grief – Page 2 – Aussie Reviews

Bro, by Helen Chebatte

’Bro, listen to me,’ Diz pleads, sliding to the edge of his seat and holding out his hands. ‘Fight club’s for posers. Lebs fight for good reason, not to show off. You don’t need to prove nothing’.’
’He’s challenged me, bro. What do you want me to do? Say no? Do you want him to tell everyone Lebs are chickens? He’s had one Leb fight him and he’s already bagging us out.’

Romeo Machlouf is in year ten at a boys school. He has good mates and tries to stay out of trouble, though it isn’t always easy. When a fight club starts up, he isn’t interested – he doesn’t want to fight. But he might not have a choice, because Lebs stick together, and don’t take any crap from Ozzies, or from Fobs either.

Bro is a coming of age story about growing up: first love, identity, violence and its consequences are all explored through the first person voice of Romeo. At the same time, the themes of belonging and race are explored both dramatically and poignantly. Romeo and his friends are all ‘Lebs’ – Australian born but of Lebanese descent (though Romeo’s mother was not Lebanese) – and the school and their broader social circle is very much divided into racial groups . The other groups include the Fobs (‘fresh off the boat’), Maoris, Samoans, Tongans and other islanders ; the Rez (an Arabic word for rice, Asian students; and the Ozzies, “white skinned boys”. Tensions between the groups often run high, and the fight club that springs up in the school is contested along race lines.

An emotional read, Bro tackles important issues in a really accessible way.

Bro, by Helen Chebatte
Hardie Grant Egmont, 2016
ISBN 9781760125509

Mister Cassowary, by Samantha Wheeler

Suddenly something big stepped out from the bushes on the road up ahead. It looked like a giant emu but with jet black feathers and a long blue neck. It’s sclay legs reminded me of a dinosaur’s.
‘Dad?’
But Dad was looking in the rear vision mirror at the jetty.
The creature ran out onto the bitumen.
‘Dad! WATCH OUT!’
Flynn has never visited his Grandad Barney’s banana plantation, and he doesn’t understand why. But now Grandad has died, and Flynn and Dad are on their way to clean it up, ready for sale. On the way, Flynn’s first encounter with a cassowary is when one runs out in front of their car, but it isn’t long before he discovers that his grandfather was passionate about protecting the big birds. His dad, on the other hand, hates them – and seems to be scared of them. As Flynn tries to find out what happened to Grandad Barney and what this has to do with Dad’s fear, he discovers two orphaned baby cassowaries and becomes their secret protector.
Mister Cassowary is a moving adventure story. Flynn and his dad’s relationship is good, but because Dad works away, they don’t know each other as well as either would like. This adds to the story, with tension between them as Flynn tries to convince his dad not to be overprotective and to be honest with him about the past.
Readers will enjoy learning about cassowaries through the story and through back of book facts about this unusual bird.
Mister Cassowary, by Samantha Wheeler
UQP, 2015
ISBN 9780702253881

Leap by Myfanwy Jones

She comes when the others are out, announced by Sanjay’s Bollywood door chime; tinny and overwrought, its siren song ricochets along the ceiling and through his muscles as Joe takes the five long strides of the corridor. He was looking at YouTube clips and as he moves towards the door his fists clench and unclench, fingers unfurl, furl, in a subliminal sequence.

Last days of autumn and the air is like blood: it is hard to sense wehre the body ends and the atmosphere begins. He was not expecting anyone but here she is.

Last days of autumn and the air is like blood: it is hard to sense wehre the body ends and the atmosphere begins. He was not expecting anyone but here she is.

Joe lives in a house with friends, works two jobs and exists, guilt-ridden by an event in his past. He also practises parkour, which can be defined by three actions: running; climbing; and jumping. Then a girl knocks on the door, wanting to rent the vacant space for a short time.

Elise lives elsewhere in Melbourne. She knows her marriage is dying but is unable to do anything but watch. She spends way too much time at the zoo, watching and drawing tigers. Leap follows both Joe and Elise as they try to move on with their lives after tragedy. ‘Leap’, like parkour, is divided into three sections: Running; Leaping; and Jumping.

