My sister lives on the mantelpiece

Author: Annabel Pitcher

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Reading Age 10 – 14 years

This book had my attention from beginning to end. How does a small boy cope with a drunken, racist father, an absent mother, a teenage sister, moving to a country town and a new school and the constant presence of an urn on the mantelpiece? 

Narrated by ten-year-old Jamie this story tears at your heart strings yet makes you laugh at the same time. Though his understanding is limited, Jamie gets things right about what is important, while his parents have shut their living children from their grief-overwhelmed lives. 

At school he can’t write truthfully about his holidays or family, the parent /teacher interview is a disaster, to his class mates and teacher he is quite weird. His fifteen- year-old sister, who deals with the loss in her own ways, understands. Jas is there for Jamie while their father can’t let the other sister go. Their mother has gone off with the Support Worker sent to help the family cope with grief. If you think this sounds too sad to read, read it. You will want to protect Jamie and Jas who are totally neglected by those who should be protecting them, yet be delighted by the honesty and humour, the irony and the bitter-sweetness of help coming from the girl who bears classmates’ jibes of curry germ because of her origins.


Reviewed by Gayle Davidson

Odell Learning Resources Centre

The Dragon’s Tooth

 Author: N.D. Wilson

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A boy throws two old tires into an empty swimming pool, picks up a ringing phone in a dilapidated motel, and hears the voice of someone demanding to stay that night in Room 111. Cyrus (the boy) is furious when his older brother allows the stranger to stay in the room, as in fact it is his own bedroom, however by the morning, everything has changed. A night of fire, murder and strange events means you have entered an N. D. Wilson story. 

The author’s first series, 100 Cupboards, was an engaging American Fantasy series, and this book is the start of a new series. There are some things in common, but for those already missing the unionised fairies and hand carved wooden typewriter of the first books, I have to point out this book has a very different premise. In both cases the introductory book is especially attractive because it sets up a number of mysteries. In both cases the focus is not on an individual hero but on a family with a secret history… but not a family with innate or mysterious powers. 

Despite the title, the book is not about a world of high fantasy (dragons, elves and spells). Instead it proposes an ancient secret society whose purpose is to incarcerate forces of evil that seek to ravage the world. Their tools include guns, genetically enhanced dragon flies and planes as well as some more mysterious objects such as the dragon’s tooth fragment of the title. The book has at least has a very clear distinction between good and evil, with a particularly nasty master villain who dabbles in genetic modification of those he captures. I’m interested that in an end note the author talks about trying out sections of the book as bedtime stories for his own young children, as there is a quite strong violence and some very nasty characters. 

Some of the mechanisms are familiar from other stories, but both in his first series and in this book Wilson shows many distinctively original touches and ideas. I also enjoy reading his books as an adult, as he is quite capable of using beautifully crafted images and language. If I have a criticism apart from the violence it would be that some of the physical adventures and trials of Cyrus and his sister Antigone are rather over the top, however it does seem ironical to be talking about “realism” when in the throes of a fantasy story. 

So, the start of another series by an interesting writer with a good pedigree: some magic and horror elements and relatively strong violence, clear distinction between good and evil, and writing that is at times quite literary. 

Andrew Lack
Head of the Odell Learning Resources Centre

The Coming of the Whirlpool

Author: Andrew McGahan

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Dow Amber is the son of timber getter. When he is of age he follows his father and the men of the village up to the plateau to fell trees. While there his heart is stolen... not by a girl, but by an unexpected glimpse of the wild, surging ocean at the base of a headland. His safe world is unmade, and his fate is now to walk in strange and difficult paths. 

Andrew McGahan is an Australian author with several adult novels to his credit, including the Miles Franklin winner The White Earth. This book is the start of a fantasy series aimed at teens. When I say fantasy, I need to clarify that there are no elves, dragons or magic rings in this book, and no magic or monsters (though he may have some in store for later books). It is however set in a world that is almost but not quite Earth... a world with a much reduced level of technology.

In that world the Ship Kings have come to dominate and rule over other island people, and Dow’s fascination with the sea is going to bring him into rapid conflict with these inflexible rulers who allow no one else to even sail out at sea.

