August 2010 – Page 3 – Aussie Reviews

Burned, by Meredith Costain

But I’m wasting my time trying to get a reaction out of them. Any of them. They’re all too caught up in their own little problems. Michi’s freaking out big time because she hasn’t heard from her boyfriend for a whole hour and a half. And Lexi is still stressing over the fact that Alysha would rather spend time with the ‘shiny girls’ than her. And Alysha thinks she’s fat. Fat. Ha!
Hopeless. The lot of them.

It’s the first year of higschool, and everything is changing. Mia has a great group of friends, and she’s always there for them, helping them through tough times. But when it’s her turn for some tough times, it feels like there’s no one there for her in return. Mia’s beloved grandfather is really sick, and seeing him so ill reminds her of another time someone she loved was in hospital. But who would understand that?

Burned is the third title in the Year in Girl Hell series from author Meredith Costain. Tracking the progress of the first year in high school for four friends, this is an absorbing series which tween girls will love. Each book tells one girl’s story, from their first person perspective, letting readers get to know each girl, and exploring a range of issues faced by girls in this age group.

Good stuff.

A Year In Girl Hell #3: Burned, by Meredith Costain
Hardie Grant Egmont, 2009

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

The Feel Good Body, by Jennifer Fleming & Anna-Louise Bouvier

I ask if a lifetime of body wobbles and poor posture means it too late to correct any problems. ‘It’s never too late. Like anything, the earlier you start the better, because there’s less wear and tear. But every aspect of your muscle system can be activated and improved at any age.’

If your back is bent, your belly is spreading, or you suffer from recurring headaches, you may feel that you are never going to get on top of these niggles. But this little offering is, as the title suggests, a guide to feeling – and looking – great.

The Feel Good Body offers a seven step program to easing aches and looking great. Putting it into place is relatively easy – though it does require some focus on making one change to the way you do things every three days. Including changes to the way you walk, sit, stand and more, each change is aimed at helping your body function at its optimum.

Supporting the program is straight forward background to why it was developed and why it will work, along with anecdotes and tips to motivate and keep on track. From the co-author of Spotless, Jennifer Fleming, and physiotherapist Anna-Louise Bouvier, this straight forward guide is accessible and inspiring.

The Feel Good Body: 7 Steps to Easing Aches and Looking Great, by Jennifer Fleming & Anna-Louise Bouvier
Harper Collins, 2010

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

The Devil's Tears, by Steven Horne

The children were crying and Cesar felt as though his heart had been cleaved in his chest. he was responsible for this. He had hesitated when Helena had urged him to action. He had risked everything. And he had lost it all.
‘I am so sorry, my darlings,’ Cesar said hoarsely. ‘I am so terribly sorry for all of this.’

Timor, 1975. Cesar da Silva tries to flee the chaos and devastation of the Indonesian occupation, and take his wife and three daughters to safety. Distraught when he is separated from his wife and two of the girls, and believing them dead, he makes the heart wrenching decision to leave with his remaining daughter, Ana. Eventually, the pair arrive in Australia.

In 1997 Australian journalist Abby is determined to visit Timor and show the world the terrible suffering of the Timorese people. Her quest, along with her photographer friend David, takes her into horrifying danger. When their paths cross those of Ana da Silva, the story of Cesar and his family is gradually revealed.

The Devil’s Tears is a confronting, absorbing story of the human suffering in Timor during its occupation. It is also a tale of the determination that enables people to live through adversity, and to fight for change.

Finely crafted.

The Devil’s Tears, by Steven Horne
Macmillan, 2010

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

March, by Gabrielle Lord

I realised, as the train was bearing down on me, that I would never see my family again. I would die, never knowing the mystery of the Ormond Singularity. There was a loud shriek…and then, just before impact, the whole world seemed to open up and I’d fallen into a gaping blackness. I felt the terrifying sensation of falling into some dark space beneath my body, as if the earth had opened up and swallowed me.

In his third month on the run, Callum Ormond is in a heap of trouble. Wanted by police for assaulting his sister and uncle – an assault he didn’t commit – and relentlessly pursued by criminal gangs who want Callum and the answers he can give, he seems thwarted at every turn in his quest for answers.

March is the third title in the Conspiracy 365 series, a fast moving, action-packed series, comprising twelve books released monthly as the action, and the mystery, unfold over the year. In this instalment Callum makes some new friends, but is also faced my more life and death situations. keeping the action moving throughout, and finishing with a cliff-hanger which will see readers looking for the next instalment.

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

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

Dumped, by Meredith Costain

I hate u ur a cow
I quickly drop my phone on the bench, like it’s a flaming coal that’s just burnt my hand. Then I pick it up again, and check the sender details. Still not a number I know.
The phone beeps again while it’s still in my hand.. ‘So are you!’ I yell at it, then stop, my hand to my mouth. What am I doing? Yelling at a freaking phone? This is getting really silly.

Michi has made some great new friends at highschool, but she’s still finding it hard to fit in. So when she starts getting nasty texts and emails she doesn’t really know what to do. Why do Amira and her mates hate her, and what can she do about it?

Dumped is the second title in the Year in Girl Hell series from Aussie author Meredith Costain. Each of the four books is told using the first person narration of a different girl in a group of friends as they go through their first year of high school. Michi, the narrator in Dumped battles cyber bullying and the weight of parental expectation as she prepares for an important music exam, but also has support from the other three girls.

Aimed at tween girls, this is a series which hits its mark.

Dumped (A Year in Girl Hell), by Meredith Costain
Hardie Grant Egmont, 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond.