $32.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Ruby Stanhope is a British investment banker who gets sacked by email. She replies with an angry email that goes viral throughout the internet and the world of banking. Ruby finds that her life as an investment banker anywhere in the world may now be cut short thanks to her erroneous yet brilliant reply email.

Ruby goes home to drink a very nice bottle or three of Australian peanut noise and in her drunken state finds she has booked a ticket to Australia on a tourist visa in the search of the peanut noise and some quiet time.

Next thing Ruby finds herself in Australia with a job as a political adviser to the Leader of the Opposition (LOO), Max Masters. Everything Ruby does from the moment she clicked SEND, to the night of the Australian Federal Election and losing her boss’s Blackberry, is unbelievably funny. But everything happens for a reason. Whenever Ruby trips over her Louboutin-clad feet and lands smack into another problem, she picks herself up with as much decorum as one can, dusts herself off and gets on with the job in hand.

Max and his group of devoted employees find that Ruby can not only can get them out of some pretty hot problems but that she has a great Toolkit that has everything in it from shaver and shaving cream to double sided tape and shower in a can. She may just save the political career of Max Masters if she doesn’t stuff up her life in the meantime.

Ruby has a To-Do list that grows with each passing day and each day that list seems to make Ruby see what a wonderful life she has fallen into. Having trouble with the language, the fashion, the political stance and entrances/exits out of hotel rooms and bathrooms, Ruby spends an incredible month travelling around Australia, seeing the people but never seeing the places. Life on the campaign trail isn’t easy.

Campaign Ruby is a funny but great read and brings the humorous side to life of a politician and his/her road to becoming/or losing Prime Minister of Australia without making it trivial.

Marrying Ameera

2011-01-12T04:35:00.004+11:00

For better … or for worse

by Rosanne Hawke

Angus and Robertson. Australian, Young Adult. Paperback rrp $16.99

Ameera Hassan is 17 years-of-age, has just finished high school and is looking forward to going to university. She is a good Australian born, Pakistani daughter who knows that one day she will marry a man whom her father chooses for her but one she hopes she has a say in.

She has found that one of her friend’s older brother, Tariq, could be the right one. Can she talk her father into agreeing with her choice? When her father finds out she has gone to a mixed-sex party he feels he is losing control over his precious daughter and sends her to his brother in Pakistan on the pretence that she will attend her cousin Jamila’s wedding.

When Ameera arrives alone in Pakistan she soon finds out the truth. For years, her father has organised and planned her marriage. She slowly realises that she has been kidnapped by her own family. Will she ever be able to escape a country set in strict old customs, where she is treated as a second class citizen?

Marrying Ameera may be a fictional story but there are many truths woven throughout that it is hard to believe that Ameera is just words on a page. A story I couldn’t finish without a few tears and a sense of horror that it can happen even in Australia.

In 2005 a dozen Australian girls under the age of 18 sought help from the Australian Consulate in Beirut after being forced to marry. Britain saves over 300 people from forced marriages in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and beyond each year with one third under 18 years-of-age and 15% involving young men. For further information visit http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/when-things-go-wrong/forced-marriage.

http://www.rosannehawke.com/

Surf for Your Life

2011-01-10T04:26:00.003+11:00

Grommets’ Edition

Mick Fanning and Tim Baker

Random House Australia. Australian, Children’s Non-Fiction, Autobiographical. Paperback rrp $19.95

Mick Fanning has a wonderful life of doing what he does best – surfing. And in a follow-up book to his popular Surf for Your Life, he has produced the Grommets’ Edition (a Grommet is a child surfer).

In the Grommets’ Edition you can read up on all the tips and tricks of becoming a world champion surfer, from choosing your board to doing exercises to build the right muscles. It’s also an autobiographical view of Fanning’s rise from being a Grommet to mastering the waves and the tour circuit.

Mick Fanning has had his share of ups and downs and he talks openly about his life, his family, his friends and his favourites – board, waves, surfers, movies.

