Penguin – Page 6 – Aussie Reviews

Chess Nuts, by Julia Lawrinson

Jackson wanted to come back in, sit down, and blitz them all, but how could he? Everyone knew Jackson was the best athlete in the school, and why would someone like that hang around the chess room? Jackson could imagine what Flash Buckley would think if he saw Jackson with the Chess Nuts.
I’ll show them, Jackson decided.
Just not today.

Jackson is sporty and popular. He wins everything – and people are happy to see him win. But suddenly the thought of winning isn’t as enticing as it used to be.

Anna isn’t good at sport, but she is good at chess. She is the number one player in the A-team. Then Jackson turns up to chess, and Anna is not happy. He is good at everything else – why would he want to muscle in on Anna’s territory? As the chess season continues, however, both children find they have plenty to learn from each other.

Chess Nuts is an absorbing read for middle and upper primary aged readers. The focus on chess will intrigue both chess-mad readers, and those new to the game. It is wonderful to see an unsporty sport profiled, and the use of chess-board layouts to illustrate games or moves throughout the book is a wonderful addition.

Author Lawrinson is perhaps better known for her edgy young adult novels, but when she writes for younger readers she does it well.

Chess Nuts, by Julia Lawrinson
Penguin, 2010

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Dancing in the Dark, by Robyn Bavati

Two more steps and –
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ says my father.
I open my mouth to speak but –
‘I asked you a question,’ says my father.
I take another step towards the door.
‘Stay where you are.’ His voice is a command. ‘If you leave now, if you set foot outside that door, you are not to come back. Do you understand, Yehudit? You are not to come back.’

Ditty Cohen is not supposed to be watching TV, but when she does, she sees a broadcast of a classical ballet and is instantly hooked. She must learn ballet herself. But when she asks her parents she is told that ballet is out of the question – it is immodest, it will not make her a better person, and it is not something a good Jewish girl can do.

For the first time in her life Ditty finds herself questioning her parents’ directives. She sneaks off to take a free lesson, and soon she is dancing every day. Her passion is equalled by her talent, and she finds herself unable to give it up. Soon, Ditty finds that she is not just covering up her secret dancing, but also her doubts about her whole life as a Haredi Jew.

Dancing in the Dark is an absorbing tale of one teenager’s struggle with family expectations, her faith, and the dilemmas which choosing to defy her parents’ force her to confront. For most Australian teens, Ditty’s life and faith will be unfamiliar, making the story doubly interesting. But, on another level, all teens will find the dilemmas of self versus family, and of meeting societal expectations, familiar.

Ditty is an honest and open narrator, and her story is well crafted, and will intrigue teen readers.

Dancing in the Dark, by Robyn Bavati
Penguin, 2010

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

The Story of Danny Dunn, by Bryce Courtenay

Brenda didn’t see the beautiful boy who caused a young woman’s knees to tremble. She didn’t care about the brilliant young sportsman. All Brenda saw was her boy standing in cap and gown in the Great Hall of Sydney University holding a parchment scroll, proving her mum and dad hadn’t left Ireland for nothing and that her family could hold their heads up high. Danny would reach down and pull them all up out of the gutter.

Danny Dunn is the apple of his mother’s eye, and her hope for the future. Danny will do the things that she didn’t do – particularly getting a university degree. For the people of Balmain, Danny offers hope of a different kind – as a sporting hero on the rugby field and in the water polo pool. But when the second World War erupts, Danny is determined to represent his country – whether his mother wants him to or not.

The Story of Danny Dunn is the tale of one man’s war and of his life afterwards, as he tries to fulfil his own dreams, and his mother’s. Danny is a strong man determined to make a difference, but he also lives with the scars of life as a prisoner of war. His family, too, including his parents, his wife and his twin daughters, must also live with his difficult past and with the highs and lows of his determination.

From master storyteller Bryce Courtenay, The Story of Danny Dunn is a saga which offers both an insight into life in the period following World War II and an absorbing story.

The Story of Danny Dunn, by Bryce Courtenay
Penguin, 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

The Cattleman's Daughter, by Rachael Treasure

When Emily Flanaghan hit the tree and her heart slammed out of rhythm, she didn’t hear the rush of hooves as the other bush-race riders belted past her. Not did she hear her silver-grey mar, Snowgum, roar in agony, screaming out a hideous guttural sound…Instead, she felt herself drifting up through the filter of gumleaves, her panic subsiding.

Since growing up in the high country, a cattleman’s daughter, Emily has lost her way in life. She is trapped in a loveless, volatile marriage and misses her high-country life. But even if she could return, the cattleman’s way of life is under threat from government legislation to stop the cattle being grazed in the mountains. When Emily has a terrible accident on her horse, Snowgum, her life starts to change. She realises she must heal her life – and her beloved mountains. Clawing her way back to health, she leaves her husband and returns to her family.