The writing is for the most part confident and effective. The various characters are interesting, the situations mostly believable, and there is a sense of several sub plots emerging. The language is more formal than I may have expected, but this is McGahan’s ploy to create a distinct “story telling” tone. It is clear from the cover (Ship Kings Book 1) that this is going to be a series, but he completes the story for this book in satisfactory way. My only real reservation is that in the most dramatic adventure or action section (the actual whirlpool of the title) I think both the physical phenomenon and the human action are a bit over the top. Still, he warns at the start that this is a different world with different rules. 

I will be interested to see how the story continues. It is a bold move to write a book that is in so many ways a fantasy adventure, yet to avoid the supernatural, fantasy world creatures and magic. There are likely to be larger forces at work, but so far they are described as fate, blood inheritance and a curse... and these are ideas expressed by characters, not directly by the author.
A good read for Year Five and above, and an interesting opening salvo from a good Australian author.

Andrew Lack
Head of the Odell Learning Resources Centre

The Blood Red Road

Author: Moira Young

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I finished this book a little confused. Is it a western transported into a dystopian future? Is it Sci Fi but without the aliens and gadgets? Is it a love story? Of course breaking genre boundaries is no crime, indeed can win you the Pulitzer Prize (A Visit from the Goon Squad). The problem here is whether the final result works. The folk who awarded this the 2011 Costa Book Award liked it… I was less certain. 

In a bleak future (presumably America) technology has been reduced to medieval level. Evidence of “The Wreckers” (presumably modern Americans) is everywhere, but mostly as scrap. A small family ekes out an existence beside a drying lake. The older children, Lugh and Sada, are twins. On one disastrous day Lugh is kidnapped and Sada vows to rescue him from the riders who have claimed him for a mysterious purpose. Though she is only eighteen her fighting ability and determination will lead her on many strange adventures as part of this mission.

To make life even more difficult she is also responsible for a younger sister, who she cannot love as she blames her for their mother’s death. She also meets Jack along the way, and Jack she finds fascinating and dangerous in equal proportion. 

The story is told in the first person from Sada’s perspective, and she is given a sort of “western” American dialect. Strangely (for a world so far in the future) there are very few new words, simply contractions like “gonna”, “fer”, “outta” and “git”. It is quite easy to read but I feel the author missed on an opportunity to have a more creative look at our ever mutable language. The stuff in the book could easily come from any western novel. 

The book is not really “Sci Fi” in most senses. There is no new technology, no aliens, just a bleak reduction of the future into the past. I personally also found it rather odd in the way it flicks between the love story between Sada and Jack, and the often quite intense action and violence of the rest of the book. Many of the ideas reminded me of other novels: it is not wrong to borrow, but I expect a blend of new and generic at least. The wise crow? Try The Hobbit. The older sister sacrificing herself for the younger? Hunger Games. The cage fighting in Hopetown? Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Even the land yacht is not so far away from Mortal Engines. A population enslaved by drugs? A Scanner Darkly.

I read to the end, but I’m not convinced I’d read another volume (as the series seems destined to continue). Can one come up with truly new ideas in fantasy or “future” novels in an American setting? Certainly! Orson Scott Card does an amazing job in the Alvin the Maker series, and more recently N D Wilson created a fascinating American fantasy with The 100 Cupboards series. I suppose The Blood Red Road comes closest to something like Tomorrow When the War Began. While Hunger Games is possibly more horrifying in the pitting of innocent against innocent, it also has to my way of thinking a much stronger moral centre. 

Suitable for teens and up, with a note that there is a range of intense and fairly graphical scenes of fighting and its consequences. 

Andrew Lack
Head of the Odell Learning Resources Centre

A Straight Line to My Heart

Author: Bill Condon

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You know it is not an American or British book when the man in charge of the Football Club is a "Prezzie", and where one of the main characters is called Reggie and is obsessed with finally getting his Ford back on the road after years of trying to restore it.

Tiff (never Tiffany) has just finished Year Twelve, and is about to start some work experience at the local newspaper. She has a complicated family setup but is well cared for by Reggie and Bull. Being Australian males they show their genuine affection by constant teasing.  Life is about to take a number of twists and turns, which will lead to self doubt, sorrow, laughter and reflection.

