Time Catcher by Cheree Peters

The same thing happens every time. Everything seems normal. the air is quiet and the trees are still. then the loud crash and I lose myself in the chaos. Bodies everywhere, unconscious or dead, I cannot tell. People screaming and running in every direction; me, trying to figure out what has happened.

This is my dream-nightmare.

The same faces appear, but they are blurred, almost like shadows of what they once were. I can make out the outlines of small houses; one of them is on fire. I swivel my head in slow motion, looking at the chaos in the open space to my right.

The boy with the piercing blue eyes appears. Though he is blurred and distorted like the others, I can always recognise those eyes – so clear and bright, like stars in the night sky. Like mine.

The same thing happens every time. Everything seems normal. the air is quiet and the trees are still. then the loud crash and I lose myself in the chaos. Bodies everywhere, unconscious or dead, I cannot tell. People screaming and running in every direction; me, trying to figure out what has happened.

This is my dream-nightmare.

The same faces appear, but they are blurred, almost like shadows of what they once were. I can make out the outlines of small houses; one of them is on fire. I swivel my head in slow motion, looking at the chaos in the open space to my right.

The boy with the piercing blue eyes appears. Though he is blurred and distorted like the others, I can always recognise those eyes – so clear and bright, like stars in the night sky. Like mine.

Althea is a mid-teen princess, in a post-apocalyptic world, adored and adoring daughter of the King Duncan of Cardiff. She lives in wealth and privilege, even if sometimes royal duties become a bit of a chore. Life would be just about perfect except the fact that she has only one friend and a ‘swain’ she’s having second thoughts about. And then there’s the seizures that are an all-too-regular feature of her day. Not that she’s left to suffer – her father, physician, maid and sentinel are on hand to keep her as comfortable and safe as possible. All this changes when there is an abduction attempt during a parade. Althea’s world begins to unravel, until she has no idea who – if anyone – she can trust.

Time Catcher is the first in a trilogy from new author, Cheree Peters. She has created a world altered by climate change and a virus which has wiped out many and created ‘manipulators’, an outcast and persecuted population on the fringes of Althea’s pampered world. Utopian world even. But perceived Utopias are often not as they seem. Althea has to shrug off the protection and luxury around her to discover who she truly is, and to also discover her place in this world. Althea story is told in first person so the reader discovers with her, and sometimes ahead of her. Themes include truth and justice, power, equity and more. This is to be a trilogy, so the ending is also a beginning. Recommended for upper primary, lower secondary readers.

Time Catcher, Cheree Peters
Ford Street Publishing 2016
ISBN: 9781925272215

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Raven Flight, by Juliet Marillier

Three Guardians to find, all in different corners of Alban; three branches of knowledge to master; and then, the disparate talents of humankind and Good Folk to be brought into an alliance strong enough to stand up against the might of Keldec and his Enforcers…all that in a scant year and a half? When I had thus far failed to exchange even one word with the Folk Below? It was…I must not say impossible. I was one of Regan’s rebels now, and I must not even think it. ‘Ill try my best,’ I said.

Safe in the shelter of Shadowfell, the rebel base, Neryn is rebuilding her strength and learning what her skills as Caller might be able to achieve. She knows that, if she can master her gift, she will be a powerful tool for the rebels to defeat the King and free Alban of his tyranny. But mastering her gifts will take time, and suddenly time is something she doesn’t have. If the Rebels’ plan is to work, she has only eighteen months to learn what she needs to know, and gain the support of the Good Folk.

As soon as winter ends, Neryn is on the road, seeking out the three Guardians who can teach her what she needs to know. Each is in a remote corner of Alban, and travelling in a kingdom where her magical skills are perilous should they be discovered is difficult. Her companion is Tali, a fighter who will defend her with her life, but who would rather be elsewhere. As they travel, both face challenges which will test them beyond their limits.

Raven Flight is the sequel to Shadowfell, and the second in the trilogy. For a reader new to the series, it doesn’t take long to get caught up in the tale, though reading the first would be an advantage, and, one suspects, rewarding. Marillier’s characters are engaging, the world captivating and the story tightly woven. Whilst, as is necessary in a trilogy, the ending leaves the reader wanting more, the end point is in itself satisfying, with enough of this instalment resolved, and equally enough hints at what is yet to come.

A really satisfying tale.

Raven Flight (Shadowfell)

Raven Flight , by Juliet Marillier
Pan Macmillan, 2013
ISBN 978174261224

Available from good bookstores or online . Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

The Billionaire’s Curse and The Emerald Casket, by Richard Newsome

Reviewed by Dale Harcombe

The Billionaire's Curse (Billionaire Series)

In 2008 The Billionaire’s Curse was the winner of the Inaugural text prize for children’s and young adult fiction. It’s easy to see why. It is very readable with a plot that I’m sure would appeal to most young people.

