When Maeve finds a pack of old tarot cards whilst cleaning out a closet during school detention, she quickly discovers her talent for reading people. Soon, she becomes the most sought-after diviner in her school, everyone wants to know what the cards will say about them. But when Maeve's ex-best friend Lily is forced into a reading, an unsettling card named The Housekeeper appears, one that Maeve has never seen before. When Lily does not come to school the next Monday, they soon discover she has disappeared without a trace. Shunned by her schoolmates and struggling to fully comprehend her newfound romance with Lily's non-binary sibling, Roe, Maeve must dig deeper into her connection with the tarot cards to help find clues as to where Lily may be.
This book has everything you need. A gripping mystery, supernatural elements, romance etc. And as far as inclusivity goes, this story covers it beautifully. Lily is hearing impaired and wears a hearing aid, Maeve's sister is gay, and we explore her relationship and the discrimination shown towards her, Roe is exploring their gender identity, Fiona is mixed race and often calls out and educates Maeve on her behaviour. The supernatural, witchcraft elements of this book are well thought out and bring a unique and different twist to the disappearance of Lily. It is so nice to see Maeve find her feet and discover her talents as at the beginning of the novel we hear a lot about how she is not gifted, smart or talented and will never live up to the expectations of her family. When she finds her niche, you really start to see her grow as a character.
There are so many layers to this story and would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good mystery with a magical twist whilst also covering modern day social justice issues such a race, gender and LGBTQI+ discrimination.
In the early 20th century two amazing intrepid women, Daisy Bates and Ernestine Hill, each separately cast aside the comforts of society, to explore the desert areas of Australia, and seek out the Aboriginal tribes and iconic outback settler life; each of them writers supremely confident that their records were essential to preserving a disappearing piece of Australian history.
Ernestine Hill worked with Daisy Bates on bringing together her famous work The passing of the Aborigines, later falling out when Bates failed to acknowledge Hill's contribution. Hill's view was that she herself was the true author of the work. It was a strange friendship, with 36 years difference in age, and despite the dispute about authorship, they continued to correspond and collaborate together at different times.
Hogan is meticulous in following the lives of these two women, at times venturing out, a lone woman herself, into the desert, to retrace their steps and to gather stories from Aboriginal people who might still remember either of them. Her research reveals the contrasting images of Bates as ethnographer and caretaker for Aboriginal people, and the hateful woman who perpetuated stories about cannibalism and denigrated mixed race children.
Both Bates and Hill were pioneers, casting aside convention, and following their own paths. However each of them struggled with the tasks they set themselves. Later in life, Hill ended up unable to bring her own writing together to fulfil her dream of the great novel; her notes are now kept in archives. It is thanks to Hogan's research that we now have this record of the adventures of these two women, and their genuine though flawed commitment to the understanding and preservation of a unique Australian culture and way of life.
Themes Non-fiction, Biography, Women writers, Australian outback, Indigenous Australians.
Helen Eddy
Can you whistle, Johanna? by Ulf Stak and Anna Hoglun
An enchanting and thought-provoking story that challenges you to reflect and ponder the importance of the relationships that we create and foster. First written in 1992 by Swedish author Ulf Stark, this story was later translated into English. Can you whistle, Johanna? is a story about a young boy, Berra and his friend Ulf. Berra seeks to find a grandfather of his own, after hearing how exciting they are to have from Ulf's own experience. He questions why he doesn't have one already, as they sound really cool. The next day they come up with a plan to find a grandfather and what a better place to start, than the retirement home. On arrival at the home, Berra and Ulf find Ned and it seems that both Ned and Berra are made for each other. Both are unknowingly seeking a human connection and are happy to have someone special to share their life with. Touching moments throughout the story make the reader question the importance and significance of relationships. Both Ned, Berra and Ulf build a respectful and loving relationship as they listen, share and forge a caring and thoughtful connection.
Delightful illustrations throughout the book by Anna Hoglund compliment the storyline and bring further enjoyment to the story. As Berra, Ulf and Grandpa Ned spend time together, there is a sense of warmth and kind-heartedness in their generational bonding. Ned shares elements of his past including his whistling skills with the song, 'Can you whistle Johanna?'. Berra fervently attempts to master the whistling skills that Ned shows him, however, can't quite master them yet. A poignant conclusion leaves the reader with a sense of how sharing special moments, can bring pleasure to people's lives that they will never forget.
Mo and Crow by Jo Kasch. Illus. by Jonathan Bentley
Allen & Unwin, 2021. ISBN: 9781760631758. (Age:4-6) Highly recommended.
