random house – Page 4 – Aussie Reviews

Divine Clementine by Hayley S Kirk

The smell of the incense fills my lungs; the spicy floral aroma drifts from hymn books and throughout the pews. I close my eyes because they are stinging. I don’t want them to sting anymore. I close my eyes because I am afraid if I open them, they will cry me a river and stain this holy place forever. My heart is stained. My ears are open. Sounds flood in – sounds of pages turning, of silver clasps clicking on special-occasion purses, of sniffles and sobs, of sadness …

Sixteen-year-old Clementine (Clem) witnesses the death of her adored aunt, Stella. Her aunt was only 26 years old and as much as best friend as her mother’s sister. Clem is sure that her life will never be the same and she can’t understand members of her family and her friends when they suggest that life goes on. Clearly, she thinks, they haven’t lost as much as she has. Clem finds her aunt’s diaries and discovers that there was much more to Stella than she knew. Clem is hurt and very angry that she was so deceived by Stella and by all her family. She sets on a path of self-destruction, convinced that everything she knew, everyone she trusted is based on lies. Nothing seems to matter. It will take more than time for her to realise she will survive.

Teen age can be tough. So many hormones, so many body changes, so many new challenges. Clem was doing well, until her aunt dies. Not only is she wracked by grief, she discovers that the certainty she felt about life in general was based on less than full truth. Now she is flailing about like other teenagers, feeling misunderstood and questioning her own worth, and the value of those previously-trusted others of her close circles. Divine Clementine delves deeply into troubled times, and shows that even with the best of supports, the best love and care, some things have to come from within. There are themes of loss, mental illness, love and friendship, all explored within the journey of a single hurting teen. Clem doesn’t always behave well. Her character is flawed and often hurtful, but she has a solid foundation and from this, she begins to recover. A thoughtful coming-of-age story for mid-teens.

Divine Clementine, Haley S Kirk Random House 2012 ISBN: 9781864718997

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Stories for 7 Year Olds, edited by Linsay Knight

What do seven year olds like to read about? Lots of things! And this book aimed at seven year old readers, covers lots of different subjects, in different forms. There is a story about a mother on a diet, one about surfing in an outback pool, another about a young emperor with a headache, and yet another about an author visiting a school. Whilst all are prose, one is interspersed with poetry and others use fairytale, mythology, first person narration and even the format of a school report, meaning there is plenty of variety.

The 11 stories are illustrated by Tom Jellett, giving a uniformity to the volume, and back of book biographies introduce each author who include some of the biggest names of Australian children’s literature, including Morris Gleitzman, Paul Jennings and Margaret Clark.

Suitable for newly independent readers to read on their own, the stories are also suitable for reading aloud.

Stories for Seven Year Olds, edited by Linsay Knight, illustrated by Tom Jellett
Random House, 2012
ISBN 9781742756622

Available from good bookstores or online.

The Witch Hunter Chronicles 3: The Devil’s Fire by Stuart Daly

Standing knee-deep in water in the flooded medieval dungeon, I raise my pistol to my lips, kiss its polished barrel and pray hastily that our ambush works. I lean out of the cell, take aim down the tunnel and fire at the closest of the unsuspecting Dutch soldiers. He staggers back, holding his blasted chest.

My signal given, six English soldiers spring out of the adjacent cells that line the tunnel, level their muskets and pistols at the Dutchmen and blast away. Before the powdered flashes from our firearms have cleared, my fellow Hexenjager Armand races out from one of the cells and terars into the startled Dutch soldiers, his mortuary blade and sabre moving with blinding speed. Three of the Dutchmen drop dead, clutching at wounds they never saw delivered.

The Witch Hunter Chronicles are set in the 17^th Century at a time when witches and devils added to the dangers of living. To counter these dangers, countries established groups of elite hunters to fight evil. The Devil’s Fire is instalment three in this series. Jakob and his fellow Hexenjager (witch hunters) are German and a search for Jakob’s father is postponed when they discover that demonic soldiers, the Sons of Cain, have stolen a medieval bible and are headed for London. It is clear that their plan must be foiled if the city, and humanity, is to be saved. The Hexenjager ally with a brother-order of English witch hunters, although each group is accustomed to working solo and slow to trust the other. Trust is essential if this race-against-the-clock mission is to succeed.

