Pan Macmillan – Page 4 – Aussie Reviews

Silas and the Winterbottoms, by Stephen M. Giles

Dear Adele,
This letter may come as something of a surprise as we have never met. Time, however, is not on my side, so allow me to get straight to the point. I am dying and it is my wish that I might get the chance to know you, at least a little, before death takes me…I have enclosed a cheque for $10 000 to cover the necessary travel arrangements and additional expenses…
Your uncle,
Silas Winterbottom.

Adele Winterbottom did not expect a letter from her uncle. Neither did her cousins Milo and Isabella. None of them have ever met Uncle Silas. After all, he has not been in contact with his family for decades, except occasionally to insult them or refuse their requests for money. Now, though, Silas is dying, and the children believe he will choose one of them to be his heir. All three children come from families with money problems, and inheriting Silas’ money could make dreams come true. One of the children, however, doesn’t want a bar of the money and the other two are in competition to win Silas’ favour.

Holidaying in the luxurious surrounds of Sommerset proves to be no picnic. Not only do they need to outwit each other, but the cousins also find themselves caught up in mystery and intrigue they could have never imagined – including a fight for their lives.

Silas and the Winterbottoms is a gothic tale of intrigue, adventure and humour, complete with evil relatives, orphans, crocodiles, secret schemes and great escapes. Young fans of series such as Lemony Snicket will enjoy this one, the first in a series.

Silas and the Winterbottoms, by Stephen M. Giles
Pan Macmillan, 2009

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

Mascot Madness, by Andy Griffiths

Reviewed by Calum Murphy (aged 13)

Northwest Southeast Central School have never won an interschool athlectis competiton. Apparently, they are gutless. They will never win against Northwest West Academy.

Or so they think, until one day…

Coming through the door was a banana. A big, yellow, dancing banana.

Mr Brainfright came to help them win the interschool athletics competition, like their knight in shining yellow armour.

A hilarious book for school aged children who like a good laugh (and fruit).

Mascot Madness, by Andy Griffiths
Pan Macmillan, 2009

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

The Zoo of Magical and Mythological Creatures, by Sam Bowring

Zackary gazed at the large double doors, waiting for the inevitable. The doors were oak, carved with elaborate spirals and curls, inlaid with gold and silver, and on either side stood armoured guards, eyes unseen behind the shadowy visors of iron helmets. These were the throne room doors of Solaris Castle, and beyond them were the King and Queen of Zedge.
Zackary started to bite his nails, as he often did when nervous, then stopped and glanced at his companion. Beside him on the marble bench sat Sir Godfred, a riding crop laid across his lap. Godfred did not approve of nail biting, and Zakary had felt the sting of the crop more than once. He dropped his hand to his side.
Finally the throne room doors creaked open to reveal an attendant. ‘The King and Queen await your presence, good sirs,’ the man announced.
Zackary sighed as he rose. Whatever Sir Godfred planned to tell the King and Queen, he was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be good.

Zackary is the youngest prince in the royal family, and the only non-twin of their seven children. When his third teacher in six months declares him unteachable, his parents are at a loss to know where to send him next, declaring ‘This is serious. Zackary must have an education.’ So it’s off to the not-quite dungeons for him to study with Barnabus the Administrator. Zachary is horrified and more so when he discovers the somewhat unusual methods employed by Barnabus in filing the palace records. Zachary hasn’t been allowed to go to the zoo his grandfather set up, his parents being concerned that he wasn’t old enough. Barnabus sends Zackary to the zoo on an errand and he inadvertently finds himself with a job. It’s one he really enjoys, with a boss who doesn’t treat him as either a prince or the baby brother. His challenge then is to maintain a new double life, keeping the zoo staff from guessing his identity and his family from discovering his job.

Zoos are wonderful places to view a wide range of familiar and unfamiliar animals. This zoo has some particularly unusual creatures. Some will be familiar to readers of Greek myths, but others, like the crying Squonks and the elusive Bandersnatch are less known mythological creatures. Here in the zoo, Zackary finds a world full of cages and containment spells, but also a place where he can be freer than he ever was in the luxury and privilege of the palace. And ironically it is the most fearsome of creatures, a Nucklelavee, en route to the zoo to be contained by both enclosure and magic, that becomes the instrument of his freedom. Sam Bowring introduces many mythical creatures in this frequently funny adventure, but also includes a gentle message about everyone having their place in the world. Recommended for upper primary, early secondary readers.

The Zoo of Magical and Mythological Creatures, Sam Bowring
Pan Macmillan 2009
ISBN: 9780330424752

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

The Family Tree, by Ilsa Evans

Dear Dad, I’m excited. I’m very excited. Which has made me realise that I haven’t been really excited about anything for a long time. It feels almost clumsy! What frustrates me, though, is that if I had started writing this a year ago, I could have just come to you for the information, but I’ve left it too late. Typical. Or maybe it would never have occurred to me then? Anyway, I still haven’t decided how to write it – as a pseudo-memoir? A tragic romance? A mystery?