A tiger wraps around the cover in this novel about loss and love. Both main characters are crippled by their grief, holding tight to their loss. Leap is the story of their attempts to live on, the links between them, the differences on how they view the past, the future. It’s a story of family and friends and support and independence. The tiger is both a real presence and a metaphor for the grief experienced by both characters. ‘Leap’ is a beautifully written novel that will keep the reader turning pages, hoping that there is relief, release, redemption, hope for everyone. Recommended for readers who enjoy realistic fiction with heart.

Leap, Myfanwy Jones
Allen & Unwin 2015
ISBN: 9781925266115

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Shine: A Story About Saying Goodbye, by Trace Balla

And when they looked up into the sky,
there, shining brightest of all, was their special star,
the star called Shine.
‘This was their daddy’s star,
looking down on them, shining its bright.
golden light onto them and into their hearts,
for ever and ever.

Far away and long ago, a young horse lives amongst the golden stars. His name is Shine, and when he meets a lovely horse named Glitter, they are both happy – especially when they have two children, Shimmer and Sparkly. But the time comes when Shine has to go back to the stars, leaving Glitter and the children in mourning. Glitter cries and cries, but after a while she and the children climb a mountain to see the golden ocean that their tears have made. Not only do they see the vast ocean, but they also see the stars in the sky – including the special star, Shine.

Shine is a poignant tale of love and loss, told in simple way which helps to explore the topics of death and grief both for children in similar situations as well as for those who may not yet have experienced such loss.

Created by Trace Balla for her sister and her chidlren after the loss of their husband and father, Shine is a beuatiful gift for that family and for other families too.

Shine, by Trace Balla
Allen & Unwin, 2015
ISBN 9781743316344

Available from good bookstores and online.

Pieces of Sky, by Trinity Doyle

Gripping the straps of my backpack, I stare up into the sky, willing the world to stop. I wipe my nose on my sleeve and walk until I’m out of sight of the centre. My legs won’t stop shaking. I sit in the gutter, then stand back up and pace in a circle, raking my hands through my hair…
My hands shake and I tuck them into my armpits. I swallow tears. It’s still happening.
I need to swim. I need something to be the same. No home, no Cam, no pool.
No me.

Lucy’s life used to be almost perfect. Living in a small coastal town with her much loved brother, Cam, and her parents, she had good friends and a passion for swimming which had taken to her state championship level. Now, though, all that has changed. Cam has died, and Cam can’t go back in the water. In spite of not swimming, she feels like she’s drowning almost as surely as Cam did. Her friends are still swimming, and now she’s on the outside, starting back for a new school year with no idea how she’s going to get through.

At school there’s a new boy, Evan, and her ex-best friend, Steffi, and Lucy finds herself drawn into their circle as she tries to figure out what went wrong with Cam, and what is going wrong with herself and her parents, too.

Pieces of Sky is a tale of love and loss, but it also a story of friendship and survival, offering hope without saccharine. There is an element of mystery, as Lucy tries to figure out who is sending messages to Cam’s phone, as well as romance and drama.

There is a lot to like about this debut novel.

Pieces of Sky, by Trinity Doyle
Allen & Unwin, 2015
ISBN 9781760112486

Here in the Garden, by Briony Stewart

The wind is raking through the falling leaves
and I wish that you were here.

The gently lyrical opening lines of this picture book perfectly capture its essence. The narrator – illustrated as a young boy – is missing his pet rabbit. Text and illustrations follow the seasons and show the boy missing his friend with each new season, reflecting on the things they did together at that time of the year – watching clouds, sitting in the shade, listening to crickets and more. The final pages have the narrator conclude that whenever he misses his friend, he can go outside and find him – in his memories, ‘in the garden, in my heart.’

Whilst this a book about grief, it is also a celebration of friendship and of life, with the boy’s memories having a gentle poignancy. Whilst the illustrations show a boy and a rabbit, this is made clear only in the illustrations, meaning readers and adults could equally relate the text to another loss.