The story is told in the first person, so we get to know the small country town where Tiff lives through her eyes. I can only imagine that the book would be a bit of  puzzle to a reader from another country, as Tiff's vernacular is a distinctively Aussie, without being contrived. While the events that take place are largely of only local concern, they impact Tiff dramatically, so ultimately this becomes a book about change and the inevitable progression of living.

The author has deliberately chosen to write a story that is positive, and has comendably avoided the swearing, drugs and sex scenes that are increasingly common in teenage stories. This does not make it any less real, and some big issues are touched on including alcoholism, single mothers with children from multiple partners, smoking and cancer. It is interesting to compare this story to Fill Out This Application and Wait Over There (reviewed) which is also about a student after Year Twelve and a newspaper job, though in an urban environment.

An easy and pleasant read for teenagers (even young ones) with a little romance and a lot about life, all the more engaging for being distinctively Australian.

Andrew Lack

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

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Interesting title, interesting concept, interesting typography... so why am I hesitant?

Todd is a thirteen year old boy... the youngest in his village, on a far planet. The village is in desperate straits, as a virus released by the alien inhabitants of the planet has killed all the women and left the men telepathic with unpleasant results. Tod is facing his coming-of-age ceremony with eagerness.

Everything changes when he stumbles on a "hole in the noise" in a trip to the nearby woods. The noise is the constant clamour of mental activity from other humans, even from animals and insects. He runs to tell his carers Ben and Cilian, and they react by telling him he has to flee the village immediately.

The story is well told. For instance, Todd has a dog, which is able to speak in one or two word sentences. The dog provides an amusing and sometimes poignant commentary on the drama that ensues. It quickly becomes clear that Ben is in danger from his own village, and that almost everything he has been told is a lie.

The "noise" is handled creatively with slabs of  rough "handwriting" text interposed to represent other's thoughts. This probably means the book will be a nightmare to turn into an eBook. The pace is frantic, and this is one of the problems I ultimately had. Despite the quirky ideas and competent writing, I thought there should be an ebb and flow in the pace. Instead, it is quite relentless seemingly from cover to cover.

The other problem I have is with the level of violence. Todd is pursued by Aaron, a semi crazed religious figure who seems unfazed by normal pain and damage (think Rasputin). We are presented with some fairly appalling descriptions of Aaron's increasingly hideous appearance and also a graphical depiction of a knife killing that Aaron becomes involved with.

Consequently a book that could have been a very imaginative and gripping read for younger students I am now inclined to put on the Senior Fiction shelves. The other problem is that I would rather this have been written as a book with its own natural arc and conclusion. Instead, the author has ended on a cliffhanger with the promise of a second (and no doubt a third) book. Some of the best sci-fi writers in the world manage book series without stooping to this device (for instance Ender's Game).

It is worth a read, but the creative ideas and style promise more than is, I think, ultimately delivered.

Andrew Lack

Graffiti Moon

Author: Cath Crowley

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It is so pleasing to see this author exploring the lives of three teenagers who are deeply affected by art and poetry. This is made all the more delightful because their passion for art has emerged in a working class suburb.

Lucy has just finished Year 12, and seems to lead a relatively uncomplicated life. Her parents do have some unusual arrangements, and she does worry about them, but they are loving parents who care for her. She has become interested in glass blowing and used that medium to create her HSC major work. She does not have a boyfriend at the moment, partly due to an unfortunate incident where a boy asked her out and when he touched her bottom she lashed out and broke his nose. Lucy also has developed a passion for a local graffiti artist called “Shadow”. Unfortunately, Lucy knows him only by his evocative and soulful works, and has never actually met him. She is sure if she can only catch up with him (and his friend “Poet” ) she will have found her soul mate.

It is hardly a surprise that this plan of action goes drastically wrong, and the author tells the story by swapping between two first person narrators, Lucy, and a boy who agrees to help her find Shadow. On the way we meet their friends (and enemies). Interestingly the events actually take place over a single night.

This is not an overly subtle book. To create a dramatic situation in ordinary suburbia there is a sub-plot involving a minor gangster like figure who I did not find entirely convincing. Don’t imagine, by the way, that the book cruises along on some ethereal level discussing high art. Lucy’s friends are mostly interested in partying, relationships and drinking. There is a smattering of swearing, and quite a lot of discussion about “doing it” though no actual sex scenes.

