29 May, 2014

Book Review: Panic

From Goodreads: Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.
Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.
Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.
For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.


Thoughts: I was looking for a new audio and I remembered this one from Shelia's blog, so I took a chance, signed up at audible.com and downloaded it. Glad I did.
Panic is about so much more than the game. Each player has their reasons for entering - for some it's the glory, for some it's the money, for some it's their only ticket out of town.The town is small, dying and almost everyone wants to get out. There is a hint of desperation to the town and it's younger inhabitants - escape now or end up stuck here forever.
As well as Dodge and Heather, there is Natalie, Heather's best friend and Dodge's crush and Bishop, another close friend of Heather's. As supporting characters, Nat and Bishop are incredibly well formed. They are three dimensional and have their own little stories going on. I picked Bishop's secret fairly early on, but it in no way detracted from the story for me.
The adult characters were mostly in the background (as they often are in YA books), but were a lot more fleshed out that a lot of adults in YA fiction.
As the game progresses, the stakes become higher and the challenges more dangerous. Oliver cleverly reflects the tension in the disintegrating relationships of the characters. Like the games highs and lows of completing a challenge and then having to wait nervously for the next note, the relationships in the book between friends and family ebb and flow as the tension builds and releases. Panic is not just about the game, it's about testing friendships, loyalty, value and courage in all part of your life. You could read it just for the game, but you would be missing out on so much more.
Most probably one of the most appealing aspects of Panic is the fact it's a stand alone YA book written by an author who has a proven track record with a series (Oliver also wrote the popular Delirium series). I haven't read the series (but am more likely to now) but it seems to me that these days it's rare for a series author to also write stand alone stories. It also appears that Delirium is more of a dystopian where I would class Panic as a contemporary novel - again nice to see an author able to write in more than one genre.
If I had one criticism of Panic it is how the rest of the town seems fairly oblivious or indifferent to a game which places the contestants in constant and real danger. The collection of the pot is also hard to swallow. (all students in the high school pay $1 every school day into the pot - no exceptions, collection will be made.) To Oliver's credit though, she spends very little time on this, preferring instead to immerse you in the competition so you really don't care too much about the discrepancies. 
In short, Panic is the best YA (not including the CBC short list) I've read since the Hunger Games. (and while we're on the Hunger Games, I have heard comparisons between it and Panic. I don't understand why. Apart from the game aspect, completely different!)

28 May, 2014

Book Review: The First Third

From Goodreads: Life is made up of three parts: in the first third, you're embarrassed by your family; in the second, you make a family of your own; and in the end, you just embarrass the family you've made.
That's how Billy's grandmother explains it, anyway. She's given him her bucket list (cue embarrassment), and now, it's his job to glue their family back together.
No pressure or anything.
Fixing his family's not going to be easy and Billy's not ready for change. But as he soon discovers, the first third has to end some time. And then what?
It's a Greek tragedy waiting to happen.


Thoughts:  This is the fourth book on the Children's Book Council short list for older readers. 
The first third is a book about love. Family love, romantic love, friendship love - messy, confusing, wonderful love.
From reading other reviews I take that Will Kostakis has drawn heavily from his own life when writing this book. For me that has infused it with an authenticity that is hard to manufacture. I completely believed the characters, the events and the feelings of Bill Tsiolakis (a nod to The Slap author Christos Tsiolakis maybe??). I identified with his feelings of separation from his brothers - something I have experienced with my sisters. (we got over it - close as anything now!) I especially connected with his relationship with his younger brother - that feeling you have done something wrong, but you don't know what.
The other thing this book got me thinking about was the traditional Greek grandmother character. I know this stereotype is built on some rather real characteristics of Greek grandmother's. However, Bill's mum and her life is experience is very different from her own mother and I feel she will be a very different (but just as loving) Yiayia to her mother. In real life, is the traditional Greek grandmother (or any traditional grandmother figure) a dying breed? Will the children of my kids generation know this type of grandparent? Does it matter? Most probably not, their grandparents will love them, even without the stereotypical behaviour and beliefs. 
The First Third is again a strong candidate on this short list. As I said in some other review, so glad I am not a judge! 

26 May, 2014

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week


I've missed a few weeks - got busy. I picked up a six week work contract that threw yet more confusion into an already confused house! Luckily I was able to manage to keep reading! So here's what I have read since I last posted. (about 5 weeks ago!)

What am I currently reading


Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen. I haven't been to the gym much as my work roster made it just too hard. Went four days last week so have hooked back into this.





King's Ransom - Sharon Kay Penman. I stopped reading this to read the Children's Book Council short lists. Really looking forward to getting back to it.