Jakob is the youngest member of the elite fighting order, the Hexenjager. The team also includes an Italian, Francesca, an almost-giant, von Frankenthal, and the almost narcissistic Armand. Armand is their leader, but each has particular skills to bring to their team. Jakob is still learning but his skills are fast improving and the team are moving from treating him as a child to considering him an equal. There is action aplenty and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of villains. This is an adventure grand style! Themes include the fight for good and evil, trust and friendship. Along the way, the reader is introduced to a fascinating history with which they may have been unfamiliar. This is episode three, and although there are references to previous adventures and hints of others to come, ‘The Devil’s Fire’ stands comfortably on its own. Recommended for early- to mid-secondary readers.

The Devil’s Fire (Witch Hunter Chronicles) by Stuart Daly
Random House 2012
ISBN: 9781742754802

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

Miss Understood, by James Roy

This is my story. (Not this bit, though – everything that comes after this.) But like I said, this is my story. Me, Lizzie Adams. It’s a story about some stuff that happened to me, and to some of the people I know, and it’s completely true. All of it. because I don’t lie, honest. And if I do ever happen tot ell a lie or do something ‘silly’, it’s always an accident. Never on purpose.

Lizzie is often in trouble at her school, Our Lady of the Sacred Wimple College, so when she almost sets the school on fire, it’s the last straw. She finds herself expelled, and condemned to being home schooled by her mum. Mum is a teacher, so she knows all about how to teach Lizzie, but Lizzie isn’t impressed. At home there’s no playground, no friends, not even a proper recess. What she wants to do is to prove that she is responsible enough to go back to school, but that isn’t going to be easy.

Miss Understood is a heart warming, gently funny tale of being good and being misunderstood. Lizzie wants to do the right thing, but it doesn’t always work out right, something most readers will relate to, and the story also deals with important issues including adult depression and family in a way accessible to young readers.

Roy has a gift for making stories both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Miss Understood, by James Roy
Woolshed Press, 2012
ISBN

Available from good bookstores and online.

Mr Chen’s Emporium by Deborah O’Brien

Then – 1872

Amy Duncan was only halfway through her journey and already she was longing for Sydney and its cool harbour breezes. As she waited at the coach stop outside Granthurst railway station, her new straw bonnet, tilted forward in the latest fashion, could do nothing to protect her face from the midday sun. If only she could board the next train back to Redfern terminal, she would be in her aunt’s house by suppertime. But that was the wishful thinking of a selfish girl who cared only to lead her own life. And that life she must forget for the foreseeable future. Her father had written saying her mother was ill –not dangerously so, but serious enough to need help with the chores. It was Amy’s duty to join her family.

Then – 1872

Now

Tears streaming down her face, Angie Wallace sat on the hardwood floor of the sitting room, hemmed in by a circle of cardboard packing boxes, most of them still unopened. She should have known better. It was the photos that had set her off – they always did. Just when she had passed a full day without a single tear. Just when she’d started to imagine little scenes from a possible future, instead of playing the past like a movie channel in her head, month after month.

Amy and Angie live 140 years apart. What links them is Millbrooke, a gold mining town in rural New South Wales. Amy, a young idealistic 17-year-old travels there to join her family who moved there earlier, while she remained in Sydney to finish her education. Angie, a recent widow with two independent sons, is dragged there by her well-meaning friends for a weekend away. They are trying to break into the grief that has consumed Angie since her husband’s death. Neither Amy or Angie can have imagined the effect Millbrooke would have on them. And neither could have imagined the link that would connect them through the years. The emporium of the title fascinates Amy, as does its owner, Mr Chen. He is a man who embraces both his birth culture and his adopted Australian home. Not an easy thing to do in a goldmining town that is quite hostile to some of his countrymen. Amy, educated in the city cannot see why anyone should be treated differently just because of his culture. In the present, Angie struggles with similar issues of prejudice, this time over the potential establishment of a new mine, as well as showing her own prejudices about her landlord.

Mr Chen’s Emporium is a story of beginnings and endings, of love and loss. It is a story of prejudice and open-mindedness too, set in a country town at times of change. At the beginning, Amy is a young character full of the wonder and joy of life, and the certainty of youth. Angie, on the other hand, is mired in her loss and unable to find a way forward. They find judgement and support in likely and unlikely places and must make their own decisions in the face of strong advice from those around them. Mr Chen’s Emporium swaps between Amy’s and Angie’s story from autumn, through a year to the following autumn. Each season section is headed by a quote from Galland’s Aladdin and his Magic Lamp, translated from French. An entertaining read about rural life historically and now.

Mr Chen’s Emporium, Deborah O’Brien
Random House 2012 ISBN: 9781742755540

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

Mort: The 10,000-Year-Old Boy, Martin Chatterton

Mort has lived on remote and inhospitable-looking Unk Island for a long time. A VERY long time.