"I live alone and I like it that way!" says Mo to a Crow who seems determined to invade his privacy by pecking rocks out of his protective wall. But Mo, who lives on an isolated hill in a house by himself, is lonely. The persistent crow shows him that opening himself up to what is outside his wall can show him a whole new world. This is a powerful picture book about being alone and how much effort it can take for someone to accept friendship. Reaching out to make friends can be one of the most difficult things for some children to do and this story tries to assist them to understand how people build walls to protect their feelings from being hurt by others.
The author Jo Kasch is an award-winning television writer and editor with a love of television aimed at children and teens. She has teamed up with experienced illustrator and writer Jonathon Bentley who brings this story to life with his bright, vibrant watercolour and pencil images. I love the way the endpapers reflect the vast change in the view Mo has on the world once he dismantles his wall; the confined view of the rock wall at the front in contrast to the perception of light and freedom that finishes the book superbly. These endpapers could be used as a discussion point before and after reading the book to a class of children while the uncomplicated text will make it understandable to even the youngest listeners.
Themes Friendship, Loneliness, Fear, Protection.
Gabrielle Anderson
Fozia and the quest of Prince Zal by Rosanne Hawke
University of Queensland Press, 2021. ISBN: 9780702263071. (Age:9+) Highly recommended.
The third in a series which began with Kelsey and the quest of the porcelain doll (2014) this heartwarming story reveals the lives of children whose lives are turned upside down by a natural disaster in Pakistan, the worst flood in living memory. Whole towns and villages are swept away and Fozia loses all she loves, but is taken in by a family, who although loving and inviting, are not her real family.
Cleverly Hawke compares her two lives. If still with her family she would have been working in the brick kiln in the village to cover her father's debts, while now she is able to go to school, an aim she has held all of her twelve years. At night she tells her small cousins a story, one involving a lame prince, the least of his family, searching for his lost sister. The story recalls Fozia's lost family, intertwining stories heard as a child, stories she has known all her life, and it wraps her with comfort and longing.
Two threads weave together within this tale; one a story being told by Fozia, the other about her situation and her lost family, each story impelling the enthralled readers to turn each page with unabashed pleasure and hope.
As with Rosanne's other books, the immediacy of the setting is vivid and memorable. It is ever present, part of the fabric of the book, from the tents in which Fozia lives after the flood, the quilts she is making for the camp, the roti she bakes, the dung cakes the boys are supposed to be making, the sight of the brick kiln and all it means for her family. Each chapter reveals another aspect of the lives of this Pakistani family, so familiar to Rosanne after living in the region for ten years. It is this familiarity which gives her novels about this region of the world their solid base; her stories are built on a love and affinity with the families which make up her stories, each incident something she has seen, heard or shared. And children will love learning the Urdu words that crop up in the text, words used everyday by the family, words that are familiar and will roll off the reader's tongue, rarely having to refer to the glossary at the end of the book.
We know Fozia has a secret and this is revealed by degrees as we learn of the family's debt, their shared secret, the reason the prince in the tale is so named. But when questions are asked of Fozia and conversations hushed as she comes into the room she realises that has a choice to make.
A memorable read that will live with readers long after the last page is read, this story recalls people and incidents from the two preceding novels, adding another layer of interest and delight. Teacher's notes are available.
Dr Jonica Newby, best known for her work on ABC TV's Catalyst program, has written a very personal and absorbing journal, that encompasses feelings of grief and future reactions needed to cope with the emotional effects of climate change.
Snow loss was the initial signal for Jonica in her realisation and grief that the world has changed forever. At the same time, as her partner Robyn Williams, was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, the author came to the realisation that a life-threatening diagnosis had inspired a new way of thinking about the 'roller-coaster emotions of climate grief. The drought, fire, and pandemic events of 2019 and 2020 have heightened our emotional response. As a result, chapters in the book relate to love, courage, anger, creativity, worry, leadership, humour, denial, joy, acceptance and pride.
The personal stories of Jonica's mother and others who suffered through the bushfires were very moving.
Throughout the book the author draws on the creativity of Missy Higgins, knowledge and skills for the future of leaders such as Mike Cannon-Brookes, scientists such as Ove Hoegh-Guldberg and the humour of Charlie Pickering and Craig Reucassel. There are a number of thoughtful observations that readers are invited to consider, such as 'inoculation theory', 'disaster brain'. The book has an appendix with practical tips for those who have been through a disaster, from psychologists Dr Rob Gordon and Professor Sandy McFarlane.