Recommended for Senior School and above, though do be mindful of the swearing and adult themes.

Andrew Lack

Head of the Odell Learning Resources Centre

I Am Number Four

Author: Pittacus Lore

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I approached this teen novel with anticipation... "Now a major Motion Picture" proclaims the cover. Unfortunately I found myself getting rather terse with the author. There is a disconcerting unevenness and other faults.

The opening half of the book sets the scene... young John and his carer are one of only nine pairs of survivors of a planet destroyed by the hateful Mogadorians. Each pair consists of a younger person who will gradually develop special powers, and a mentor. They are hiding on Earth, but the Mogadorians are on the hunt, which means John has to shift towns constantly.

The first half is about John's arrival at a new town, a new school, and a new raft of emotions as he falls passionately in love with the prettiest girl in the school. The second part of the book reads like the script for the main action scene of a movie. It is breathlessly intense with constant cliff-edge moments.

The book overall has some interesting concepts, but before I got to the end I found I was struggling with annoyance at the writer, who seems to have watched too many TV shows to find out how to "do action". The classic trope is there: John is about to be blown away by a Mogadarian with a gun... hears a shot, looks up to see that his friend has arrived and shot the assailant.

The author can't seem to decide whether he is writing sci-fi or fantasy. There is some semi science explanations, but at other times the ideas especially of the Mogidarian powers (to do with "pulling the life force out of nearby trees") seems much more to do with magic.

There is swearing but it stays in the "minor" category. The book does espouse commendable themes of loyalty and friendship, but also has a good deal of detailed violence. The book is set up for lots of sequels. Disconcertingly key information emerges only when the plot requires it, rather than having been set up through the first half of the story. Suitable for Year Nine and above.

Andrew Lack

Six Impossible Things

Author: Fiona Wood
Fourteen year old Dan feels like his whole world has ended. His Dad has lost all their money on a failed business… then abandoned Dan and his Mum, and announced he is gay. Their house has been repossessed, and they have been forced to go and live in an old smelly house provided by a relative. True, the girl next door catches Dan’s eye, and goes to his school, but seems aloof. Every effort he makes to attract her attention ends up a disaster.


Finally he makes a list of six impossible things he wants to achieve, such as getting a job and cheering up his Mum. The story is about what happens when he tries to achieve each of these goals. It is always a great sign when you are engaged as a reader within the first two pages. I was a little disappointed that the author decided on a series of happy endings. A book like Life on a Refrigerator Door touches similar themes of parent and child conflict and family tragedy, is largely positive, yet ends with the teen protagonist realising there are things she simply cannot fix. Despite that reservation, I thoroughly enjoyed Six Impossible Things. It is written with a wry sense of humour.


This is a book that could quite comfortably be given to students down to Year Five, though some of the issues canvased and the general reading level probably points to Year Seven and up. This is not a didactic book, and is not written “to help kids deal with divorce”… that is simply the setting for the opening scenes of disaster facing Dan. It is told in the first person in a diary format. It does espouse the value of tolerance and respect for individual choices.

Andrew Lack

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Fill Out This Application and Wait Over There

Author: Ruth Starke

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Thumbs up for a book that made me giggle while sending shivers of recognition up my spine. Nearby students appeared quite concerned when I evidenced that particular combination of symptoms. Ruth Starke’s “first novel for older readers” is a tongue in cheek harrowing tale of the trials faced by Hailee Moxie when she decides to look for work after leaving school. Hailee imagines this will be easy and casual work a breeze, but it turns out she has much to learn. She journeys into the arcane worlds of fashion sales, checkout chick and untrained “social column” editor for a local newspaper.


Hailee is an engaging character… I was willing her to success and was pleased that after the final page the author added a “what happens next” summary for each of the characters. Hailee tells her own story in diary form. This made me reflect on that most poignant of tales The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Age 13 ¾ . Part of the fun of reading a story like this is the dramatic irony. We know Haillee is going to make herself sick on the first day selling chocolates (staff can eat all they want) and we enjoy the sense of “I told you so” when it happens. For me, however, the life of Adrian Mole was very remote (suburban England in the 70s) while the world Hailee lives in is both very Australian and very up-to-date. She is no nerd, but has to keep helping her Dad with his battles with technology (“what’s an ISP thingy?”). The journalism intern who steals her job at the paper but is later fired promptly “defriends” everyone in the office on her Facebook page.