The Slippery Slope - Lemony Snicket Getting towards the end of this - the suspense is building!

Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay I had this on my phone. Then my phone had to be reset and I lost it. Haven't got around to downloading it again yet.



Panic - Lauren Oliver -  I downloaded this as my first ever book from Audible.com. I took it on recommendation from Shelia and am really enjoying it. Again, getting towards the end.




The First Third - Will Kostakis -  Older readers short list book. Love this quote from it - Life is made up of three parts: in the first third, you're embarrassed by your family; in the second, you make a family of your own; and in the end, you just embarrass the family you've made.
It rings so true to me!







What I have read.

 Fairytales for Wilde Girls - Allyse Near -  read as part of my quest to read all the Children's Book Council Older Readers Short list
My Life as an Alphabet - Barry Jonsberg - read as part of my quest to read all the Children's Book Council Younger Readers Short List
A Very Unusual Pursuit - Catherine Jinks -  another book from the younger readers short list
Violet Mackerel's Possible Friend - Anna Branford - again the younger readers short list
Song for a Scarlet Runner - Julie Hunt - the final younger readers book
The Sky so Heavy - Claire Zorn -  a switch back to the older readers list
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde - an adult read, just for a change!












The short listed books are fantastic. I have three older readers ones to go and I also have the early childhood short list and the picture book short list to look at. Really glad I'm not a judge as I'm not sure I could choose!

So that's me! What have you been reading? Leave me a link, I'd love to know!


25 May, 2014

Library Challenge Update



Ten days ago I posted my Four Library Challenge. So I thought I'd give an update. The items crossed off are the ones I have finished. Long way to go, but I've made a start!

Magazines
The Monthly - Issue 99
The Monthly - Issue 100

DVD's
Dexter - Season 7 - Disc 3-4
Dexter - Season 8 - Disc 1-2
Dexter - Season 8 - Disc 3-4
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
My Place Volume 1


Non Fiction
Save with Jamie - Jamie Oliver
Band-aid for a Broken Leg: being a doctor with no borders and other ways to stay single - Damien Brown
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - Amy Chua
Ugly: my memoir - Robert Hoge
Fast Ed's Dinner in 10 - Ed Halmagyi
Blood Ties - John Suter Linton
The 17 Day Diet Cookbook - Mike Moreno
Dangerous Allies - Malcolm Fraser
Lazy Loser - Marie Bean

Fiction
Past the Shallows - Favel Parret
Six Impossible Things - Fiona Wood
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
Hawkes Harbor - SE Hinton
The Cold, Cold Ground - Adrian McKinty
The Sky So Heavy - Claire Zorn
The Incredible Here and Now - Felicity Castagna
The First Third - Will Kostakis

Book Review: The Eyre Affair



From Goodreads: Welcome to a surreal version of Great Britain, circa 1985, where time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem, militant Baconians heckle performances of Hamlet, and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection, until someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature. When Jane Eyre is plucked from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday must track down the villain and enter the novel herself to avert a heinous act of literary homicide.

Thoughts: You know when you have heard of an author, yet you've not read one of their books, despite several people telling you to? Until a week ago, that was me and Jasper Fforde. And I now wonder why I waited so long!
I loved this - I loved that it wasn't predictable, that it made me twist my brain in ways it doesn't normally go. For me the writing wasn't smooth, but that was part of the appeal. The characters are unpredictable,  unstable and just plain hilarious at times. I love that it's almost impossible to put it into a genre - is it sci-fi, literary, historical, political, romance, time travel, comedy - reality is it's a bit of all that. The true reality is that reality in this book is very, very twisted!
The reviews of this on Goodreads are vary - there are those who love it and those who despise it. I can see why it would be so polarising and easily admit it's not for all. You don't have to have read Jane Eyre to enjoy the Eyre Affair, but it would certainly help. You don't have to have a basic understanding of literature, but again, it would help. You do need to have a twisted sense of humour and a willingness to let go of all you think you know about the world.  As far as I am concerned, it's well worth a go.

22 May, 2014

Book Review: The Sky So Heavy

From Goodreads: For Fin, it's just like any other day - racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class, and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe, Lucy. Only it's not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated.