At the conclusion, the author can't tell us what to do about climate change but addresses the importance of harnessing our feelings, whether it's anger or love and doing whatever we can.
Themes Climate change, Emotions.
Paul Pledger
Take me apart by Sara Sligar
Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922330673. (Age:15+) Recommended.
This book appears to be a simple story of a young journalist, Kate Aitken, who has encountered some difficulties in her life in New York. When she is offered the chance to research the life and unexpected death of a famous artistic photographer, Miranda Brand, she moves to California to begin this new work. The story takes the reader into the darkness and the details of Miranda's life, the inconsistencies of the events that occurred shortly before her death, and the legacy that her life's work, and death, has left her family.
Choosing to structure the narrative by interspersing the letters that Miranda wrote, including her personal diary notes, with the story of Kate's new life, Sara Sligar plunges us into the depths of both worlds, and the traumas that have impacted on the lives of both women.pSligar does not let us settle down to a gentle story, rather drawing us into the unexpected and dramatic events of Miranda's life, her emotional traumas, and her family issues. We follow Kate's discoveries, her dawning realization that Miranda's life was not a gentle one, as Sliger unravels the actual details of Miranda's life and death.
This is a powerful narrative, vibrant, compelling and captivating, challenging us to consider how people adapt to deal with the events and people in their lives. At its heart is the notion of truth, and its place in our lives, its frequent absence and its essential role in our ability to understand, respect, and often forgive, the actions and personalities of others. While deftly drawing us into these other lives, Sarah Sliger explores how all of these aspects make people react, respond and trust those with whom they share their lives, prompting the reader to consider similar questions about life.
Themes Adaptation to new lives and difficult choices.
Elizabeth Bondar
What is a Virus? by Katie Daynes. Illus. by Kirsti Beautyman
If there is one word that children of today know as well as their name it is "virus". So much of their lives have been affected by this tiny, invisible thing that has had such huge impact. But what is a virus? Using the successful Lift-the-Flap Q&A format of others in this series, readers can investigate just what a virus is, discovering that there are many more than just COVID 19! They also learn the importance of the rules like social distancing, washing their hands and other personal hygiene issues, important because if they understand the why about the what they are more likely to comply. It also alleviates some of the fear that their imaginations can conjure up. In the past we have been teaching our littlies about why they need to eat well, sleep long and play hard to have a healthy body and preventing illness has been a peripheral, but things have changed and this is an important addition to the collection so they can better understand this thing that is going to shadow their lives for a long time to come.
When two Aussie writers such as Christy Burne (children's author and science communicator) and Denis Knight (Science fiction/ fantasy author and computer programmer) decide to write a book together the result is going to be a cracker.
Wednesday Weeks and the Tower of Shadows is both clever and funny. Told in first person by Wednesday, the book begins in a year six Robotics class where Wednesday's attempts to code a path for a robot to follow is failing spectacularly. Wednesday is, at this stage, not fully aware that she has inherited magical powers and that it is these powers that are interfering with Science experiments. She has been an unwilling apprentice to her sorcerer grandfather who has been coaching her for years although she doesn't know why. She just wants to fit in with her year six group, try to be a normal girl and achieve in Science classes. Her best friend Alfie is a cheerful geek.
Unfortunately, Wednesday's grandfather is captured by a powerful goblin-king and Wednesday is forced, out of love for her grandfather, to discover and unlock her magical power in order to save her grandfather and the world. She is not alone though as Alfie and Bruce (a bad-Dad joke, wise-cracking skull) accompany her through a frightening, fantastic quest. Their lives are in peril time and time again and it is only through a combination of luck, magic, cooperation and application of remembered science and maths formulae that the clever children make it through- or do they...
This book will appeal to clever children. It is about applied maths and science- thank heavens at times that one or other of them remembered what they had learnt at school! This is a book that celebrates children's initiative, cleverness, love and loyalty.
If you are a fan of Nevermoor, Artemis Fowl or the Witching Hour, then the Wednesday Weeks series will be for you. The next book is due to be released in September 2021... sigh! Such a long wait!
Poison War book 1. Random House, 2019. ISBN: 9780552176293. (Age:15+) Highly recommended.
