Tag: road trip

Pip and Houdini by J C Jones

Pip Sullivan’s middle name was trouble. At least that’s what people said.
She was the girl who’d gone on the run from the welfare in case they locked her up, broken into an empty house, bet on the horses, had the entire police force looking for her, brought down a very bad man and discovered why her mother had abandoned her as a baby – all in just a few days.
And she was still just ten (and a bit) years old.

Pip is back in a new adventure. After finding a new home with a new family, she’s trying to settle down and fit in, but somehow she always seems to be in trouble. This time the trouble is so big, she’s sure her new family will reject her and she will never find a place to belong. She and her dog Houdini sets out on a mission to find the mother who gave her up, Cass. The only clue she has is a postcard from Byron Bay. So that’s where she heads.

‘Pip and Houdini’ is the second instalment from J C Jones, about Pip. The first, ‘Run, Pip, Run’ introduced the reader to this feisty, independent character, Pip. Her early years have been unconventional, to say the least, but she has a very well-developed moral compass and an almost-inexhaustible store of openness, optimism and energy. Houdini is the perfect offsider: supportive and intuitive and up for any adventure Pip begins. ‘Pip and Houdini’ is a delightful and heart-warming novel. It introduces young readers to a world that may well be beyond their experience, and encourages them to look beyond first impressions to the heart of everyone they encounter. And it’s all wrapped up in a ripping yarn. Recommended for mid-primary readers.

Pip and Houdini, J C Jones Allen & Unwin 2017 ISBN: 9781780296056

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller
www.clairesaxby.com

Are You Seeing Me? by Darren Groth

This is my nightmare. Sure, there are any number of planks in the rickety suspension bridge of our trip that could give out and send us plummeting – the flight, the road trips to Okanagan Lake and Seattle. Foreign places, foreign people. Foreign everything. And, of course, The Appointment and all of the question marks it entails. But to go wrong here? Here? At the airport? On the list of places you’d want to avoid acting out of the ordinary, the airport would rank number one with a bullet. Or maybe a taser.

Nineteen year old twins Justine and Perry have had a tough few years. Their beloved dad has died after a battle with cancer, and they are on their own. Now, as they plan to part ways for the first time in their lives, they are taking a trip together. But travelling is complicated, because Perry is autistic, and doesn’t always cope well with change. Justine has always looked after him, but there are times when even she finds it hard to get through to Perry. From their arrival at the airport she is faced with challenges, but only she knows that in Canada they are going to face what could be their biggest challenge of all.

Are You Seeing Me? is a beautiful young adult novel, dealing with themes of disability, family, loyalty and change. While it is Perry who seemingly has the hardest time dealing with change, Justine too has lessons to learn about trust and about caring for herself, even about her brother. Their journey is both physical and metaphoric, and readers will enjoy seeing the sights through Perry’s eyes, as his fascination with earthquakes, mythical sea-creatures and Jackie Chan dictate their touring schedule.

Using the alternate viewpoints of Justine and Perry, each with their own unique voice and take on the world, Are You Seeing Me? is funny, sad and touching in equal measure.

 

Are You Seeing Me?

Are You Seeing Me?, by Darren Groth
Woolshed Press, 2014
ISBN 9780857984739

Available from good bookstores and online.

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

Swerve, by Phillip Gywnne
Penguin, 2009

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