Luke Bradshaw is also at a crossroads in his life. Newly graduated from university, and precluded from returning to his family farm because his father has sold it off for tree plantations, he jumps at the chance of a job as park ranger, because it will take him back to the country. But his job will see him in conflict with the cattlemen, people he has a lot in common with.

When Luke and Emily meet, both feel an instant connection. But as Luke begins his new job and Emily fights alongside her fellow cattlemen, it seems any chance of a relationship is doomed.

The Cattleman’s Daughter is a love story, but much more as well. A woman’s journey to healing and discovery, as well as a community’s fight both to stay viable merge with an examination of the impact of alpine grazing bans, and of the difficulties of actively managing and preventing fires in forest areas. An absorbing story which also gives the reader much to think about.

The Cattleman’s Daughter, by Rachael Treasure
Penguin, 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

100 Ways to Happy children, by Dr Timothy J. Sharp

As parents we know that nothing is more important to us than the happiness of our children. But how can we confidently teach them to find happiness when it’s often such a struggle to find it in our own lives?

This easy to read and digest volume is aimed, as the subtitle says, at ‘busy parents’. And, let’s face it – every parent seems to be a busy parent. Clinical psychologist Dr Timothy Sharp presents 100 realistic, achievable suggestions for raising happy, confident and balanced children. From setting goals, to recognising strengths and encouraging learning, there is nothing unpalatable or unrealistic on offer here. Instead, what is on offer is straightforward advice and reminders.

Each of the 100 ‘ways’ is presented succinctly, with entries ranging from half a page to two pages, and broken into categories including ways to build character, ways to ensure wellbeing and ways to make learning fun.

Parents may like to read the entire book cover to cover, but could also dip into it randomly, or just read one entry per day, allowing time to digest and enact. A wonderful resource for every parent.

100 Ways to Happy Children: A Guide for Busy Parents, by Dr Timothy J. Sharp
Penguin, 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid children, by Jen Storer

‘Students!’ exclaimed Matron Pluckrose, shaking her head and searching the pockets of her jacket. ‘There have been no st-ew-dents here since the war.’
She fumbled with her cigarette pack. Tensy felt her face flush and her tummy tumble. She stopped laughing.
‘But excuse me, Madam Matron,’ she persisted. ‘Only, how can you have a boarding school without any students?’
Matron blew a cloud of smoke into the little girl’s face.
‘Child,’ she said, and her face was stony, ‘this is no school.’

Tensy Farlow is in danger. Abandoned as a baby on the front steps of a hospital, then almost drowned in the River Charon before being rescued by the kindly Albie Gribble, Tensy has now been dumped in the Home for Mislaid Children by her adopted parents. There the wicked Matron Plucknose seems to have it in for her. But Matron Plucknose is not the worst of her problems. Rather, it is the fact that she was born without a Guardian Angel which places her in mortal danger.

In the Home for Mislaid Children, Tensy does manage to make some friends – but she also has a growing number of enemies. And in a cave in the cliffs below the home lurks an evil being who wants Tensy’s life force. But perhaps, just perhaps, Tensy is the only one who can make a difference to this dark, dark world.

Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children is a wonderful gothic novel for children, with a blend of humour, action and warmth amidst the darkness of a home where children are neglected and enslaved, and dark forces dwell. Red headed Tensy is innocent but feisty, and has a special quality which attracts the good hearted, whilst repelling the bad. Otehr characters are also appealing, including the various angels who pepper the book, and even the baddies are endearing for their humorous portrayal.

With hardcover format, vine leaf embellishments on every page, and a gorgeous story, this is a book to treasure.

Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children, by Jen Storer
Penguin, 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Running With the Horses, by Alison Lester

Nina closed her eyes and imagined herself and Zelda in the Great Riding Hall. She saw the cheering audience, the glittering chandeliers and the dazzling spotlights. She heard the swelling music of the orchestra carrying them along. Nina was riding like her mother, as light as a summer butterfly. She could hear the soaring violins, the cellos, the drums…

Before the war, Nina lived with her father above the stables of the Royal Academy of Dancing Horses. Now, however, war has come and Nina and her father have to flee with the remaining horses, and Zelda, an aging cab horse. The journey across the mountains is filled with danger, but Nina and Zelda draw strength from each other.

Running with the Horses is a beautiful picture book story based on the true story of Vienna’s Spanish Riding School and the Lipizzaner stallions. Told in gentle prose with each page of text complemented by a black and white illustration and full page coloured illustration on the opposite page, this is both a visual and literary delight, perfect for reading aloud to primary aged children. Young horse lovers will delight in Lester’s art, and all children will be drawn into the excitement of the escape, at the same time learning some of the realities of war.