Winner of the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2018) and Ditmar Award for Best Novel (2019) City of lies is a slow burning epic fantasy that is sure to grab the attention of any fantasy reader. Right from the first sentence "I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me . . . " the reader is taken into the world of Jovan, an expert in poisons, trained as a proofer or taster, to protect Tain, the Chancellor's Heir and his life-long friend. His sister Kalinda, her frail physique unable to manage the poisons, has been trained as a spy; quiet and unassuming, she manages to hear and see things that might threaten her city-state. When the Chancellor is poisoned and their uncle also succumbs, the pair find themselves trying to find out who the murderer is, while protecting Tain, now the head of their city. To make things even more difficult, an army has laid siege to their city and it looks as if the assassinations and rebellion are linked.
Written in the voices of Jovan and Kalinda in alternate chapters, the reader gets to know the feelings of both main characters. Jovan is very anxious and manages to calm himself by pacing and counting repetitively, while Kalinda must work very hard to overcome her physical disabilities. However, they are both intelligent and determined and very loyal to Tain and to their city and use their intelligence and resilience for the good of the state.
Hawke has described a very believable world that will resonate with readers as they catch glimpses of similarities to our world today. Silasta is rich and cultured, but the siege of the city reveals the flaws in the way the countryside has been ruled. The Council members have become greedy and the pacts to look after and educate workers, while respecting their religion have been forgotten. Spirituality is not respected and believers in the strength of the land are disregarded.
Readers who enjoy a mystery, sieges and escapes, and compelling main characters with flaws, are in for a treat and will want to move onto book 2, Hollow empire. Other books with poisons and assassination are Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder and His fair assassin series by Robin Lefevers.
Nelson is a loser at school. An unfortunate classroom incident and the departure of his only friend left him wallowing alone. When he dares to ask out a girl, he fears another rejection to confirm his loser status. But then his parents manage the restaurant at a ski lodge and every weekend in the ski season he gets to kill time on the slopes as a reprieve from his normal isolation. On the mountain he discovers that maybe he is not such a loser when two different girls (who visit on alternate weekends) take a shine to him; the young adult staff treat him with respect, and he discovers that his skiing skills are improving too. Unfortunately, the downhill slide juggling two potential girlfriends requires secrecy and lies and eventually there will be a crash moment. The true colour of a white lie is revealed.
This is a teen romantic drama from the perspective of a young male mid-teen. It reveals the consequences of poor choices, living a lie and being too timid to speak the truth before the lie gets out of control. It is a downhill run with obstacles and the result is never going to end well. The lessons that Nelson learns take time, but he will discover that sometimes you have to start afresh and learn from your own mistakes. I am not sure how many mid-teen males will admit to enjoying teen romance, but both male and female readers will relate to the hormone-laced confusion of relationships and maturing, and the struggle of being self-confident when you feel like you have nothing to offer. This book has hints of semi-autobiographical connection and the setting in the ski lodge is obviously well-known to the author.
Themes Teen romance; Lies; Skiing.
Carolyn Hull
Tree Beings by Raymond Huber and Sandra Severgnini
EK Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781925820539. (Age:8+) Highly recommended.
With the tag line 'Books with heart on issues that matter, readers picking up this weighty book will be in no doubt about the expertise being presented to them. An introduction and opening chapter by celebrated environmentalist, Dr Jane Goodall will cement the idea that this book is worth the read.
Divided into four main chapters (Big Ideas), Life in the trees, Trees can save us, Trees are like beings and Trees need our help, each chapter is then segmented into shorter chapters which tell of the anatomy of the tree and its purpose on earth and what it does for us, with smaller sections offering real stories about how some people have worked to save trees. So we read of Tony Rinaurdo who noticed that the stumps of the tees in the desolate land around the village in Niger, Africa where he was trying to grow trees, were still alive. So he set about nurturing these stumps and from these the villagers grew back a forest which helps the soil, reduces carbon in the atmosphere and provides shelter.
Another tale is of Wangari who stood up to her government in Kenya where forests were being cut down. Eventually the Green Belt Movement took hold, planting over 50 million trees, while a young girl sat in a Redwood Tree in California for two years to stop its destruction, so each chapter gives information that is fascinating and enthralling, while paralleling that information with a human story of someone making a difference.
Within the chapters too are full page information sheets about one aspect of the forest: Brazil nuts and Fig trees, for example, while web addresses are given to encourage children to find out more, and specifically, how they can help. A Glossary, Reference list, Index and page of puzzles round off an absorbing book, one the I can imagine will be picked up by kids eager to learn more and help save the trees.
Detailed illustrations greet readers on every page, highlighting the themes of the chapters, adding to the environmental message of the text, and adding eye appeal to the ideas presented. I particularly enjoyed the images of what lies beneath the surface, seeing how the roots travel and make a difference.