Thoughts: This is the third book on the Children's Book Council short list for older readers.  
I found this to be very reminiscent of John Marsden's Tomorrow When The War Began. Similar as there is a group of  teenagers split, for various reasons, from adults, who need to work out how to survive on their own. However, this time, instead of an invasion and a enemy to fight, there is an accident induced nuclear winter and the enemy is the cold, lack of resources and possibly your own government.
The main character, Fin, seems wise beyond his years, but them I suppose becoming solely responsible for your younger brother in a disaster situation may make you grow up fast! Zorn does a great job in portraying him as outwardly calm, but lets the reader see the underlying fear, worry and uncertainty that Fin feels. 
The Sky so Heavy also raised many questions about what could happen to society in a situation such as this. Possibly the scariest thing is the scenario she has created is not beyond the realms of possibility. It is also possible to draw parallels to many issues in society today. Shutting people out for to provide "security" for a few, people outside the borders refugees fleeing a dangerous and untenable situation, border control, "illegals" within the boundaries and who has the right to decide who has access to safety and resources and who doesn't. Issues that become a lot closer to home when it happens to citizens within your own country.
Just like Wildlife and Fairytales for Wilde Girls   this is a strong story that deserves it's place on the short list. I'm sure this is not the last we'll see of Fin, Lucy and Max.


Book Review: Song For A Scarlet Runner

From Goodreads: Peat is on the run — forced to flee for her life when she's blamed for bringing bad luck to her village. She heads for the endless marshes, where she's caught by an old healer-woman who makes Peat her apprentice and teaches her the skill of storytelling.
But a story can be a dangerous thing. It can take you out of one world and leave you stranded in another — and Peat finds herself trapped in an eerie place beyond the Silver River where time stands still. Her only friends are a 900-year-old boy and his ghost hound, plus a small and slippery sleek — a cunning creature that might sink his teeth into your leg one minute, and save your life the next.


Thoughts: This is the fifth and final younger reader book on the Children's Book Council 2014 short list. There are usually 6 books on the list and I'm not sure why there is only 5 this year. All the books are very strong and very worthy of being on the list, so maybe there just wasn't anything else that measured up.
Song For A Scarlet Runner is, I think, the first in the series. Once again the characters in this are strong and believable. Hunt takes you into another world where words have power and stories can be dangerous. People you think are evil aren't and people who appear evil at first may not be. Through her characters Hunt explores friendship, loss, the importance of making your own decisions and how decisions made a long time ago can affect the here and now. I really hope there is a sequel to this book as I would love to catch up with all the characters again.

Book Review: Violet Mackerel's Possible Friend

From Goodreads: Violet Mackerel has moved into her new house. There is a girl next door who could be a possible friend. Her name is Rose and she has a pink and white bedroom and a doll’s house. Violet hopes that Rose might not be just a possible friend for very long. Instead, she would quite like Rose to be a very good friend.

Thoughts: This is the fourth book I've read for the Children's Book Council younger readers short list.
The Violet Mackerel books are a lovely  little series. I reviewed the first one in the series, Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot  for the 2011 short list. This is the 5th one in the series and I read it during a one hour stint on the check out counter at work one slow night. I was so happy to be drawn back into Violet's world that I then got number 2,3 and 4 and pretty much read them the same way over the next couple of weeks. 
In this particular volume, Violet discovers a knot in the fence at her new house. When she accidentally pushes it out, she leaves a small thing and a note to apologise. Soon Violet and Rose from next door have exchanged small things via the knot and have arranged a play date. When Violet goes to Rose's, she discovers that quite unlike her house and room, Rose's place is tidy, sparkly and new looking. Now Violet is worried her less than tidy, sparkly and new house is not good enough for Rose.
Branford beautifully explores Violet's insecurity and fear, giving a wonderful insight into issues that appear big to children, that adults may just dismiss. I love the wonderful caring support Violet gets not only from her mum and step-dad, but her older sister and brother. Branford writes a family that is full of love and support, a family that clearly reaps the benefit of such a relationship. I also love that in this apparently perfect family, tempers still run short and children get grumpy. 
Violet Mackerel books are beautifully written and easily accessible. I highly recommend them for younger readers.

20 May, 2014

Book Review: A Very Unusual Pursuit

From Goodreads: Monsters have been infesting London's dark places for centuries, eating every child who gets too close. That's why ten-year-old Birdie McAdam works for Alfred Bunce, the bogler. With her beautiful voice and dainty looks, Birdie is the bait that draws bogles from their lairs so that Alfred can kill them.One life-changing day, Alfred and Birdie are approached by two very different women. Sarah Pickles runs a local gang of pickpockets, three of whom have disappeared. Edith Eames is an educated lady who's studying the mythical beasts of English folklore. Both of them threaten the only life Birdie's ever known.But Birdie soon realises she needs Miss Eames's help, to save her master, defeat Sarah Pickles, and vanquish an altogether nastier villain.Catherine Jinks, one of Australia's most inventive writers, has created a fast-paced and enthralling adventure story with edge-of-your-seat excitement and chills.