This is a book for teens and above. Bad language is relatively mild (a few bad words are included but “beeped” out with asterisks). There are a few references to other people’s sexual dalliances and drink or drug consumption, but she is a surprisingly innocent young lady and so the tone stays light and humorous. Ideal for Year Ten and up.


Andrew Lack

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Author: Richard C Morais

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This story is for those who enjoy cooking and are interested in other cultures. The reader is invited to share in the family life of Hassan Haji. Born above his grandfather’s modest restaurant in Mumbai, Hassan Haji first experiences life through tastes and smells like spicy fish curry, the local markets, and outings with his mother involving gourmet food.


Tragedy means the family has to leave India. They emigreate to France and set up home in Lumiere, a small village in the French Alps. The Hassan’s father establishes an Indian restaurant, “Maison Mumbai” just near Mademoiselle Mallory’s French restaurant. The two restaurants battle each other for customers and prestige. Life becomes complicated when young Hassan discovers French cuisine for himself, and decides to become a French chef!


The Hundred-Foot Journey is about the gulf between different cultures and the difficulties in store for someone who wants to move beyond cultural and family expectations.


Helen Sillar

Mortal Engines

Author: Philip Reeve

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“It was a dark, blustery afternoon... and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea.” Welcome to a rollicking adventure yarn where sensible citizens live in mobile cities, and where the rule of law has been replaced by “kill or be killed”. This book is aimed at younger teens, and the emphasis is on adventure rather than believable science. The genre is steam punk (see also my Leviathan review) and I suspect that a suspension of realistic hard science has been accepted as normal for this genre. He has the entire city of London moving over difficult terrain at 80 kilometres an hour on caterpillar tracks!


We meet Tom, an earnest young apprentice to the all powerful Engineers guild. Tom witnesses an attack on Valentine, the heroic Explorer by an apparently deranged girl Hester. All is not what it seems, and slowly the terrible truth about Valentine and the other rulers of London comes to light. Tom is thrown out of London, and has to survive in a wilderness criss-crossed by the gouges of the mobile cities. He meets other outcasts, and survives challenges to his life and freedom.


Don’t read this if you are looking for solid and mentally stimulating science fiction. It is ultimately an adventure story placed in an “alternative future”. Like the science, Tom’s adventures are rather far fetched. Still, I was interested to see how the book would finish and skimmed through to the dramatic conclusion.


I would see this as a read for younger teens keen for “adventure on the high seas” in SciFi form. Some of the fighting is gruesome, and there are scary characters and moments, so it would not be ideal for younger students.


Andrew Lack

The Chestnut King

N. D. Wilson
Couldn’t put it down, and no, it wasn’t because of the honey sandwich I’d just eaten. I reviewed book two in the 100 Cupboards trilogy feeling that I had lost something I loved in the first book, the sense of mounting mystery. This third book managed to win me back completely with its combination of fantasy based action adventure, unexpected twists, original ideas and well crafted writing.


In Dandelion Fire we leave Henry relatively settled and safe: within pages of the start of The Chestnut King every single person he cares for is in terrible danger, and the family has been split up and by choice or force are heading in three different directions. We are introduced to an apparently invulnerable new foe. However, I was especially pleased to find that there was lots more about the “faeren”, the quirky “fairies” of Wilson’s world who are run more like a trade union than a fairy court. I just loved the description of Thorn and his hand carved “inscriptor” which turns out to be a wooden typewriter!


As with Dandelion Fire I have to warn that this is not a sweet tale for little children. There are battles, injuries, deaths, blood, and spine chilling dangers that Henry and his friends and family have to face. The book is also the longest of the three, so again I would think more suited to Year Seven and up than younger readers.


For older readers there is an opportunity to see what good fantasy writing is all about: there is no slavish following of hackneyed formulas, the characters are developed with distinctive voices, there are passages of really fine and poetical writing, and, I’m pleased to say, no danger of confusing right and wrong, good and evil. The normally vexed problem of how people move from world to world is dealt with in a creative way, with lots of tongue in cheek fun concerning the apparent disappearance of Henry’s Kansas home and how the local community deals with that.