The muted watercolour and gouache illustrations are perfect for the mood of the text – not sombre, but gentle, and with a contrast in detail between the illustrations showing the boy alone and those showing him sharing the seasons with his rabbit. In the former, reminders of the rabbit are there in little ways that viewers will enjoy noticing – such as a rabbit shaped shadow under the boy on a swing, and rabbit motifs on a curtain.

This is a treasure of a picture book which touches the heart.

Here in the Garden

Here in the Garden, by Briony Stewart
UQP, 2014
ISBN 9780702250101

Available from good bookstores and online.

Grace's Table, by Sally Piper

Families were like sand dunes, Grace decided. They shifted shape and position with even the gentlest of forces. Even a tiny puff – a shrug – could bring about change, move a handful of thoughts to a new understanding, a new authority. A gale, like today’s, and whole dunes – lives and futures – were relocated, reimagined.

Grace is turning 70 and, rather than a party or a trip to a restaurant, has chosen to cook for her family and friends in her own home. It’s been a long time since she had twelve people at her table, but she’s sure she is up to the culinary challenge. She is perhaps less prepared for the play out of personalities and the memories which surface as she navigates the day. As she confronts a terrible event from her past, she comes to realise how others have been affected, and to reach new understandings.

Grace’s Table is a heart-filled tale of growing older, confronting the past and moving forward. As Grace celebrates her milestone birthday she also examines the lives of four generations of women – her mother, herself, her adult daughter and her two granddaughters, as well as the female friends who have played a large part in her life. Food too plays a central role in the novel, with traditional dishes such as roast lamb and mint sauce and more exotic delicacies.

In parts gentle, humorous and confrontational, Grace’s Table is a finely baked story.

Grace's Table

Grace’s Table, by Sally Piper
UQP, 2014
ISBN 9780702250040

Available from good bookstores or online.

The Killing Woods, by Lucy Christopher

I search for air, gasp. Close up his features are blurred, but I can still make out his copper-coloured eyes, the downward curve of his lips. It’s not because he’s on top of me that the words won’t come. It’s because of who he is.
Leaning down onto me, stopping my fight, is Damon Hilary. Sports prefect. The most beautiful boy in the school.
Also, Ashlee Parker’s boyfriend.

Beautiful Ashlee Parker is dead, and Emily’s dad has pleaded guilty to her manslaughter. Emily, though, is sure her father wouldn’t be capable of such a crime, in spite of his troubled state. She seems to be the only person who believes in her father’s innocence.

Damon is mourning the loss of his girlfriend, too soon after also losing his father. He is sure that Emily’s dad is guilty, even though Damon was the last person to see her alive. If only his memories of that night weren’t so scrambled, blurred by drugs and alcohol. He can’t tell the police about his own movements because he and his friends were playing a dangerous game in the woods.

The Killing Woods is a compelling, frightening story for teen readers. A wonderful blend of mystery and thriller set in and around a dark woods, the story draws the reader in trying to piece together exactly what happened and why. Whilst set in a realistic setting, the issues and events are chilling, though deftly handled. Not a comfortable read but an absorbing one.

The Killing Woods, by Lucy Christopher
Chicken House/Scholastic, 2013
ISBN 9781906427726

Available from good bookstores or online.

The Mimosa Tree, by Antonella Preto

‘I’m not miserable,” I say but she is already turning away from me, sliding her handbag up her arm until it gets jammed tight around her flesh. Mum looks like she is about to cry about my pathetic life. ‘I’m fine, Mum,’ I say nodding encouragingly towards the door, and then because she looks so mournful I add: ‘I’ll make some new friends, okay? At university.’

It’s 1987 and Mira has left school behind and is ready to start university. There she is sure her life will be different. She can be who she wants to be. To celebrate she’s got an all-black wardrobe and a new haircut. But her interfering aunt has arranged a new friend for her – the perfect, rich Felicia – and it’s hard to get excited about studying teaching when she only enjoys art. Then there’s her certainty that the world is going to end soon, anyway, when Russia and America decide which of them will drop the first bomb. It’s true, her world IS about to change – but that change won’t come from the skies.