Fabulous photos throughout the book with a poster included. An ideal gift for any hard-to-buy grommet/surfer.

The Reading Stack reviewed Mick Fanning and Tim Baker’s Surf for Your Life in January 2010 and Tim Baker’s High Surf in January 2007.

http://www.bytimbaker.com/
http://www.mickfanning.com.au/

Trash

2011-01-08T04:19:00.002+11:00

by Andy Mulligan

dfb books. Young adult. Paperback rrp $24.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Trash had me enthralled from beginning to end. Two boys, Raphael and Gardo, are friends and the main narrators in this wonderful fascinating tale. Both boys, aged around 13 years, live on a dumpsite. Their lives are spent sorting the trash, living the trash, breathing the trash, and ultimately, dying with it.

The dumpsite is where the city’s trash ends up. The unnamed city of millions is poor and the majority of the trash is human waste. An unhealthy living for the poorest of the poor, but Raphael and Gardo have each other and a few friends. Everyone who lives on the dumpsite always hopes for a treasure within the garbage and when Raphael finds a small leather bag, he thinks his life has turned for the best.

Then police and politicians are paying handsomely for the return of the bag. What is in this bag? With Gardo, Raphael gets the assistance of another trash boy, Rat, to help solve the riddle of the contents of the bag. The next thing these three boys are on the run - running to find answers to a mystery that even the top policemen can’t solve. Can three uneducated, gutter living children outwit and outsmart them?

Trash is a book that will make you look at the world a lot differently. One’s man trash is another’s treasure has new meaning in this brilliant story.

http://www.andymulliganbooks.com/

The Kooky 3D Kid’s Cookbook

2011-01-06T04:14:00.002+11:00

Hardie Grant Books. Non-Fiction Cookbook. Hardcover rrp $24.99

If you are on a diet – beware! The Kooky 3D Kid’s Cookbook is not to be looked at by hungry readers, you may just find while trying to grab a Superstar Sundae or a Chicken Coleslaw Burger that you end up with thin air. Take the 3D glasses off and the craving will, hopefully, abate long enough for you or your kids to cook up a storm.

The Kooky 3D Kid’s Cookbook is a wonderful and quirky addition to the bookshelf of any budding Masterchef. Not only are there some healthy, easy meals and desserts for children to cook (or eat), but each recipe is individually displayed in 3D and the preparations are laid out in easy steps some with helpful hints at the bottom.

This is a cookbook that kids will be fighting over to decide who wears the glasses. A great holiday treat for the children. Look out for the poor Shortbread Person who has lost his arm. I did say quirky!

An Exclusive Love

2011-01-04T04:02:00.002+11:00

by Johanna Adorján. Translated from German by Anthea Bell

The Text Publishing Company. Biography. Paperback rrp $27.95.

Johanna Adorján’s grandparents, Vera and István, decided that Sunday, 13th October 1991 would be the day they went to sleep forever.

Vera and István were both Hungarian Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. István had spent years in a labour camp whilst Vera gave birth and looked after two children on forged documents. When the war finished the two found each other again and moved to Denmark to start their life afresh.

Both Vera and István lived for each other, raised a family and then settled into a domestic and comfortable life as grandparents and retirees. They rarely spoke of their former life in Hungary.

Now István has heart trouble and the doctors have only given him a few months to live. Vera could never see herself alone without her István. So they decide to leave this world together, holding hands.

An Exclusive Love is a wonderful story of the lives of two ordinary but still very extraordinary people. Johanna Adorján has created a wonderful book. Although the subject is sad and upsetting, Adorján has also brought to it some uplifting and funny stories of how two people can go about their lives with a very dark idea in the back of their minds. Brilliant.

Firespell

2011-01-02T03:48:00.002+11:00

A novel of the dark elite

by Chloe Neill

Hachette Australia. Young Adult. Paperback rrp $22.99

Lily Parker has been sent to a very elite boarding school in Chicago. Not quite sixteen, her parents have accepted an ‘amazing opportunity’ to work in Germany for two years. They will be too busy to oversee Lily’s upbringing so she has been shipped from her public education in New York to the snooty, rich lifestyle of the elite, but abandoned children of the rich.