Unk Island is not a place that gets many visitors. Shaped like a broken coffin, it squats at the very back end of nowhere, and is said by those who have seen it to be the ugliest lump of land to be found in all the seven seas. On days like today, cloud-hung and rain-lashed, it was about as welcoming as a bucket of rotten fish guts.

Yet, vile as the island might appear, six nautical miles away a ship was heading in its direction through the slab-like waves of an ink-black sea.

Mort has lived on remote and inhospitable looking Unk Island for a long time. A very long time. He and his family age more slowly than the general population. His parents are away, his sister Agnetha has her own diversions and he’s experimenting with the assistance of a few clones: Leonardo da Vinci, Robert Oppenheimer, HG Wells and others. So it’s actually an advantage that no one visits. Mort notices the arrival of Patricia Molyneux and her assistant Nigel Spalding, and although he has no idea why they’re here, on this day he has more reasons than usual to avoid visitors. Start the clock ticking, because Mort’s day is just beginning and he’s got plans. Big plans. Plans that do not include playing host to unknown visitors who want who-knows-what.

‘Mort: The 10,000-Year-Old Boy’ is a hoot. From the pet who grew too big, to the warlord who does Mort’s bidding, to the machinations of the trio in his laboratory, this remote island has more secrets than a busload of spies. Where children might collect toys, Mort collects historical figures, but only those he can manipulate to play his wild games. ‘Mort’ is the first in a new series from Martin Chatterton and is sure to have readers chuckling and cheering at each twist and new development. Just as Mort, viewpoint character has the power to see what others on the island are up to, the reader is ahead of Mort in knowing what’s going on around them. But Mort has been around a long time, and his powers of adaptation are very well-developed. Recommended for middle-primary readers and anyone who wants to know what Sir David Attenborough does between shows.

Mort: The 10,000-Year-Old Boy, Martin Chatterton Random House Australia 2012 ISBN: 9781742753157

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

Ghost Club: The New Kid by Deborah Abela

‘There he is!’

Angeline sprang over the chesterfield lounge and raced down the murky corridor with Edgar close behind.

Their boots pounded on the floorboards. Their long, hooded coats flapped behind them as they ran through multicoloured beams of moonlight pouring in through stained-glass windows. Just ahead, a loud, deep moaning burst into the night – followed by an ancient Chinese vase.

Twins, Angeline and Edgar, are more than just the only child members of the Ghost Club, they are also very skilled ghost-catchers. When there’s a haunting report, they don their coats, hitch their backpacks and set off to solve ghostly mysteries. It’s a job they’re born to, one they enjoy immensely and are very good at. Enter Dylan, grandson of Grandmaster Fleischmann. He’s just joined Ghost Club and Angeline and Edgar look forward to helping Dylan settle in and learn the ways of ghost-catching. But Dylan isn’t quite convinced that ghost-catching is the job for him. Then they get a call from the castle. There’s been a sighting of a ghost, and he doesn’t seem friendly.

The New Kid is the first title in a new series from Deborah Abela for mid-primary readers. Twins Angeline and Edgar are part of an extended, loving family. They have nosy neighbours, variable cooking skills and secrets. They live in a normal street, and are perfectly normal. Except that they are also ghost-catchers. In this first instalment of a series, the reader meets a broad range of characters both dead and alive. Dylan is swept along in the ghost-catching excitement, wondering if he’ll ever adjust to this new world. Angeline is the leader, seemingly invincible, yet like the ghosts they encounter, she has secrets. Edgar speaks a fluent ghost-catcher language which can seem quite foreign to outsiders. They may seem different to outsiders, but this family and their Ghost Club are as cohesive as any community. And there are gadgets galore! Recommended for mid-primary readers.

Ghost Club: The New Kid , Deborah Abela
Random House Australia 2012 ISBN: 9781742750804

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Avaialble from good bookstores or online .

Pearlie and the Flamenco Fairy by Wendy Harmer ill Gypsy Taylor

It was a bright and beautiful afternoon when Pearlie flew into sunny Spain.

From the back of Queen Emerald’s magic ladybird she had a wonderful view of the plazas, fountains and the royal palace in the lovely old city of Madrid.

It was a bright and beautiful afternoon when Pearlie flew into sunny Spain.

From the back of Queen Emerald’s magic ladybird she had a wonderful view of the plazas, fountains and the royal palace in the lovely old city of Madrid.