The Mimosa Tree is an outstanding début novel from West Australian author Antonella Preto. Set in the Perth of the 1980s, it is a haunting tale about growing up, finding one’s own identity and surviving adversity. Mira is embarrassed of her Italian family, but as her world collapses she finds a new appreciation of them and of her new friends, too.

The character of Mira is intriguing and the use of first person narration effective. Mira should be unlikeable – she is self-centred, morbid and down right rude to pretty much everyone. But she’s also self-deprecating and honest, so the reader can connect, and see that her flaws hide a troubled teen. She has a lot to deal with – especially her mother’s recent battle with cancer and her alcoholic father’s moodiness. Her bossy Aunt Via wants to run her life, but seems to never have a kind word, and she has no friends except for one foisted on her by her Aunt, and whom Mira feels she has nothing in common with.

Mira’s story will appeal to teens, as well as to those who were teens in the 80s.

The Mimosa Tree, by Antonella Preto
Fremantle Press, 2013
ISBN 9781922089199

Available from good booksellers or here.

Greylands by Isobelle Carmody

‘That’s not the beginning,’ Ellen said, pointing to where Jack had written about the sky.
‘Stop reading over my shoulder,’ he ordered.
‘But you said you were writing about how it was after Mama died.’
‘I am, but I’m telling it my way.’
‘What does that mean? You’re making stuff up?’
Jack thought about it. ‘You have to. Real life isn’t like a story with a beginning and a middle and an end. It’s everybody’s stories all muddled together. But this will be my story and I’m starting with me dreaming that Mama told me she had wings.’
She did tell us she had wings,’ Ellen said.
‘I know she did. That’s why I put it in.’

‘That’s not the beginning,’ Ellen said, pointing to where Jack had written about the sky.

‘Stop reading over my shoulder,’ he ordered.

‘But you said you were writing about how it was after Mama died.’

‘I am, but I’m telling it my way.’

‘What does that mean? You’re making stuff up?’

Jack thought about it. ‘You have to. Real life isn’t like a story with a beginning and a middle and an end. It’s everybody’s stories all muddled together. But this will be my story and I’m starting with me dreaming that Mama told me she had wings.’

‘She did tell us she had wings,’ Ellen said.

‘I know she did. That’s why I put it in.’

Jack, his sister Ellen and their father are mourning the death of their mother. Their world seems to have lost all colour. Ellen has questions he can’t answer, and their father won’t. Their father is retreating more and more into unrecognisable and impenetrable sadness, while Jack is being seduced by the curiosities and questions and potential answers in Greylands. There he encounters Alice, a unknowable girl who carries a precious bundle that she will not relinquish, and a sad laughing beast. There are cats and towers, wolvers and those who can fly. Greylands is fascinating and compelling and Jack finds himself pulled into the unfamiliar world.

<a href=”http://www.fishpond.com.au/product_info.php?ref=271&id=9781921665677&affiliate_banner_id=1″ target=”_blank”>Greylands</a> inhabits the world of grief. Each character who enters Greylands must make their own journey through, without being sucked into the wanting. Jack, like so many children, nurtures a hidden guilt that his mother’s death is partly his fault. Readers will see much that Jack cannot. ‘Greylands is a portrait of grief, but also of the strength and clarity that can be found by navigating through difficulty. It is a picture of family bonds and love. Recommended for upper primary and secondary readers. Some readers will enjoy the fantasy, while others may unpack the symbols and metaphors.

<a href=”http://www.fishpond.com.au/product_info.php?ref=271&id=9781921665677&affiliate_banner_id=1″ target=”_blank”>Greylands</a>, Isobelle Carmody Ford St Publishing 2012 ISBN: 9781921665677

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or <a href=”http://www.fishpond.com.au/product_info.php?ref=271&id=9781921665677&affiliate_banner_id=1″ target=”_blank”>Online</a>.