From day one at St. Sophia’s School for Girls, Lily finds that she doesn’t fit in. From the brat pack to her strange roommate Scout, Lily has trouble seeing past the differences in human personalities.

Scout and Lily become friends and Scout helps Lily adjust to the rules and regulations of St. Sophia and the sights of Chicago. But Lily feels that Scout is doing something dangerous and because of their new found friendship, feels bound to save Scout from whatever it is that is taking her out all night. Then Lily starts hearing noises, seeing strange things and noticing that Scout has a different agenda then the rest of St. Sophia’s students.

When the brat pack lures Lily down into the school basements, she is confronted with a new terror. And then Scout goes missing and her room is trashed, it is up to Lily to help find her and save her. But what is she saving her from and will Lily be in just as much danger?

Firespell is a book about magic and demons, demons could be your best friend and sucking the life out of you. The next time you feel lonely and tired check out who is standing next to you. Firespell is the first book in the Dark Elite series.

http://www.chloeneill.com/

Elixir

2010-12-30T15:41:00.000+11:00

by Hilary Duff with Elise Allen

Simon and Schuster Australia. Young Adult. Paperback rrp $24.99

Guest Reviewer – Caitlin (aged 14) interviewed by The Reading Stack

The first essential part of this book review was that Caitlin saw the book and she decided to “see if it would be ok”. After a two week period Caitlin had finished the 300+ pages.

Caitlin has watched, sung and been to Hilary Duff concerts but now has outgrown that stage and yet, she chose, read and finished Hilary Duff’s Elixir. What more of a compliment do you need?

Elixir is the story of Clea Raymond and the hunt for a man who has drunk sufficient Elixir to live for eternity. Most people use the Elixir sparingly to heal others.

The Reading Stack: “What did you think of Elixir?”

Caitlin: “It was alright.”

The Reading Stack: “You made a comment about the beginning, what was that?”

Caitlin: “It was scary to start with.”

The Reading Stack: “Who would read Elixir?”

Caitlin: “Teenage girls.”

The Reading Stack: “What is the story about?”

Caitlin: “It is about the Elixir of Life, a liquid that heals people. If you drink enough of it you can live for eternity. Only one person has drunk enough to live eternally. There are people that want to kill him to rectify the balance of the world. People are cursed whilst this person lives and if they kill him then they will remove the curse. But it is hard to kill someone that can live forever. However there is a way to kill the body and soul and return the Elixir to the earth. You don’t know if he does die as the story leaves it a bit open at the end. I think there will be another book because there were lots of stuff that wasn’t answered, like whether the man dies and restores the Elixir or not.”

The Reading Stack: “Did you enjoy the story?”

Caitlin: “Yes but I hope there is a second book so I can get the answers to my unfinished questions.”

http://eliseallen.com/

The Fear

2010-12-13T14:28:00.000+11:00

The Last Days of Robert Mugabe

by Peter Godwin

Picador. Biographical. Paperback rrp $34.99

Guest Reviewer - Di Bates

‘Bearing witness’ is a phrase usually associated with religion, but there is no missionary zeal about the way in which the author bore witness in Zimbabwe. It’s June, the year is 2008 and elections – marked by intimidation – have just been held in the African nation. Robert Mugabe’s increasingly tyrannical rule should be at an end as the people have overwhelmingly voted out him and his MDC party. However, instead of conceding defeat, Mugabe digs in his heels and retaliates against those he considers his enemies.

As a background to the 2008 election, it helps to know that Mugabe had earlier formed a coalition government with Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), but he removed Nkomo in 1982. In 1984 the two parties were merged as ZANU – Patriotic Front, as Mugabe moved to convert Zimbabwe from a parliamentary democracy into a one-party socialist state. His rule was marked by violence and intimidation and by a decreasing tolerance of political opposition. Long-simmering political tensions between Mugabe and the opposition party, headed by Morgan Tsvangirai, led to the 2008 hotly contested presidential election and a protracted political crisis.