This is a story of hope which deserves to be shared.

Running with the Horses, by Alison Lester
Penguin/Viking, 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Swerve, by Phillip Gwynne

The Monaro was a spaceship hurtling through the intergalactic, a submarine slicing through Atlantic depths. Inside, the milky light from the dashboard; outside, headlights punching holes in the outback night.

Hugh Twycross is a 16 year old nerd with a bright future – everybody says so. One of Australia’s best young cellists, he is preparing for an audition at the prestigious conservatorium. But Hugh is harbouring a secret. Beneath his neat uniform, his nerdy hair, and his passion for music lies another passion – for cars and motor racing. So when his newly-discovered grandfather, Poppy, asks him to come on a road trip to Uluru in his 1970 Monaro, Hugh can’t refuse. Soon Hugh and Poppy are hurtling across the country, getting into all sorts of tangles, and having the time of their lives.

Along the way, Hugh and Poppy make some new friends – and tangle with new enemies. But Poppy is hiding his own secret, a secret which will rock Hugh’s world.

Swerve is a fast moving, funny but also touching story of self-discovery, family, and friendship . As Hugh travels with the grandfather who has been estranged from the family for many years, the pair build a bond which seems initially unbreakable, but which is tested by both revelations and the events of the trip. The use of an opening chapter which flashes forward gives the reader an insight into a possible outcome, but doesn’t blow the ending.

Young car-lovers will love the road trip, but there is something for every teen, with issues, humour, adventure and even mystery.

Superb.

Swerve, by Phillip Gywnne
Penguin, 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

The Harp in the South, by Ruth Park

This was the place where the Darcys lived – Plymouth Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, in an unlucky house which the landlord had renumbered from thirteen to Twelve-and-a-Half.
It was the oldest in Plymouth Street, a cranky brown house, with a blistered green door, and a step worn into dimples and hollows that collected the rain in little pools in which Roie and Dolour, when little, had always expected to find frogs.

The Harp in the South is the story of the Irish Catholic Darcy family, living in the slums of inner Sydney in the post war era. Mumma and Hughie and their teenage daughters Dolour and Roie are poor and face a daily struggle to survive, yet they are a family, and, in their own way, able to find some happiness.

In the course of the novel Roie meets her first beau, Tommy, and learns lessons about love, and Dolour grows from a surly child to a blossoming teen. Mumma, meanwhile, lives with the sadness caused by the disappearance of her only son ten years before, and also nurses her mother through her final months. Hughie, the man of the family, is an alcoholic, and unreliable, but his love for his family shows through during tough moments. The Darcy’s neighbours also feature in the story – their lodgers, Patrick Diamond and Miss Sheily with a disabled son Johnnie, as well as Lick Jimmy, the fruiterer from next door, all have their own challenges and foibles.

Whilst there is a sequential plot, this is more of a snapshot of life (and love in its many forms) in the Sydney slums than it is a single story. Readers will connect with, and cheer for, the characters and emerge wanting to know more.

The Harp in the South was first published in 1948 and has been continuously in print ever since. In its newest incarnation, it forms part of the Popular penguins imprint.

The Harp in the South (Popular Penguins), by Ruth Park
This edition Penguin 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

The Merry-Go-Round By the Sea, by Randolph Stow

The boy looked down from the sky. He looked down on Rick holding open the gate, and closing it while Goldie waited. He looked down on Rick walking ahead in the road, being nudged now and then by Goldie’s nose, but not turning. The hairs on the back of Rick’s neck were golden. Two crows were crying in the sky, and everything was asleep. The day, the summer, would never end. He would walk behind Rick, he would study Rick forever.

Six year old Rob Coram lives in Geraldton, Western Australia, far away from the war raging in Europe and the Pacific. But when his much-loved cousin, Rick, goes away to fight in that war, it suddenly becomes much more real and personal. As the war drags on, Rob longs for Rick to come home. When Rick, returns, though, he is different, and Rob struggles to maintain the closeness he once felt.

The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea provides a glimpse into family life in war-time Australia, and will especially evoke a sense of the familiar in Western Australian readers. It is also a coming-of-age novel, showing Rob’s growth through his childhood and into his teens, whilst his cousin, made a man in his desperate survival as a prisoner of war, seems to regress and to appear younger back in the world of his childhood.

With a cast of aging aunts and grandmothers, fathers and uncles who seem to play only small roles in Rob’s childhood, younger cousins and childhood friends, Rob’s life rolls through the six years of this tale, with childhood scenes of humour and adventure, interspersed with sadness and tension.

First published in 1965 and reprinted numerous times, The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea has now been rereleased as part of the popular Penguins series, allowing it be rediscovered by past fans and uncovered by a new generation of readers.

The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea , by Randolph Stow
This edition Penguin, 2009