What would you do if your suddenly became a billionaire? When his great aunt dies and leaves all her wealth to 13 year old Gerald, she also leaves a letter asking him to find whoever it was who murdered her. Now that he is her heir, Gerald’s life is also in danger. But he is not alone thanks to the new friends meets at the museum.

Together Gerald, Sam and Ruby set out to try and discover who stole the world’s most valuable diamond, as well as who murdered Gerald’s great aunt and is now seeking to get rid of him. The trouble for Gerald is to know who he can trust, especially among the adults.

This is a story with plenty of action, drama and suspense the humour and characters like Constable Lethbridge who scratches his bottom with a plastic fork, will have children laughing as they turn the pages.

The Emerald Casket (Billionaire Series)

The second book in this trilogy The Emerald Casket has already been published. It takes Gerald Sam and Ruby on holiday to India. There they have to save another friend Alisha, from a deadly cult. As well they hope to find the emerald casket. But of course there are those like Sir Mason Green who stand in their way.

Each of the books is very readable and action packed. Children from 8-12 years old  will lap them up.

The Billionaire’s Curse
ISBN 9781921922756
The Emerald Casket
ISBN 9781921922763
By Richard Newsome
The Text Publishing Company
Paperback RRP $19.95

The Silver Door and The Third Door, by Emily Rodda

The Doors are magic, Faene,’ Rye broke in, as the young woman turned her repraochful gaze on him. ‘They could lead … anywhere. The Golden Door led Dirk here. But I am certain that Sholto would have chosen the Silver Door. So to be sure of picking up his trail, we must go through the Silver Door ourselves. Do you see?

Now that one brother is safely back from beyond the Golden Door, Rye is determined to do anything he can to rescue his other brother, Sholto who, he is sure, will be beyond the Silver Door. Only then will he be ready to venture beyond the third door, the wooden door, in a quest to rid Weld of the menace of Skimmers, creatures who come in the night to eat anything that moves.

The Silver Door (Three Doors)

The Silver Door continues the adventures of Rye and his new friend Sonia as they work through their dangerous quest. Weld has been under seige for too long and, for too long, the young men of Weld have ventured through one of three magical doors in an effort to discover the source of the Skimmers and thus destroy them. With both of his brothers gone through the doors, and his mother now forced into a pauper’s life of service, Rye is determined to reunite his family and find a way to free Weld.

The Third Door (Three Doors)

In The Third Door the adventurers venture through the third and final door in their attempt to end the quest they began when they entered the first door.

Young fantasy lovers will delight in the adventures of Rye and his friends, with intriguing characters, twists and turns, magic and satisfying resolutions. Whilst each book is fairly self contained, they are best read as a trilogy.

The Silver Door , ISBN 9781862919136

The Third Door, ISBN 978186291914
both by Emily Rodda
Omnibus, 2012

A Distant Land, by Alison Booth

Jim’s mouth is so dry he can hardly swallow. As he struggles into a sitting position, he sees on the lip of the hollow three pairs of feet. Three pairs of feet wearing sandals fashioned from rubber tyres and inner tubes.
Slowly he raises his eyes and sees three rifle barrels. Holding the rifles are three soldiers. They are not the allies. they are not the Cambodians either. These young men are wearing the belted green uniforms of the North Vietnamese Army.
Casually lifting his gun, the tallest soldier directs it at Jim.

Zidra Vincent and Jim Cadwallader have been friends since childhood, but each secretly wonders if their relationship could be something more. But when Jim returns from Cambodia on a short visit, the opportunity to say what they’re feeling doesn’t arise. When he’s summoned back to Cambodia where he’s a war correspondent, Jim promises to write.

In Sydney Zidra follows an story which could be the making of her journalistic career, and waits to hear from Jim. But it is at work that she sees a headline which may change everything: a headline telling of a missing journalist killed in Cambodia. As she realises it is too late to tell Jim how she feels, her world collapses.

A Distant Land is a moving story of love set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and also highlighting the personal and legal struggles of the Aboriginal rights movement in the 1970s. The history is important to the plot and enlightening for the reader, but doesn’t overshadow the story.

A Distant Land is a conclusion to the Jingera trilogy, but stands alone (I hadn’t read the first two books, though am now tempted to seek them out).

A Distant Land

A Distant Land by Alison Booth
Bantam, 2012

This book is available from good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.