Into this uneasy climate enters Godwin, an international journalist from America who has previously incurred Mugabe’s displeasure. Author of Mukiwa and When a Crocodile Eats the Sun, Godwin decides to document the unfolding calamities that beset the post-election period as the tyrant Mugabe sends his ZANU-PF thugs to plunder, destroy, rape, torture, mutilate and kill his opposition.

This is not a book for uneasy stomachs, but it is a book that needed to be written. As he travels the country, Godwin listens to many stories of survivors who speak their truths with great courage and belief that justice will prevail. Many of the stories are truly horrific; whole villages were decimated as death squads roamed the country and many were imprisoned in the worst of gaols. Zimbabweans called this period The Fear. Diplomats, farmers and ordinary people risked their lives to end the deaths and destruction. Godwin bore witness to the carnage over a three month period before leaving the country.

Finally, on the political front, an agreement for a power-sharing government was reached in September 2008. Mugabe would remain president but would cede some power to Tsvangirai, who would become Prime Minister. The power-sharing government was implemented in February 2009.

As a post-script to the book, tensions rose after Mr Tsvangirai was injured and his wife, Susan, was killed in a car crash on March 6, 2009, that many of his supporters believe was an assassination attempt. Mr. Tsvangirai, though, called it an accident. In 2010, Mugabe was still in government.

Dianne (Di) Bates
http://www.enterprisingwords.com/

101 Things to do on the Holidays

2010-12-09T08:42:00.004+11:00

by Anna O’Donnell (aged 12) and Tessa Wilson (aged 13)

Hardie Grant. Australian, Children's Non-fiction. Paperback rrp $14.95

With the way the weather is shaping up for the summer holidays in New South Wales, this book could be the answer to a lot of parents’ prayers. I flicked through and found, to my absolute delight, the recipe for a volcano AND home-made lemonade. So one adult is really happy about 101 Things to do on the Holidays, how about the kids?

There are some simple ideas that could occupy a child for considerable time. From recycling clothing (Number 86) to creating a new drink (Number 2), to try and not talk (Number 44) to playing with eggs (Numbers 46 and 71). There are plenty of other things that may appeal to the dangerous or cheeky. All areas are covered. Once 101 Things to do on the Holidays is opened, it will be hard to close.

Anna and Tessa have created a successful book which started from being bored in the school holidays. Maybe your child could end up as a published author (Number 101). And our favourite, Number 49 of course, but I can’t tell you what it is, you’ll have to buy the book.

Grug

2010-12-07T08:34:00.004+11:00

Grug Box Set

Grug and the Circus

Grug Learns to Read

by Ted Prior

Simon and Schuster. Australian, Picture, Young Reader. Paperback rrp $4.99

Grug Box Set - Hardback, Soft Toy and CD rrp $29.99

Here at the Reading Stack we have been lucky to receive review copies of Grug. For some, it brings back childhood memories, for others, our children have delightedly grabbed and coveted these wonderful books.

Grug and the Circus and Grug Learns to Read are two new titles and as always, Grug continues to have more wonderful adventures.

The Grug Box Set is an ideal gift for beginner readers for Christmas. Not only is there the original Grug as a board book but a wonderful soft cuddly version of Grug himself. For the younger child there is a CD of the story read by the author, Ted Prior. The funniest thing about this boxed set in our household was the fight from the teenage children over who wanted the toy Grug. The six-year-old won hands down!

The Reading Stack reviewed Grug in July 2009.

http://www.mygrug.com/

The Demon’s Covenant

2010-12-05T02:27:00.002+11:00

by Sarah Rees Brennan

Simon and Schuster. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult. Paperback rrp $16.99

Mae and her brother Jamie have faced magic and demons head on before but now there is a far greater danger and only Mae can save Jamie, and their friends, brothers Nick and Alan.