Thoughts: A Very Unusual Pursuit (which has also been published under the title How to Catch a Bogle) is the third of the Children's Book Council short listed younger readers books for 2014.
Birdie's sweet, pure voice makes her the perfect apprentice for Alfred, the Bodger. It's Birdie's job to stand in an incomplete circle of salt and sing to lur out the child eating bogle so Alfred can kill it. It's a respectable profession and preferrable to the alternatives of mudlarking or the work house.
Set in the Victorian era, Jinks exposes her reader to a fairly historically accurate (apart from child eating bogles - but then again, who really knows!) picture of the era. The description of life for those less fortunate and their choices could lead to some great discussion with kids.
I've been a fan of Jinks for quite a few years now, especially liking her Pagan's Crusade series. She writes really interesting and believable characters, including the adults who I often find become two dimensional figures in children's books - almost fringe dwellers or very stereotypical. Jinks' adults are varied and real. This is one series where I will be searching for the next book.

Book Review: My Life as an Alphabet

From Goodreads: This isn't just about me. It's also about the other people in my life - my mother, my father, my dead sister Sky, my penpal Denille, Rich Uncle Brian, Earth-Pig Fish and Douglas Benson From Another Dimension. These are people [with the exception of Earth-Pig Fish, who is a fish] who have shaped me, made me what I am. I cannot recount my life without recounting elements of theirs. This is a big task, but I am confident I am up to it.
Introducing Candice Phee: twelve years old, hilariously honest and a little ... odd. But she has a big heart, the very best of intentions and an unwavering determination to ensure everyone is happy. So she sets about trying to 'fix' all the problems of all the people [and pets] in her life.


Thoughts: This is the second of the younger readers books I am reading as part of the Children's Book Council short list. Candice's teacher has asked teh class to write about themselves, starting each paragraph with a different letter of the alphabet. Candice decides she will do a chapter for each letter and thus begins a look into the life of this lovely, quirky child, her family and her school life.
Candice is dealing with quite a few things - a dead sister, a depressed mother, a lack of friends (except for Douglas Benson from another dimension)and a father who is estranged from his brother, Candice's rich Uncle Brian. Through it all she keeps upbeat, looking for solutions - some which work and others that fail spectacularly.
Barry Jonsberg never gives Candice a diagnosis, preferring to allow her to be "just me". It would be easy for adults reading the book to give an amateur diagnosis of  Asperger's, but I think most kids reading the book wouldn't even consider it, even missing the one clumsy reference by a teacher to it being a possibility.
On the whole, My Life as an Alphabet is a lovely read and well deserves it's place on the shortlist. 

15 May, 2014

Three, no Four Week Library Challenge

Earlier in the week I posted this picture on Instagram and Facebook.

Then my friend Car, from Carrose Creations asked how many I could read in three weeks. That sounded like a challenge to me so I said let's find out!

Now to be fair, some of these books were already on their way back to the library, but it has still left a substantial pile of books, CD's and magazines to get through. So here's the challenge - get through as many of these items as possible in the next 3 weeks. Actually, lets make it a little longer - the latest due date on any of these items is June 11, so that will be my deadline - just under four weeks.

Just so we are clear on what's in the pile, I will list them. Some of the books aren't so much "reading" books, but looking through and pulling out the the stuff I like books, like the recipe books. To count towards my total, I must use the book to the purpose I intended. For example, the recipe books were borrowed to get inspiration from - go through and pull out the recipes I like. The DVD's need to be watched and the magazines finished with. So, here's my list. (By the way, I'm too lazy to link all of the books to their Goodreads profiles, or the DVD's to their IMDB profile. If you want to know more about a particular item, I suggest you go to one of those websites and search for it!)

Magazines
The Monthly - Issue 99
The Monthly - Issue 100

DVD's
Dexter - Season 7 - Disc 3-4
Dexter - Season 8 - Disc 1-2
Dexter - Season 8 - Disc 3-4
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
My Place Volume 1

Non Fiction
Save with Jamie - Jamie Oliver
Band-aid for a Broken Leg: being a doctor with no borders and other ways to stay single - Damien Brown
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - Amy Chua
Ugly: my memoir - Robert Hoge
Fast Ed's Dinner in 10 - Ed Halmagyi
Blood Ties - John Suter Linton
The 17 Day Diet Cookbook - Mike Moreno
Dangerous Allies - Malcolm Fraser
Lazy Loser - Marie Bean

Fiction
Past the Shallows - Favel Parret
Six Impossible Things - Fiona Wood
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
Hawkes Harbor - SE Hinton
The Cold, Cold Ground - Adrian McKinty
The Sky So Heavy - Claire Zorn
The Incredible Here and Now - Felicity Castagna
The First Third - Will Kostakis

By my count that is 22 items. Let the challenge begin! 