Andrew Lack
Head of the Odell Learning Resources Centre.

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Dandelion Fire

by N. D. Wilson
I have been thinking hard about what to say about this book. The first in the series, 100 Cupboards, was fascinating and mysterious. Much that was hidden and unexplained in the first book is revealed and explained in this. In a strange way, that almost seems like a weakness.


Part of good fantasy writing is to create the sense of a complete world. Paradoxically this is done best by having much more to hint about than you have time to explain. When the author decides to explain all the odd events of the first book, it leaves me wanting more mysteries! However, the writing is good, we meet more great characters, and the adventures become much more intense.


In book one, young Henry is staying out on a farm. He discovers the wall over his bed is covered with little doors and that each door leads to a different place. Strange events pile up rapidly after he receives a warning letter through one of the doors.


In Dandelion Fire, Henry decides he needs to explore further, but unfortunately everyone in the house becomes involved, and matters can only be resolved by going into the considerable danger of the worlds behind the doors.


This is a book from a very original and imaginative writer. There are some interesting uses of language, haunting poetic phrases, and races and roles quite unlike the standard fantasy fare. For instance the Faeren are the “fairies” of the novel, but are nothing to do with the gauzy creatures of children’s tales. They are face pulling gnomes obsessed by petty rules and restrictions.


I will warn that while the “sides” are very clearly drawn (good is good, evil is evil), there is a good deal of killing, and Henry and others in the family get fairly battered at different times. Because of the violence level I would be suggesting this for Year Seven and up. Adult readers who enjoy fantasy should certainly have a look at this series, they will find the writing and ideas worth the read.


Andrew Lack
Head of the Odell Learning Resources Centre

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Leviathan

Author Scott Westerfeld, illustrated Keith Thompson

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I am not a big fan of “alternative history” novels, but the energy and imagination behind this teen “steam punk” novel won me at least half over. We are taken back to the days just prior to World War One... but to an Austria that has developed giant fighting machines a little like the “walkers” in Star Wars, and a Britain that has learnt how to genetically alter creatures to turn them into huge transporters or attack weapons.


The fun is in the imagined technologies, but the focus is on the adventures of two young people each caught up in the fighting: two young people destined to meet in strange circumstances. The story rolls out at a cracking pace, and it is moodily and ably illustrated every second or third page.


This is not a delicately crafted tale... it is told as an adventure story and you simply have to be prepared to suspend belief that quite so many wild adventures (and escapes) would happen to any one (or two) individuals. There are mysteries, and a bit of background story to each of the young people featured. Not all the mysteries are fully explained by the end of the book, as there are two more books to go in the series.


This is a fun read for younger teens who like adventure, and a reasonable introduction to the steam punk genre. It does raise some interesting questions about genetic engineering as well.


Andrew Lack

Now

By Morris Gleitzman

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If you are only familiar with Gleitzman’s Misery Guts or his other tongue in cheek stories for younger readers, this book will come as a shock. It is a serious, layered, complex and completely engaging story. It is certainly designed for the younger teen reader, though it needs to be understood by parents that some serious topics are under examination, including the terror of a massive firestorm and the harsh reality of its victims.


This is the third in his series of books that touch on the life of Felix, a ten year old boy growing up in Nazi Germany. In Now, Felix is a grandfather, and the story is told by his granddaughter who he is caring for. Part of the drama is in the question of why young Zelda’s parents are not around. As she says at one point “In our family... the parents always leave the kids... I think we should stop it”.


Zelda does her best to cope in a new school, but for some reason an older student Tonya starts to bully her. Things get more and more difficult, but Felix quickly senses what is going on... after all he is an expert in what it is like to live with bullies.


I was in tears by the end of this relatively short novel: Gleitzman shows that he can explore complex “adult” topics of the sort our growing children often encounter, while staying within the confines of the age he chosen to write for. You will want to find out more about the characters, and re-read the tale to savour the details. Suitable for Year Five and up, though parent co-reading would be sensible for those who may not be comfortable with the intense drama in parts of this.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series

by Jeff Kinney

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The series began in 2004 as comics on the site http://www.funbrain.com/. This "novel in cartoons" translates well to book form. Our copies in the OLRC are always reserved and the children constantly ask for any of the books in this series.