Georgie Carrol's nursing experience with patients and also the health systems of both the UK and Australia has become the basis of her humour, her stand-up routine, and now her book.
There are keen observations along the way, in particular Georgie's take on allied health carer workers, doctors, administrators, her kids, and Steve (her husband). We become very knowledgeable about some parts of his anatomy.
Much of the health care jargon is explained. This may or may not be reassuring if you find yourself in a hospital bed either listening to it spoken, or taking a sneak look at your notes located at the bed's foot.
Georgie's experiences have exposed her to birth, death and the bits in between, all of which are celebrated with humour and wisdom. There is something comforting about her writing that makes you feel not alone despite the heartache that we all must feel at some time during our lives. And after all is this not the job of being a nurse?
By the end the book the reader should be much more appreciative of the burden nurses carry and hopefully more tolerant when stuck in an emergency department waiting for medical attention. There is good news associated with being left till last. Read the book and you will find out why.
Robert McNair
Themes Comedy, Nursing, Health system, Compassion.
Every second Tuesday is a collection of stories by a group of four writers that could be loosely described as a novelist, memoirist, poet and short story writer but whose work frequently overlaps those genres. The volume collects short stories and poems, often in contrasting pairs, so we have the memory of a family farewell followed by a poem about the new girl in the class; the traumatic struggle of a premature baby like a 'startled, scrawny chicken' followed by a poem revelling in the 'buttery skin of a new-born'; the story of the angry office worker about to explode, followed by the poem about the man trapped in his head, found dead in the forest. They make interesting comparisons of how stories can be picked up from different viewpoints and given expression in genres that add another dimension to each theme.
The volume includes the collection of five pieces written to commemorate the Armistice Day Centenary. One tells of the discovery of a grandfather's memoir of his time as a WW1 casualty doctor encountering the carnage of mutilated bodies; another story describes the struggle of a granddaughter to reconcile her memories of a playful grandpa with the horror of the war experiences collected in his diary; and then there are the more tender stories of a young soldier off to war, the painting of the nude Chloe his only experience of the opposite sex; and the club-footed Eddie awaiting the return of his beloved soldier brother. All are moving accounts that add to our understanding of the impact of war.
There are memories of childhood, recollected experiences, and overseas travel, the tense facing up to teenage thieves with knives, to a baby suddenly slipping over the side of a boat. There is the sharing of the pleasure found in the ordinary task of ironing, to the threatening suspense of 'The interrupter'. All in all there is an amazing variety of snippets of life contained in this slim volume that make for compelling reading.
Themes Grief, Loss, War, Relationships.
Helen Eddy
Infinite country by Patricia Engel
Simon & Schuster, 2021. ISBN: 9781398507142. (Age:Young adult, adult) Recommended.
Talia is being held in detention facility for girl offenders after lashing out at a man who had casually killed a cat by pouring boiling liquid on it. She instigates a dramatic escape from the facility as there is a plane ticket awaiting her from Bogota to the U.S. to join her mother and siblings. The fifteen year old's country, Columbia, is a violent place where a "nameless and tentacled war" (pp. 15) has been waged for years, where fear and danger are never far away and families like Tahlia's struggle to make a living. That is why her mother and sister Karina have made the journey across the border to find safety, better paid work and opportunity in the U.S. She sends home money to help support Talia and her grandmother's laundry business. Even without proper papers, what they earn in a week in the U.S. is more than they made in a month back home. Mauro, Tahlia's father had also gone to the U.S. and a son, Nando, was born there. But Mauro was arrested for a minor traffic infringement and was deported back to Columbia as "undocumented", having overstayed his visa. While life in Bogota is difficult, it is Tahlia's home and she loves her father and grandmother and the traditional stories and the spiritual dimension to their lives. As she makes her way home, she experiences the dangers of travelling in such a corrupt and violent place but also she is touched by the little people she encounters just trying to live their lives meaningfully.
Tahlia's story will speak to immigrants worldwide, living in countries happy to have undocumented immigrants do menial tasks for little pay with no support, treated as enemy foreigners by their host countries. What they gain in financial security is balanced by the loss of their own spiritual home and families left behind. The author's own story is rooted in this one. She is part of the "United States of Diasporica" (pp. 129) and tells her story in the second part of the book. The third person narrative style is infused with beautiful descriptive language and the personal narrative in the second part is particularly insightful. Senior students will gain some perspective on the push and pull that drives "illegal" migration from poor countries to rich ones and the cost to families who make the journey.