Jamie is a magician and has been secretly learning his skills with Gerald, the leader of the Obsidian Circle, the same leader that originally marked Jamie as fodder for a demon. Magicians need energy and energy comes from humans that are “marked” to a demon. Slowly the demon will take their soul and the energy is handed to the magician. The more energy the more powerful a magician will become.

Nick and Alan are magician slayers and originally saved Jamie. Now Jamie is being wooed by Gerald, showing him what powers he has and how to use them. With different magician circles fighting for more power, Jamie, Nick, Alan and Mae have to seek the assistance of the magicians they normally want dead. Mae must complete a dangerous dance to call a demon to save her brother and her friends. But do any of them want her help?

The Demon’s Covenant is a sequel to The Demon’s Lexicon but there is no need, if you don’t want to, to read book one. But you would be missing a great story. I’m now eagerly awaiting the third book, well I am hoping for a third book.

The Reading Stack reviewed book one The Demon’s Lexicon in September 2009.

http://www.sarabreesbrennan.com/

She’s So Dead to Us

2010-12-03T02:09:00.004+11:00

by Kieran Scott

Simon and Schuster. Young Adult. Paperback rrp $16.99

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Ally Ryan is a sixteen year old who has gone through a personal hell to be dragged back to Orchard Hill, the town she grew up in and called home until two years before. Everything is different now for Ally Ryan. She used to be a Crestie but now she is a Norm. Crestie’s live on the crest of Orchard Hill, in big mansions. Norms live at the bottom of Orchard Hill in small houses or units.

Two years ago Ally’s dad did some “bad things” and the Ryan family escaped in the middle of the night to Baltimore to Ally’s grandma’s home. Two weeks later her dad disappeared leaving Ally and her mother to fend for themselves. Now Ally’s mum has got a job at Orchard Hill High and Ally is back.

When school starts Ally quickly realises her old friends want nothing to do with her, in fact their main goal now is to taunt and bait her. But the new boy in town, the boy that lives in Ally’s old house, sleeps in her old bedroom, is now her ex-best friend, Shannen’s, new best friend, - and also happens to be hot. Ally likes what she sees but Jake Graydon is a Crestie and she’s a Norm – and never the twain shall meet. Except Jake is also having a hard time with his emotions when it comes to Ally.

She’s So Dead to Us is more than your typical American girl/boy from opposite sides attract and get together story, there are strong elements of Romeo and Juliet. With peer pressure on both sides, Ally and Jake seem destined to never get together but love conquers all. Or does it? When the lies begin and the bitchiness escalates who knows what will happen.

I loved the book, told by both Ally and Ryan, but She’s So Dead to Us has an ending that is screaming out for a sequel. I was so frustrated and now want to see what happens in the next instalment, if there is a next instalment! There better be!

Editor's Note: The sequel He's So Not Worth It is due out mid 2011!

http://www.kieranscott.net/

Snake Surprise

2010-12-01T13:45:00.001+11:00

by J E Fison

Ford Street Publishing. Australian, Junior. Paperback rrp $12.95

Guest Reviewer - Jo Burnell

Somersaulting sausage rolls! What could possibly happen next? It’s never boring on Hazard River. There’s often a bit of the ridiculous mixed in with drama and mystery in this Series. A little brother loves to let the imagination run wild and when clues hint at someone in distress, who could blame him? Unexpected happenings turn into monumental adventures. Terrible villains are concocted, while the real ones are even freakier.

I can see Ben stumble backwards and bounce off the table. I stretch with Jack as his hands cling to the boat and his feet are stuck on the dinghy. Will the water’s current split him in two?

Snake Surprise will keep Middle Primary students glued to the page. Just when you think

things can’t get worse, they do. There’s a strong hook to keep you reading at the end of each Chapter too. I couldn’t stop till I found out what happened in the end.

Although unfamiliar vocabulary offers a challenge, the benefits are in the tale. This will be a series that hauls a reluctant reader or two back to the page.

Thanks J E Fison. Don’t stop now!