Diary Of A Wimpy Kid consists of little episodes in clueless middle schooler Greg Heffley's life. The author, originally a game designer, shows a great sense of humor throughout. Young readers can relate to the problems Greg Heffley faces, so they laugh heartily at his mishaps.


Greg's grand schemes to become popular are all destined for failure. The reader can spot where the flaws are in Greg's half-baked plans, as well as the lesson he never quite learns. Writing down your thoughts on actual paper may be old-school in the Facebook age, sure, but it still has many benefits -- including privacy.


review by Helen Sillar

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

 by Brian Selznick

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A young boy lives alone in a secret room in a French railway station. He creeps around oiling and maintaining the many clocks, just as his uncle taught him to do. However, his passion is the gradual repair of a wonderful automaton or mechanical robot. He hopes when it finally works that it will write a message from his father. Intrigued already? There is no magic or fantasy in this chunky book, but it is full of fantastical ideas and the reader becomes very involved in the lives of a family that this boy meets, a family with its own secrets.


The story progresses in two ways. Some of it is told in a clear narrative form, but many pages consist entirely of drawings. It is neither an illustrated novel nor a graphical novel, rather moves in and out of the different genres. The illustrations are wonderful!


While we stay mostly engaged with the story of Hugo and his search for a message from his father, the author weaves in the story of Georges Méliès, a ground breaking French filmmaker. This is a very different reading experience, and would suite middle school and up. While there is a positive ending, Hugo experiences many disappointments, challenges and betrayals along the way.

Loving Richard Feynman

by Tangey Penny

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Richard Feynman was an American physicist who received a Nobel prize in 1965. Catherine is a bright school girl who especially enjoys her Maths and Science classes. Her father tells her about Richard Feynman, and gives her a poster. She starts to read anecdotes about his life in a book he published called Surely Your Joking Mr Feynman.


Catherine’s life becomes increasingly complex as she tries to sort out a crush on a boy, where she fits in with the groups at school, dealing with a very bright and confident boy who arrives at the school, and ultimately with her parents marriage problems. She decides to put her thoughts into words by writing to Feynman, even though he is dead. As she reads more of the book about him she finds that even her hero has aspects of his life she cannot admire.


This is a charming and thoughtful book that touches on a number of real situations for young people, and from the point of view of a young high achiever. It would be most suited to younger high school students but is a thought provoking and enjoyable read for older students. The book consists entirely of letters to Feynman, but the overall storytelling still works well.

I must confess that I had similar mixed reactions to the Feynman book, so I found this book especially engaging. While some things get sorted out in Catherine’s life, we leave her contemplating the great sadness in the life of one of her friends, so the book balances hope with an understanding of difficulties that deeply impact some teenagers.

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

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Before reading this book I had heard various things about it. Some staff from other schools thought it was wonderful, but a few people warned that it was confronting. It is certainly a very intense book but I thought the themes of self sacrifice and critique of a thoughtless pleasure seeking society justified the challenging theme.


Katniss is a fourteen year old girl who lives in District 12 in a future version of this world. Her district is controlled by a powerful central city. Following an ancient rebellion of the districts against the city, each year two teenagers are picked from each district and forced to participate in an “entertainment” for the big city rather like the ancient gladiator games. The teenagers are placed into a fenced wilderness and manipulated to ensure they have to fight each other for their survival.


Katniss’ sister Prim is chosen, and Katniss decides to go herself instead of her younger sister. In the arena she simply aims to survive by running away and hiding, but is confronted by other players who seek to trap and kill her.


Rather than blurring moral boundaries, this book brings them into absolutely clear prominence. The opening of the book starts with Katniss’ sacrificing herself for her sister, and later she has to decide how to care for and protect other players who reject the bloodthirsty premise of the “Hunger Games”. We are made to think about the nature of a society that is prepared to sacrifice individuals for its hunger for entertainment, as well as the consequences of violence, revenge and trauma.


The world and the characters are complex and the story simply engrossing. The close leaves options open for further books (and indeed there are two more in the series) as it seems Katniss’ defiance of the powerful City will not go unpunished!


I would recommend this for Senior School readers. It could be appropriate for older Middle School students with parent support but the strong violence themes need to be taken into account.