An old saying suggests that everybody has a book in them, but for Kate Painter the desire to write a book has been a lifelong one. She’s always intended to write a book, but life has got in the way. She’s a wife, mother, grandmother and freelance editor – and she’s so busy doing things for everyone else that she never gets the time to do them for herself. Now, though, as she grieves the death of her father, an opportunity arises. Her cousin Angie decides to let her spare bedroom – and suddenly Kate sees a chance to get some space for herself, so that she can give herself the time to write that book. Moving in with Angie is hard – she is leaving behind her husband, three children and grand daughter – but writing the book proves even harder. What will she write about – and will it be good enough anyway?

The Family Tree is a story about family and about self. In the process of researching her family background as the basis of her proposed book, Kate has to confront much about the past that she finds unpalatable. At the same time, she has to also confront the events of the previous year, and the state of her relationship with her husband and children. She may not write a bestselling novel, but as she does write she finds a story emerging which will help her and her family.

This is a touching and absorbing read, with Kate a likeable main character, whose growth the reader can enjoy watching, as the mysteries of her past are unlocked.

The Family Tree, by Ilsa Evans
Pan Macmillan, 2009

Everything Beautiful, by Simmone Howell

I believe in Chloe and chocolate.
I believe the best part is always before.
I believe that most girls are shifty and most guys are dumb.
I believe the more you spill, the less you are.
I don’t believe in life after death or diuretics or happy endings.
I don’t believe anything good will come of this.

Riley Rose is not happy. Her dad is dumping her at the Spirit Ranch Holiday camp, while he has a holiday with his new girlfriend. All Riley wants is to escape to spend time with her friend Chloe and party at Ben Sabatini’s house. Instead she finds herself surrounded by do-gooder counsellors, bible quotations and kids who hate her. She’ll never fit in here – and why would she want to?

Soon, though, Riley discovers there is more to Spirit ranch than Christian fellowship. There are secrets among the campers and the counsellors. There is Dylan, the regular camp attendee who has had an accident since the last camp – and is now in a wheelchair – and, at an abandoned house, a million secrets, guarded over by the strange kid, Bird.

Everything Beautiful is a story about the broken and the broken hearted. The main character, Riley, is a troubled teen who has lost her mother. Dylan is struggling to come to terms with his new disability, while Riley’s roommate, Sarita, is battling to find and express herself with her peers and her parents. Howell does not offer a simple solution to the problems faced by the characters, but does offer an insight into their struggles, and hope that they can find a way forward.

With romance and humour, including Riley’s sassy first person narrative, Everything Beautiful is a light read tackling some serious problems in an accessible manner. Good stuff.

Everything Beautiful, by Simmone Howell
Pan, 2008

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

The Incredibly Boring Monotonous Family, by Philip Barry

Ann and Stan Monotonous were two perfectly ordinary children. They were so ordinary, in fact, that they wore their school uniform every day, even on weekends and holidays, and went to bed at the same time each night. They certainly weren’t normal like you and me. They were very ordinary, which is different from normal, because ordinary usually means dull, mundane, banal, mediocre, prosaic, plain and of course, boring. So Ann and Stan were not two perfectly normal children at all. On the contrary: they were all of those words that mean ordinary rolled into one.
The Monotonous twins were also incredibly smart children.

Things are rather dull in the Monotonous household and that’s the way they all like it. Well, that’s how they like it until it becomes clear that they don’t really know any other way to live. Ann’s hobby is watching grass grow, Stan’s is collecting twigs. Hmm. The highlight of their lives is the decision to save enough money to be the first family to study in space. Then one foggy night a fox runs in front of their car. The fox whispers in Ann’s ear and gives her a key. The key changes the lives of everyone in the family, although not quite in the way Ann initially expects.

The Incredibly Boring Monotonous Family are very, very boring. Dad’s busy with theoretical science; Mum’s busy being an accountant, and the twins are busy learning as much about numbers as they can, even when the rest of their class is learning about sport or English. There is no time for friends, no time for fun. Until the key. Each member of the family responds quite differently to the changes brought about by the key. There is a wealth of discussion material possible around their responses, but to focus on this entirely would be to miss the humour. Philip Barry writes with wit and gentle charm. He uses asides to the reader to explain concepts or words that might otherwise challenge. There are engaging line illustrations every few pages. Recommended for 9-12 yo readers.

