Marianne Musgrove, Frieda: a new Australian, Omnibus Books/Scholastic Australia, 1 Nov 2016, 289pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 97817422991146 It is 1913. Twelve year old Frieda has recently arrived in Australia from Germany with her mother and father to start a new life full of promise and opportunity. They have left everything that is familiar to them thousands of kilometres away, including Frieda’s beloved grandmother. As Frieda starts to settle into the Australian way of life and make new friends, war is declared between Germany and Australia – as part of the British Commonwealth – and Frieda’s place in her new homeland…
Author: Admin
Anh Do (text), Jules Faber (illus.), Mega Weird (WeirDo #7), Scholastic Australia, 7 Sept 2016, 160pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760159092 This latest laugh-out-loud book by Anh Do involves us in the Street Garage Sale and Weir’s desire to make Mega-bucks. But life is never straight forward for Weir, or his family and friends. The Garage Sale disappointingly doesn’t make enough money to bring Grandma Do over to Australia from Vietnam. Weir’s best friend Bella, whose entire garage contents have been stolen, is also on a quest to make money – to buy her mother a new sewing machine. Together they decide…
Sophie Masson (ed), A Toy Christmas: a magical anthology of original stories, Christmas Press, 1 Nov 2016, 96pp., $24.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780994234063 Christmas is in the air and toys (and books) are being bought to be placed under the tree. In this anthology, talented Australian writers who you already know well, come together to contribute to a collection of Christmas stories about toys. There’s so much to enjoy in A Toy Christmas: each story involves a toy or toys – whether it’s Santa having difficulty delivering them (What? No Christmas Toys for the Children?), or a young Jewish boy thinking he’s not…
Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, A Very Good Chance, Orion Children’s Books/Hachette Australia, 8 Nov 2016, 184pp., $16.99 (pbk) ISBN: 9781444014785 Set in Dublin, this middle-grade novel tells the story of Minty – a girl enduring her parent’s divorce – and Ned, a loner being brought up in a caravan by his grandmother. Ned is the new boy at school and, while he keeps to himself, Minty is intrigued and attracted. Setting is an important part of this book – particularly Nettlebog – the rural idyll where Ned lives with his Granny. Nettlebog is instantly alluring because most local parents have banned…
Reviewer Debra shares her favourite reads of 2016… Adult: What Alice Forgot – Liane Moriarty I jumped on the Liane Moriarty bandwagon late and have been playing ‘catch up’ ever since. Although first published in 2009, I read What Alice Forgot this year and it is my all- time-so-far-favourite. I love the warmth and humour of her writing and characters and the insightful examination of what happens to relationships over time. I’ve given it to all my friends! YA/Adult: Running Like China – Sophie Hardcastle A beautifully written and important memoir about one young woman’s experience with mental illness.…
Reviewer Marita shares her picks of 2016’s reading… The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis My favourite contemporary YA of the year. I loved the ensemble of interesting characters, central to which are three young men, each missing his best mate (the same mate) in a different way, and trying to come to terms with his sudden death. The Call by Peadar O’Guilin It was exciting to read this excellent dystopian young adult story which will surely have a big impact in the coming year. The Irish setting and folklore are twisted into a survival situation where all youth are at…
Piers Torday, There May Be a Castle, Hachette Australia, 11 Oct 2016, 320pp., $26.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9781848668621 “Like I said, kid, it’s your story. Are you ready?” If stories full of allusions are your cup of tea, then There May Be a Castle is perfect for you. What, on the surface, seems to be a delightfully-covered children’s novel with a charming storyline and an endearing main character quickly becomes something much deeper and more meaningful. It’s Christmas Eve, and Albert Thomas Mallory – universally known as Mouse – is in the car with his mother, elder sister Violet, and baby sister…
David Baddiel (text), Jim Field (illus.), AniMalcolm, HarperCollins Australia, 1 Oct 2016, 352pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780008185152 A vividly appealing cover, an amusing, enjoyable and well-thought out storyline, and a final moral message embedded within the story? Yes, please! AniMalcolm was, quite frankly, brilliant. The story is based around a Year Six boy, Malcolm, who was born into a family that adores animals. Only problem is, Malcom doesn’t. Really, really doesn’t. When his family buy him an Argentinian chinchilla for his birthday instead of the super-cool, latest model laptop, Malcolm is understandably annoyed. After all, the house is already full of…
Skye Melki-Wegner, The Eleventh Hour (Agent Nomad #1), Random House Australia, 27 Feb 2017, 336pp., $17.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780143780151 London, sorcery, gut-wrenchingly evil villains and a pretty damn awesome teenage Aussie heroine? Sign me up! The Eleventh Hour starts in a small, relatively rural Victorian town where Natalie Palladino, fifteen-year-old schoolgirl, is about to face the Trig Test of Doom. Called off for a sudden assembly with guest speaker John Smith (feeling the mystery yet anyone?) Nat is soon running- or rather, riding her bike- for her life through the streets of Hollingvale as she tries to escape the figures who have…
Judith Ridge (ed), The Book that Made Me, Walker Books Australia, 1 Sept 2016, 256pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781922244888 This wonderful book, which can be enjoyed by adults as well as confident young readers, tells 32 personal stories about a significant children’s book or books in the life of a selection of Australian and New Zealand authors. It varies greatly in tone, voice, length of each contribution and interpretation of the brief, but the work as a whole is a success. It is always thought-provoking, stimulating, entertaining and informative. It is rewarding to savour, to read slowly, a chapter at a…