Shark Attack and Snake Surprise were released together in 2010. Bat Attack and Tiger Terror will follow in March 2011.

http://hazardriver.com/Author.html

Six

2010-11-25T14:05:00.000+11:00

by Karen Tayleur

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

Guest Reviewer - Jo Burnell

Although Six starts off at a tragic road accident, it is about so much more. The lives of six very different characters draw you into their world and won’t let go. Year 12 at Silver Valley High is like any around Australia, or the world for that matter.

What is different in Six is that things are never as they seem when Karen Tayleur is guiding the course. At one point, I thought I’d been sucked into a murder mystery where everyone was a suspect. Then I was hoping for a happy ending in the quest for love, before realising the double twist.

Six is a tale of romance and psychic powers, of rebellion and secrets, of tragedy and subterfuge, depending on your point of view. Will you foresee the end? I doubt it. It was the last thing on my mind. Six is a ripping good read. Not too dark, not too light. My only complaint is that it was too short. Can’t wait for the next one, Karen.

Karen Tayleur’s Chasing Boys was reviewed in Issue 2 of The Reading Stack, Hostage reviewed on 18 October 2009 and Halloween in Christmas Hills (The Legend of Stingy Jack) reviewed on 26 October 2009.

Author Bill Condon Wins Award

2010-11-09T12:35:00.000+11:00

Bill Condon has won the $100,000 Prime Minister's Literary Award for young adult fiction for Confessions of a Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God, about a student at a Catholic boys' school in 1967. The judges said the book was a ''poignant, funny and deeply insightful rite of passage novel...The pain of first love and the ...morality attached to individual life choices is made contemporary in a work praised by the judges as one of tremendous honesty and integrity.''

The Reading Stack reviewed Bill's book Confessions of a Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God in October 2009.

Grimsdon

2010-11-09T02:21:00.003+11:00

by Deborah Abela

Random House Australia. Australian, Junior, Adventure. Paperback rrp $16.95

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

The city of Grimsdon is under water and three years after the flood, the ‘sneaker waves’ continue to roll in.

Isabella Charm, her best friend, Griffin, twins, Raffy and Bea, and Fly, the girl who never speaks, live in a palatial half-submerged old building. Every day is a struggle to survive - they scrounge for food, brave the dangerous flying fox and dare the waves in a flimsy dinghy – yet the children are happy with each other. Their home furnishings are the stuff of fairytales as they play dress up and act out stories.

But change is on its way - through the air, across the harbour and from under the sea. Dashing Xavier flies in on his aerotrope to admire Isabella and challenge Griffin’s role in the family of children. The ‘harbour master’,

Byron P Sneddon, makes new and greater demands on the children – including one for the aerotrope. And there just might be a sea monster lurking in the deeps, the dreaded Skelene.

This is a story of magnificent scope. A film waiting to happen. Readers will be drawn, dripping wet, through the wonderful world of Grimsdon. Fast paced, imaginative and with just a touch of romance, this book will equally appeal to boys and girls.

http://www.deborahabela.com/

Puggle’s Problem

2010-11-07T02:13:00.005+11:00

by Aleesah Darlinson, Illustrated by Sandra Temple

Wombat Books. Australian, Picture Book. Hardcover rrp $17.95

Young readers love stories about Australian native animals and puggles, baby echidnas, are one of the most unusual and fascinating.

Pipp is a very clever puggle. He was top of his class at eating ants. He was top of his class at curling into a ball. But this little puggle has a problem. He is the only puggle in the whole bush without any spines.

Pipp gets help from the other animals – koala, wombat, kangaroo and kookaburra. But only an echidna really knows how to help and Pipp’s mum tells him that if he believes in them, good things will happen. There is a gentle message of patience subtly woven into the story and as everyone knows, an echidna without spines is easier to hug!

I loved the read aloud rhythms and the sounds they made, like when Pipp dug in the ‘soft scritchedy dirt’.

Illustrator Sandra Temple is an award-winning wildlife artist. Her illustrations are cute enough to cuddle but also an excellent depiction of the features of our native animals. Readers will have no trouble describing or drawing a puggle after reading this book.

