Reviewer Amy shares her top books of 2017… 2017 was an awesome year for both new releases, and for sequels and continuations of some of my favourite series!! Due to the sheer multitude of incredible books that I read this year, my mini-reviews for this list will all be for debut novels or the starts of new series, so that no context is required! I’ll leave a little list of favorites sequels underneath- Happy New Year everyone, and happy reading! Avery (The Chronicles of Kaya #1) – Charlotte McConaghy Adult Fantasy New. Favourite. Trilogy! I loved loved loved this series- beginning…
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John Flanagan, The Caldera (Brotherband #7), Random House Australia, 30 Oct 2017, 432pp., $18.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780857980137 As a younger child myself, The Rangers’ Apprentice was one of my favourite series, and when John Flanagan released Brotherband as a new series, I loved it. Sadly, over the years I’ve been drawn away from his books, but reading the series again for review has reminded me of just how much I love his work. The Caldera is the conclusion to the Brotherband series, being the seventh book. Continuing to follow Hal’s journey in his wolfship with all of his ‘brotherband’ members, the Caldera…
Beattie Alvarez (editor), A Christmas Menagerie, Christmas Press, Oct 2017, 96pp., $24.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780994528049 A Christmas Menagerie is a compilation of Australian and Christmas themed short stories told from the perspectives of a variety of children and animals. From wombats to small girls in koala onesies, the book was a thoroughly enjoyable compilation and quite satisfactorily fulfilled its purpose as a Christmas-based book for me. Each story presented a small moral or physical issue for the main character, and all were resolved with the charm of a children’s book- with the strength of friendships new and old, the ingenuity of…
Lisa Nicol (text), Daniel Gray-Barnett (illus.), Dr Boogaloo and The Girl Who Lost Her Laughter, Random House Australia, 2 Oct 2017, 192pp., $19.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9780143782599 Have you ever suffered from Forever Forgetting To Wear Underpants Syndrome? Or caught a bad case of Can’t Sit Down, Not Ever, Not Even At The Movies Syndrome? You should probably call for an appointment with Dr Boogaloo and his wife Bessie at the Boogaloo’s family clinic. Dr Boogaloo can treat all kinds of misfortunes and maladies with his musical treatments, that is, until he meets Blue. Blue is a young girl who has completely,…
Suzanne Barton (text), Anil Tortop (illus.), Meeka, Bluebell Books, 1 Sept 2017, 32pp., $22.00 (hbk), ISBN: 9780648099307 Meeka is the story of a young girl and her Dad, their stew-selling market stall, and their birdy friend Meeka. While the young girl helps her Dad make “spicey, dicey stew,” Meeka flies around making friends with all the other stallholders. He also trials all of their fare: crusty bread, corn on the cob, fluffy fairy floss and more. These are not bird-appropriate treats and Meeka ends up with quite the sore tummy. When the stew stall crew is ready to pack and go…
Francesca Armour-Chelu (text), Fenn Halflin and the Seaborn (Fenn Halflin #2), Walker Books, July 2017, 278pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781406366181 When I was growing up in the 1960s, Enid Blyton’s Famous Five Series was the pinnacle of excitement in juvenile fiction. In 2017, there are adventurers like Fenn Halflin to take us to an exotic world of danger and suspense and into situations that require bravery and cunning. Our imaginations are rekindled at every turn in Fenn Halflin and the Seaborn, another book in the series about Fenn Halflin’s adventures by author, Francesca Armour-Chelu. For children of 9 to 12…
Cameron Macintosh (text), Dave Atze (illus.), Selfie Search (Max Booth Future Sleuth #2), Big Sky Publishing, 1 Oct 2017, 123pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925520880 Max and his robot dog, Oscar, live in a packing case in the Bluggsville City Museum, around the year 2400. When his friend, Jesse, finds a strange black object, it is Max’s job to identify it. It turns out to be a mobile phone from 2017, and the adventurers discover that it reveals the site of a lost statue of Nicole Squidman, for which there is a $7 million reward. How the three find the statue, nearly lose it…
Patty Mills with Jarad Thomas (text), Nahum Ziersch (illus.), Patty Takes Charge (Game Day! #3), Allen & Unwin, Nov 2017, 121pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760295127 This is the third book in the Game Day! series by a real life basketball player who has played for the NBA and has represented Australia at three Olympic Games. Patty, Tyson and Manu are selected to represent Canberra in the under twelves national basketball tournament. We follow the boys through their highs and lows, their victories and injuries until, at the end, Patty and his new friend Josie set off for a holiday and birthday celebration on…
Sebastien De Castell, Shadowblack (Spellslinger #2), Allen & Unwin, Oct 2017, 244pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781471406133 Books for the young have always had their share of magic, and here is another series about a budding magician. At the end of Spellslinger, the first in what appears to be a trilogy, the teenage hero, Kellen, has had to flee from his family and his people, the Jan Tep. Accompanied by a mischievous squirrel/cat, Reichis, he has been saved from slavery by Ferius, a woman from another people, the Argosi, and this second book is about their perilous journey. Kellen has a series of…
We asked Pan Macmillan if debut author Taryn Bashford would write something about girls in sport, given her first novel deals with Harper, a teenage tennis player, trying to make it into the big time. Taryn’s article, called The Princess Wears Studs is an insightful exploration of why it’s important for young adults to see a wide range of representations in fiction, using girls in sport as her example. The Harper Effect is out now, and our review will be posted shortly. Nobody can deny that we’re still having the ‘Equality for Women in Sport’ debate, even 40 years after…