Pearlie is off on a new adventure, leaving her home in Central Park and winging all the way to Spain. After she lands in The Royal Botanic Garden, Pearlie meets up with her new friend, Florentina. Florentina has a surprise for Pearlie: she has organised a party so Pearlie can meet all her friends. But in a less welcome surprise, Florentina has planned dancing lessons and a dancing exhibition for the party. Pearlie is anxious, when it comes to dancing, she has two left feet. She must quickly learn to dance or she will embarrass herself and her friend. As the party time approaches, Pearlie’s anxiety grows. <a href=”http://www.fishpond.com.au/product_info.php?ref=271&id=9781742755403&affiliate_banner_id=1″ target=”_blank”><img src=”http://www.fishpond.com.au/affiliate_show_banner.php?ref=271&affiliate_pbanner_id=46024611″ border=”0″ alt=”Pearlie and the Flamenco Fairy”></a> is fully illustrated.

It’s very exciting to visit friends, particularly when you are keen to see more of their beautiful home. But it can also be daunting if you discover that they are expecting you to join them in dancing when you have no skills in that area. But Pearlie wants to please her friends and puts all her energy into learning the unfamiliar steps. And she’d be happy to be able to dance as beautifully as her friend. But lest the reader think Pearlie is being too compliant, the visiting fairy takes control of her outfit for the night. She takes comfort from looking gorgeous, even if she’s sure she won’t be able to dance well. Pearlie, of course, triumphs as only a fairy so far from home could! Recommended for lower primary readers.

Pearlie and the Flamenco Fairy, Wendy Harmer, ill Gypsy Taylor
Random House Australia 2012 ISBN: 9781742755403

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Avaialable from good bokstores or online from Fishpond.

10 Futures by Michael Pryor

Tara can’t remember life without her AI. Her mum and dad bought the Artificial Intelligence when Tara had her night terrors, when she was little. It used to sit under her pillow and murmur to her. Safe and secure, she was, with Portia keeping the night things away.
Portia used to be classy, state-of-the-art. Her case, the size and shape of a playing card, was originally a stylish black matte. Now, fourteen years later, it’s battered and scratched with the scars of love. Of course, since Portia took over managing the family home … Portia is the home, now, integrated into every aspect of living, taking care of the family, nurturing and protecting.

10 Futures imagines ten futures, in ten short stories across the century from 2020. In each, the future world is lived by the same two friends, Tara and Sam. They are mid-teen, and best friends. That is constant, when very little else is. The stories are not told in chronological order, but instead skip forward and back and then forward again. Technology succeeds, technology fails. There are stories set in times where climate and population growth challenges have overwhelmed, and stories where these have been managed. But these are just the settings. In each of the stories, there are dilemmas for the friends, whether on a micro or macro scale. In each it is their personalities and actions that drive the stories. In each, it is friendship that looms large.

What does the future hold? No one knows, but Michael Pryor has had a go at speculating. Not once, but ten times. Each is a micro-glimpse of what the world could be. Some of the worlds are very bleak, others show worlds that suggest that humans have learned to work together for the good of all. Themes range very widely and there is plenty here to initiate classroom discussion on a range of topics: ethics, morality, power, compassion and more. Tara and Sam are very different personalities but firm friends. Their friendship provides support through very different challenges, demonstrating the see-sawing of need and knowledge that underpins and sustains enduring friendships. Engaging spec fiction, recommended for mid-secondary readers.

10 Futures, Michael Pryor

Woolshed Press/Random House 2012 ISBN: 9781742753768
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

Avaialable from good bookstores or online.

The Second Forever, by Colin Thompson

This was different. There was something evil in the darkness inside the wall. Something that was trying to entice them through the gap.
‘There’s something bad in there,’ said Peter. ‘Like it doesn’ belong to this world.’
‘Darkwood,’ they both said at the same time.

Five years ago Peter and his friend Festival destroyed the book called How to Live Forever. Since then they haven’t seen each other – Peter has returned to his life in the museum in his world, and Festival has returned to her own world where all the houses are books. But there’s a problem – Peter’s world is being crippled by drought, and Festival’s world is flooded. Slowly, they come to realise that their actions in destroying the book might be the cause of these new disasters.

When Festival reappears in Peter’s world they realise they have to work together to fix the problem. They must recreate the book to save the world – even if that means they are condemned to living forever. But with Darkwood determined to get the book for himself and destroy both worlds, and the twin disasters getting worse every day, time is against them.

The Second Forever is the exciting, magical sequel to How to Live Forever, coming eight years after the first. As such, young readers may be best served by seeking out the earlier book first. A front of book ‘catch-up’ however, means that the new title can be read on its own.

Thomspon’s fantasy world within a world, and the intriguing, sometimes odd-ball characters which populate the pages, make this an entertaining read suitable for primary aged readers.

The Second Forever, by Colin Thompson
Random House, 2012
ISBN 978174166289

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