Puggle’s Problem is both entertaining and educational. As an added treat, colouring in pictures can be found here http://www.wombatbooks.com.au/pugglesproblem.html.

http://www.aleesahdarlison.com/
http://www.sandratemple.com/

Kumiko and the Dragon’s Secret

2010-11-05T02:03:00.006+11:00

by Briony Stewart

UQP (University of Queensland Press). Australian, Junior, Mythical. Paperback rrp $14.95

Reviewed by Heather Zubek

I want a dragon just like Kumiko. I want a dragon that watches over you at night and protects you from the Shadow Catchers during the day. I am not a human born into the ancient royal bloodline of dragons unfortunately but young Kumiko is and so are her sister and Grandmother. They have guardian dragons that take them on all sorts of adventures.

Kumiko and the Dragon’s Secret is the second book in the series by young Perth author Briony Stewart but there is no need to read the first to understand the next installment.

Based on stories passed down from her Japanese grandmother and beautifully illustrated by Briony herself, Kumiko and the Dragon’s Secret continues the adventures of a young Japanese girl and her guardian dragon called Tomodo. Briony’s writing is rich and colourful with beautiful phrasing:

There is nothing outside but the hills, which lie like layers of torn paper across the horizon.

The illustrations are thoughtful and clearly influenced by the author’s Japanese roots. The story of sister rivalry is also sensitively detailed and brings a knowing smile to anyone who has a younger sibling.

Kumiko and the Dragon’s Secret is a beautiful mix of mythology and fiction. The chapters are short enough to hold the interest of young readers and a cliff hanger at the end of most of them ensures the pages are turned.

A wonderful series that will appeal to young readers aged 9+.

http://www.brionystewart.com/

Z

2010-11-03T03:14:00.000+11:00

by Michael Thomas Ford

Random House Australia. Young Adult fiction, Science Fiction. Paperback rrp $19.95

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

This is not an easy book to review and it’s not a book that will suit every reader. It’s gory and violent - complete with zombies, flame throwers and charred flesh

But… I thought it was excellent. In the right hands this is just the sort of book that will unglue teenage boys from their video screens and encourage them to read. And while some adults might cringe at the blood and guts, this is no different to the games and movies these readers (and potential readers) are already immersed in.

The first rule of torching: cleanse with fire.

This is an action packed story set in a time after the Zombie Wars – when humanity was forced to obliterate its own kind – even friends and family – who had been affected by the zombie flu virus. Josh spends every moment he can playing a virtual reality zombie hunting game.

He’s very good at what he does (torching) and is invited to join a secret elite group who play in a specially constructed ‘park’ to entertain wealthy people who bet on the outcome. He gets paid to play.

The zombies are automatons. Or are they? When zombies bleed real blood, team members disappear and Josh takes a new drug Z, to experience the heightened sensory perception of a Zombie, he is no longer sure what to believe.

A valuable addition to a growing number of titles I class as ‘gamer fiction’, this dark and thrilling book is perfect for teens who would rather play on-line shoot-em ups and role playing games than pick up a book. However parents and librarians may need to make individual decisions about how they distribute it.

http://www.michaelthomasford.com/

The Trouble with Dogs

2010-11-01T01:45:00.002+11:00

by Bob Graham

Walker Books. Australian, Picture Book. Softcover, rrp $15.95

Australian author and illustrator Bob Graham is an undisputed master of the picture book, winning numerous awards internationally and locally. The Trouble with Dogs is a sequel to the multi-award winning Let’s Get a Pup.

Brought home from the Rescue Centre, Dave the pup is full of fun. Too much sometimes. He runs, he barks and he chews holes in the tights of Kate’s school friends.

Dave was small and wild. He slipped and he slid, he leapt and he skittered. “Take-me-as-you-find-me, don’t-care Dave.”

