Tag: journalists

1914 by Sophie Masson

‘Come on,’ urged Hansel. ‘We haven’t got all night!’

‘Oh, yes we do,’ I teased, looking at my cards. I had a lousy hand, but I wasn’t going to let Hansel beat me.

‘Hurry up!’ he yelled at me, good naturedly, flinging a pillow in my direction, scattering my cards on the floor.

I ducked, recovered the pillow and launched it back at him.

‘Oh, what’s the use?’ he grinned, catching the pillow and settling it behind him. ‘I was going to beat you anyway.’

‘Never. But if you want to think so then …’

I was staying the night at Hansel’s house. His father, the Baron von Leitner, had retired hours ago, and we were making our last night together in Vienna last as long as we could.

‘Come on,’ urged Hansel. ‘We haven’t got all night!’

‘Oh, yes we do,’ I teased, looking at my cards. I had a lousy hand, but I wasn’t going to let Hansel beat me.

‘Hurry up!’ he yelled at me, good naturedly, flinging a pillow in my direction, scattering my cards on the floor.

I ducked, recovered the pillow and launched it back at him.

‘Oh, what’s the use?’ he grinned, catching the pillow and settling it behind him. ‘I was going to beat you anyway.’

‘Never. But if you want to think so then …’

I was staying the night at Hansel’s house. His father, the Baron von Leitner, had retired hours ago, and we were making our last night together in Vienna last as long as we could.

Louis and his brother Thomas are French/Australian and their father works for the French Embassy in Europe. They have friends from all over Europe. The family are on holiday near Sarajevo when the Archduke is assassinated and before long, WWI is declared. This means that Louis and some of his friends will now be on different sides of this conflict. As the war begins and then continues through 1914, Louis and friends all make decisions about how to contribute. Louis is too young, and not fit to be a soldier, but he finds his own way to be involved. His decisions do not always keep him out of danger, and his family do not escape unscathed, but Louis stays true to himself and to his friends. ‘1914’ includes newspaper articles, photos, letters and other text types.

1914 is the first of what will be five independent novels about WWI. Each will have their own story and be written by a different author. Each will concentrate on a particular year of the war. Louis’s story includes a non-soldier perspective of the war and helps to introduce readers to one of the less well-known ways (actually more than one) that people were involved. Many readers may know how WWI began, but Masson takes them on  location in Eastern Europe and allows them to feel the shockwaves that roll in so many directions. 1914 offers many opportunities for classroom discussion, including friendship, politics, loyalty and security.

Recommended for secondary readers.

 

1914 (Australia's Great War)

1914 , Sophie Masson Scholastic Press 2014 ISBN: 9781743622476

www.clairesaxby.com

The Break, by Deb Fitzpatrick

‘…You mean live there?’
‘Yeah.’
The woman next door was clattering about in her garden, shushing the dog when it barked.
‘Well…’ He struggled to get it into his head. ‘Why would we do that, exactly?’…
‘To be our own people,’ she eventually managed, in a whisper.
‘Instead of…’ And he was quiet for a moment. ‘Being other people’s people,’ he said finally.

Rosie can’t be a journalist if it involves chasing ambulances and looking for shock value. Cray has had enough of the fly in fly out lifestyle, especially when it means long stretches away from home. When they throw in their jobs, they decide to make a change, and head down to Margaret River, a place they’ve always loved. But starting again in a place that’s facing challenges of its own might not be all plain sailing.

Fergus and Liza have always lived in Margies, and Fergus runs the farm which his father built up. Their son Sam loves life – watching stars, fishing and swimming in the river, and following his favourite sci-fi serial on the computer his much loved uncle gave him. The only thing he doesn’t like is when his parents fight. Lately they’ve been arguing more, especially about Uncle Mike.

Rosie gets to know Liza and Sam, through their common concern of the effects a big development will have on their favourite piece of coastline. Development, though, proves the least of their worries, when the coastline itself proves a natural enemy.

The Break is a heart-wrenching novel about family, community, loss and change, set in the South West of Western Australia in the 1990s. Though there are parallels with real events,including the Gracetown Cliff Collapse in 1996, this is a work of fiction, allowing readers into the lives of deftly drawn characters and allowing readers to consider one version of how such an event might impact individuals and a community. Fitzpatrick does this with a special touch.

This is Fitzpatrick’s first novel for adults, but would also be suitable for young adult readers.

 

The Break, by Deb Fitzpatrick
Fremantle Press, 2014
ISBN 9781922089632

Available from good bookstores and online.