Book Tour: When Camels Fly Tour

Welcome to my stop on the When Camels Fly Tour.
Category: Contemporary suspense, thread of Romance 
Available in: Print & ebook, 370 Pages  
A mother’s fatal shot. A daughter’s deadly choice. In Israel, archaeologist Grace Madison shoots her daughter’s abductor. Seconds later, a handsome shepherd drops from the sky to kill a second assassin. Their world changes in two blinks of an eye. Unbeknownst to them, a fiercely ambitious evil is destroying everything in its path—the unconventional path Grace and Maggie take. They struggle to right a wrong as old as time, and discover time is running out in the race for their lives. Family and friends are swept into their vortex, extinguishing old flames while igniting new loves. While the scale tips dangerously toward disaster, millions of lives hang in the balance. And the mother-and-daughter team soon realizes nothing is as it seems. Even each other. Because choosing what’s right is all that’s left.


My Review

OK, time to be honest - I haven't finished the book, I'm only half way through it, but as happens occasionally, life has got in the way. I will however review what I have read so far.
Taking place in the Middle East, When Camels Fly follows the hair raising adventures of mother and daughter Grace and Maggie as they uncover a plot to steal one of the regions most valuable commodities - water. It's fast pace has you moving through the story with surprising speed as you jump from Grace and Maggie's story, to that of the conspirators and Mark and Jeff (Grace's husband and son) as they in turn try to stop the girls or rescue them. And that's where I run into trouble. I want to really like this book, but I actually am finding it fairly confusing. I can see a really great story in there - one that is funny and entertaining - but I am finding it frustrating at the moment. There are secrets hinted at, but not expanded on, secret lives lived and stories untold, but so little revealed you are left uncertain as to the validity or truthfulness or importance of them. I understand the need to keep the reader in some level of suspense, but as the story goes, no extra information is revealed and I just feel like the author is holding out on me. The connections between the different aspects of the story are jerky and often come at a time when I'm just starting to settle into the current story. This unfortunately adds to the confusion and frustration I feel as a reader.
Hopefully as I read, all of these frustrations will iron out and the story I know is there will emerge. I will persevere and would encourage anyone who likes the premise of the story to give it a go - remember my view is only one.


About NLB Horton: After an award-winning detour through journalism and marketing and a graduate degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, NLBHorton returned to writing fiction. She has surveyed Israeli archaeological digs accompanied by artillery rounds from Syria and machine gun fire from Lebanon. Explored Machu Picchu after training with an Incan shaman. And consumed afternoon tea across five continents. When Camels Fly is her first novel. Her second, The Brothers’ Keepers, will be available November 2014. Website: http://www.nlbhorton.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NLB-Horton/289059931145461 Twitter: https://twitter.com/NLBHorton Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/nlbhorton/




06 May, 2014

Book Review: Fairytales for Wilde Girls

From Goodreads: A deliciously dark bubblegum-gothic fairytale from a stunning new Australian talent.

‘He's gone the same way as those little birds that bothered me with their awful songs! And you will too, you and your horrible heart-music, because you won't stay out of my woods!'
There's a dead girl in a birdcage in the woods. That's not unusual. Isola Wilde sees a lot of things other people don't. But when the girl appears at Isola's window, her every word a threat, Isola needs help.
Her real-life friends – Grape, James and new boy Edgar – make her forget for a while. And her brother-princes – the mermaids, faeries and magical creatures seemingly lifted from the pages of the French fairytales Isola idolises – will protect her with all the fierce love they possess.
It may not be enough.
Isola needs to uncover the truth behind the dead girl's demise and appease her enraged spirit, before the ghost steals Isola's last breath.


Thoughts: This is the second older readers CBC shortlisted book for 2014, and while it is very different from Wildlife, it is just as good - glad I'm not a judge! This is young people's Gothic at it's best - dark, moody, twisted - throw in  a bit of romance, intrigue and grief and you find yourself being drawn into the world of Isola Wilde and her princes. 
I loved the individuality of Allyse Near's characters - clearly defined, well drawn, flawed, quirky. I also love the issues this book deals with - mental illness, grief, bullying, friendship. However nothing is clichéd, nothing is predictable or stereotypical. The book won't appeal to all YA readers, but for those looking for something different to what is usually served up, looking for something with a bit more depth, this is the one to go for.