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…
Author: Admin
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…
Reviewer Mia shares her standout novels for 2016… Tinder by Sally Gardner illustrated by David Roberts Published in 2013 but I only read it this year. Stunning book, beautiful writing and illustrations that almost, but not quite, give you nightmares. Otto a young soldier falls in love with Safire and uses the magic tinderbox to win through to a sublime ending. Powerful re-imagining of famous fairy tale pulls no punches and carries away into a medieval world full of terror, horror and much beauty. Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk A heart-warming coming of age story set in America during…
James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein, Treasure Hunters, Penguin Australia, 19 Sept 2016, 480pp., Special Price $5.00 (pbk), ISBN: 9781784755836 The Kidd kids are facing a difficult situation. Their father has disappeared from their boat in the middle of a storm (is he dead, or was that really a helicopter Bick heard in the middle of the hurricane?) and now they have to decide what to do. Do they keep hunting for treasure, like their father? The locked room on their boat, the Lost, may hold some ideas. But first, they’d really better do something about that leak before their boat sinks on…
Neil Gaiman (text), Chris Riddell (illus.), Odd and the Frost Giants, Allen & Unwin, Oct 2016, 120pp., $29.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9781408870600 I adore Neil Gaiman’s stories. Whether he is writing novels for adults or children, or short stories, radio plays or graphic novels – and he has done all of those things and more – he is a crafter of consummate skill. He has a real affinity with myths and fairytales, and an ability to see to the heart of the great old stories. Gaiman brings something more to light in them, something sharp, and funny, and dangerous, and always, always…
James Dashner, Fever Code (Maze Runner Prequel), Scholastic Australia, 1 Oct 2016, 304pp., $18.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781911077169 Any book that starts with an arm-wrestling challenge from my eldest son over who has first reading rights is off to a good beginning (I won by a very narrow margin, but I fight dirty). The Maze Runner series is, according to my eleven year old son and his friends, the BEST EVER! And if you’ve read them you already know that they are a tightly paced, tense series that begins with a teenage boy in a dark lift with no memory of where…
Helen Frost (text), Amy June Bates (illus.), Applesauce Weather, Walker Books Australia, 1 Nov 2016, 112pp., $19.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9780763675769 Applesauce Weather is a quiet story, written in verse, that tells the story of a family coming to terms with death while also celebrating life. Uncle Arthur and Aunt Lucy always visited Peter and Faith when the first apple fell from the tree. It was time to make applesauce. But this will be the first year without Aunt Lucy so will Uncle Arthur even come? And even if he does, will he still have the heart to weave his tall tales…