April 2010 – Page 2 – Aussie Reviews

Puggle, by Catriona Hoy & Andrew Plant

In a tall house on a hill…there’s a box. Inside the box there’s a towel. And curled up in the towel is Puggle. Puggle is a baby echidna.

Once Puggle lived safe and warm in is mother’s pouch, but one day there was a loud bang and mother stopped swaying. Puggle was picked up and brought to the tall house, where he is cared for with other sick and injured animals. As he grows, other animals in the house recover and return to the wild. Then, finally, the day comes when it is time for Puggle to go back to the forest.

Puggle is the touching story of an orphaned baby echidna (a puggle), based on a true account. It is also the story of the role of wildlife carers in healing and rehabilitating native animals. With bright acrylic illustrations and fact filled endpapers, and enough factual information for classroom use and enough story to entertain, this hard cover picture book is a perfect blend of heart-warming story and educational offering.

Puggle, by Catriona Hoy & Andrew Plant
Working Title Press, 2010

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

January, by Gabrielle Lord

With superhuman strength, the sick man tore himself away from the medics’ hold. His eyes were wide with terror. ‘If you don’t disappear, you’re going to have to survive them for a whole year! Do you realise what that means? They’re going to be after you for 365 days! Week after week! Day after day!’

Callum Ormond’s life is thrown into chaos when, on New Year’s Eve, he is chased by a seemingly crazy man who warns Callum that he must disappear – or else be pursued by unnamed pursuers for the next year. Callum doesn’t know what the man is talking about, but in the days that follow he almost drowns, his house is robbed and he is framed for the attempted murder of his little sister. Suddenly the crazed man’s warning seems terrifyingly accurate.

January is the first title in a bold new series from Aussie crime writer Gabrielle Lord and Scholastic books. Conspiracy 365 will consist of 12 books released one a month for twelve months, with action packed instalments in Callum’s adventure. The story is pacy and is complemented by a website with games, blogs and competitions which will appeal to young readers aged ten to fourteen.

An intriguing concept which will be interesting to follow throughout 2010.

January (Conspiracy 365), by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic, 2010

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

The Silent Country, by Di Morrissey

‘It was in the fifties. I was hired to write the script for a documentary film which was supposed to showcase the Australian outback to the world prior to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. There was a mixed group of us. Off we went on this crazy expedition making it up as we went along.’
‘And how did it come out?’
The older man looked wistful, then he straightened up. ‘Well, it was all a bit of a saga. Good and bad memories. But I’ve never seen anything as wild, beautiful or as mystical as the wilderness of the Northern Territory.’

Colin Peterson is living a fairly mundane existence working in a bank when he meets the eccentric Maxim Topov, a Russian film director who wants to ‘make movie’ about the outback. Soon Colin, Topov and an odd mix of crew are on the road, filming their adventures. But their journey is not well planned and is soon beset by problems, not the least of which is Topov’s eccentricity.

Fifty years later television producer Veronica Anderson meets Colin and is intrigued enough to retrace some of his steps in the Northern Territory. When she finds that other members of the expedition are not so willing to talk, she senses a mystery, which she must solve. As she explores Darwin and the Territory she finds herself falling in love with the land – and with the man who shows her around.

The Silent Country is an absorbing tale from one of Australia’s most successful writers. A blend of romance, self discovery, issues and mystery, set in Sydney, the Northern Territory and Italy, in both the 1950s and the present day, this is a mix which has much to offer the reader.

The Silent Country, by Di Morrisey
Macmillan, 2009
ISBN 9781405039390

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

You Turkeys, by Michael Gerard Bauer

Our backyard was Dad’s pride and joy. He loved the flowers in their chip bark beds and the row of little ball-shaped shrubs. He loved the neat compost heap and the square of bright green lawn with its dead-straight edges.
Then the scrub-turkeys came, and they loved our backyard too.

Jake’s dad is not happy when two scrub turkeys try to set up home in his beautiful garden. He chases them off, but when they come back the next day – and the next – his efforts to get rid of them become increasingly desperate. Jake’s little sister, Anna, says Daddy should share his yard, but Dad has other ideas.

You Turkeys! is a funny addition to the Mates series, a full colour illustrated chapter book for lower primary aged readers. Whilst the story is high in humour, and complemented by quirky illustrations, it also gives a gentle message about conservation and wildlife.

Aimed at beginning readers transitioning to chapter books, You Turkeys! is suitable for school or private reading.

You Turkeys! (Mates), by Michael Gerard Bauer, illustrated by Nahum Ziersch
Omnibus, 2010
ISBN 978186291816

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond.

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.

f2m, by Hazel Edwards & Ryan Kennedy

Tick the box. M or F.
Male or Female are the only options ‘ordinary’ people know about. M for Male. F for Female. You’re one or the other. But what if you’re not? Like me. As I’m finding out.

Skye has just left school and, like lots of teens, doesn’t really know what she wants to be. But before she can make that decision, there is a harder decision to make – just who she wants to be. Is she Skye, full time punk, part time guitarist for an all-girl band? Or is she really Finn, a boy trapped in a girl’s body?

f2m is a ground breaking young adult novel, exploring the issue of female to male gender transition through the eyes of a first person narrator undergoing this process. Co-author Ryan Kennedy is able to create a plausible protagonist, drawing on his own experiences of transitioning to help shape Finn’s story – though it must be stressed that the story is not autobiographical.

As well as dealing with a little-explored issue in an open way, f2m also addresses other issues including family loyalty and support, friendship , self-identity and acceptance. Teen readers will be drawn into Finn’s story.

f2m, by Hazel Edwards & Ryan Kennedy
Ford St, 2010

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

Anonymity Jones, by James Roy

Once, in a street not very far from yours, there lived a girl called Anonymity Jones.

Anonymity’s life is not going so well. Actually, that’s an understatement. Her parents’ marriage has just broken up, her sister has changed her name and is heading for Europe, and her three close friends are all busy being girlfriends. When her mother brings home a creepy new boyfriend, and Anonymity realises she has crush on her art teacher, things really start to get messy.

Anonymity Jones is a compelling new young adult read exploring issues of family, friendship and trust. Anonymity is a likeable protagonist who manages to sort out some really confronting dilemmas, in spite of a range of betrayals – both perceived and actual – from those around her.

While there are some fairly weighty issues explored here, author Roy manages to blend wit and edginess in a way which prevents the book from being either bogged down or too light for such issues.

Recommended for upper secondary readers.

Anonymity Jones, by James Roy
Woolshed Press, 2010

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