The Incredibly Boring Monotonous Family, by Philip Barry ill Charlotte Lance
Pan Macmillan ISBN: 9780330424127

Glow, by Kathryn Deans

Take two humans, a gnome, a couple of trolls and one very mean fairy. Give them a task that compels them to work together. Not much is at stake…only the end of the world as they know it. Sit back and watch the fun begin. There are harpies and witches, tiny arrows and giant guardians. Each step of the way for this intrepid crew is dogged by traps and disasters as they race toward the beginning of the world.

This is the second instalment in ‘The Troll’s Tale’ trilogy, but there is enough of a summary throughout the first chapter to allow it to be a stand-alone read. There are multiple characters here, but Deans juggles them deftly. Pitched at mid- to upper-primary aged reader, this story is full of adventure and humour and all manner of odd creatures.

Glow, by Kathryn Deans
Pan Macmillan Australia 2006
ISBN: 0330422278

Lies I Told About a Girl, by Anson Cameron

Blue Black is in a strange world. He is a scholarship student – the son of a logger – at an exclusive school for the children of the wealthy. When a new student arrives, Blue doesn’t think they will have anything in common. The new student is, after all, Harold Romsey, the heir to the British throne. But the pair do have something in common, it seems. Both struggle to fit in, Blue because of his working class background, and Harold because of the cushioning his positioning gives him. And there’s something else – or rather someone else. Both Blue and Harold have fallen for the same girl – Sas McGovern, the daughter of a politician.

Against a backdrop of the political turmoil of 1975, Blue and Harold face turmoil of their own. Blue is a spectator to Harold and Sas’s blossoming relationship. But when complications arise, the result of a relationship between the British prince and the daughter of a prominent politician, Blue has a bigger role to play than he could have imagined.

Lies I Told About a Girl is told with humour, yet it is not ultimately a humorous novel. It deals with very serious subjects of politics, class, teenage sex and responsibility. The political turmoil created by the sacking of the Whitlam Government in 1975 is mirrored and intertwined with the fictional tale of Sas and Harold’s relationship and the part Blue plays in its aftermath.

Whilst teen readers may not be well versed in the historical component of this novel, they will enjoy the humour of Blue’s tale and his voice. It is this use of humour which makes the story a success.

Lies I Told About a Girl, by Anson Cameron
Pan Macmillan, 2006

Hover Car Racer, by Matthew Reilly

The race was barely nine minutes old when Jason Chaser lost his steering rudder.
At 690 kilometres an hour….
Jason rammed back on his collective, and somehow managed to right the Argonaut with only his pedal thrusters just as–shoo!-shoom!-shoom!–three of the other top contenders whizzed by, rocketing off into the distance, kicking up geyser sprays in their wakes.

In the most important race of his life, one that could win him a place at the International Race School, Jason Chaser has an unfortunate accident. In spite of continuing on and refusing to give in, Jason comes last. But his determination has caught the eye of someone who matters and Jason soon finds himself on his way to the school and in training to become a top class hover car racer.

At the race school Jason trains with his little brother Bug, his navigator and his new friend and mech-chief Sally. The trio are determined to make their mark at the race school and in the wider world of racing, but they are up against some pretty stiff competition. They will have some pretty big battles to fight, both on and off the track.

Hover Car Racer is a fast-paced futuristic novel about a time when hover vehicles are the primary form of transport and the international sporting scene is dominated by hover car racing. There are plenty of race scenes, loads of intrigue and a plot which pits the underdog Jason against a cast of villains including a book maker intent on blowing him up and leading drivers who want to stop him from usurping them – and will stop at nothing to do just that.

Hover Car Racer was first published online in a daring venture involving sponsorship and fortnightly instalments being made available free of charge. The film rights have been optioned by Disney.

Teen boys will love the racing car action, but older readers of both sexes can appreciate the pacey plot, too.

Hover Car Racer, by Matthew Reilly
Pan Macmillan, 2004, this edition 2005

The Dark Mirror, by Juliet Marillier

When four year old Bridei is fostered by Broichan, the King’s druid, he has no idea of what implications this holds for his future. Broichan is part of a secret council of elders who have plans for Bridei and for the future of their homeland. In the meantime, Bridei knows only that he must apply himself to his studies and be always obedient.

When Broichan is away, in the depths of winter, Bridei receives an amazing gift. In the middle of the night a baby is left in the snow outside the house. Bridei is sure this little girl, Tuala, has been sent as his sister. As the two children grow up together they forge a bond which no one can break. Will it threaten the future of the whole land?

The Dark Mirror is book one in The Bridei Chronicles, a new historical fantasy trilogy from one of the best of the genre’s creators, Juliet Marillier. The plot is skilfully layered, with plenty of twists and turns and characters who, in turn, are often surprising.

Fans of Marillier’s work (other offerings include the Sevenwaters trilogy) will be delighted with this new offering. Readers new to her work will be intrigued enough to seek out her other works. All will look forward to the next instalment.

The Dark Mirror, by Juliet Marillier
Tor, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, 2004 – this edition 2005