The family make excuses for him but when his behaviour doesn’t improve and he steals a cupcake from a guest’s plate, Pup Breakers are called.
“David, here!” The Brigadier does not tolerate any puppy nonsense and after just one session, Dave has lost his sparkle, his crackle and his fizz.
How will the second lesson go and who will ultimately teach who?
There is nothing more endearing than a beautiful puppy book, one with a touching story and energetic illustrations. The Trouble With Dogs ticks all the boxes. Bob Graham’s illustrations are full of fun and frolicking. Dave is a dog every reader will want to hold close.

Hale and Hardy

2010-10-30T03:22:00.007+11:00

by Paul Carter

Pan Macmillan Australia. Adult fiction, Australian. Paperback, rrp $34.99

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Doctor John Hale and his wife have emigrated from the mother land to to Melbourne to escape and forget. But travelling half way around the world doesn’t help and the couple go their separate ways. Life takes a huge backwards step until one night Hale finds himself sitting in his car when he notices a sign on a run-down church ‘Unless you change direction you will end up where you are going.’

Seeing the sign as an epitaph, Dr Hale decides to leave the hustle and bustle of Melbourne and move to the slower, more relaxed lifestyle of a country doctor.

Every chapter in Hale and Hardy is a story in itself. Paul Carter is a country GP in central Victoria writing about a world he knows well - the people and animals that surround small rural communities. Although some may think that country life is slow and dull, Paul Carter has created a wonderful cast of fascinating characters. There is tragedy, love, companionship, grief, happiness all told with a delightful humour that kept me intrigued right to the last page.

I hope there will be another book continuing the story of Doctor John Hale. And if you are wondering who is Hardy, all I can say is he is a remarkable companion, listener and philosopher. Read the book. You won’t regret it.

Graffiti Moon

2010-10-28T02:55:00.005+11:00

by Cath Crowley

Pan Macmillan Australia. Young Adult fiction, Australian. Paperback, rrp $16.99

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

Lucy loves Shadow, even though she’s never met him. She knows he is her soul mate. She can see it in the scope and colour of his sprawling graffiti artworks. The city is his canvas and his friend Poet, adds just the right words.

No matter how she tries, Lucy cannot catch Shadow at work. He is as elusive as his name. Reality provides less appealing and far less romantic alternatives. Reality provides Ed, the high school dropout and paint store attendant. Not likely! She’s already been on a date with him and even though it was over a year ago, neither of them has forgotten how Lucy broke Ed’s nose.

When Lucy’s best friend Jazz sets her heart on Ed’s friend Leo, and their new friend Daisy is in a tenuous relationship with another of Ed’s friends, Dylan, a new social group emerges. She’s forced to spend time with Ed again. But it’s not as bad as she dreads and he even offers to help her find Shadow.

Love is hard to understand. Lucy’s having occasional fuzzy thoughts about Ed. Her parents, who have moved apart, seem to love each other more. Nothing is ever what she expects. Not even Shadow.

This is so much more than a love story. It’s about having dreams and deciding which ones to follow and which ones to let go. It’s about the freedom of artistic vision and the need to provide for everyday life. It’s about friendship, family and having fun. It’s a beautiful book and an excellent story.

http://www.cathcrowley.com.au/

Old MacDonald had a Farm

2010-10-26T03:27:00.011+11:00

illustrated by Mandy Foot

Hachette Children’s Books. Australian, Picture Book. Hardback rrp $24.99

Here is another children’s favourite song brought to life by Mandy Foot in her uniquely Australian way.

Everyone around the globe can sing the traditional version of the song about Old MacDonald and his variety of farm animals. But in Australia we have the emu and the kangaroo, the cockatoos and the kookaburras. Of course the standard farm animals are there too - the horse, the pigs and the sheep.

Old MacDonald had a Farm is a fun interactive book for children of all ages. Old MacDonald himself is wonderfully portrayed as a typical outback farmer, right to the point where he lies in his outdoor bathtub still wearing his old hole-ridden hat.

Throughout the pages readers can count the number of kookaburras and at the end find the words and music reproduced for those budding musicians. A great book for all young children and a special treat for overseas readers.

The Reading Stack reviewed Mandy Foot’s The Wheels on the Bus in October 2009.

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