Magic or Madness

Title: Magic or Madnes
Author: Justine Larbalestier
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Magic or Madness
Audience: Young Adult
Format: Book - Library

Synopsis: Reason Cansino's mother Sarafina, has spent her whole life trying to keep Reason away from her grandmother. Esmeralda. According to Sarafina, Esmeralda is an evil woman who believes in magic and practises terrifying rituals. Then Sarafina ends up in a psychiatric hospital and Reason is delivered into her grandmother's care in Sydney. Her thoughts are focussed on escape, until she opens the back door and finds her self in the middle of a New York winter. If magic is real, what else has Sarafina lied about?

What I thought: Justine Larbalestier may very well be my new favourite Australian young adult author. I grabbed this after reading Liar and loving it. This was brilliant! Like Rowling, Larbalestier has taken magic and placed it in the ordinary world. Reason's paranoia at finding herself in the house of the woman her mother has frequently described as evil and terrifying is palpable. You yourself as the reader are unsure whether or not to trust Esmeralda. I really felt for Reason as she faced the collapse of her world and everything she thought she knew and coped with being in New York! I look forward to reading more of this series and finding out what happens next.

Recommended for: those who are like good quality YA fantasy.

100+ Challenge,  For the Love of YA Challenge, Aussie YA Challenge

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

I wasn't going to read this. I have read the Twilight series and her book The Host, but had decided I was done with it. Then last week at work I was reshelving and came across this and thought "What the hell - it'll be a good quick read."

I was right about the quick bit. It's not that there was anything particularly wrong with the book, it was just a bit bland. For me it didn't really add anything to the series, and the cynical side of me says it was simply a money making exercise. A way to have something new on the shelves so the Twilight brand could be stretched a little further. Most probably a must have for die hard Twilight fans, but that is about it.

It did remind me of this song though!

A Tale of Two Families

A Tale of Two Families by Jenny Pausacker.

I picked this up out of a pile of books I was covering for my son's school library. I've read and quite enjoyed some of the My Australian Story Series before so thought I would give this a go.

Set in Melbourne in 1974, Jan is 15 and a typical suburban Australian girl. Her family has bbq's with the neighbours, her mother stays at home and, despite the fact she has a pretty good kick, Jan isn't allowed to join the footie team.

The book covers several issues - women's liberation, the Vietnam War, draft dodgers, returning servicemen and sexism. Whie each of these subjects is dealt with fairly simplistically and everything works out in the end, the book provides a good jumping off point for discussions about these issues.