The eleventh book in this series takes us to Paris, where Friday Barnes is sent undercover by Interpol into an art school. According to a recently discovered letter the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa, is in fact a forgery. She, and her crime solving partner, Melanie must unravel the truth about the alleged theft of this painting 100 years ago. Assisting her is also her gorgeous boyfriend Ian, who has also joined the girls undercover and the closer they get to the truth the more unbelievable the story becomes. She uncovers more than just whether the painting is real or not, there is a digital pick-pocketing scheme and a guerrilla graffiti artist who is lurking in the background. Also, her Uncle Bernie could be facing international and professional embarrassment if she and her other Interpol sidekicks don’t unravel the truth.
The story goes at a good pace with enough twists and turns to keep Friday Barnes fans happy, as well as providing light, entertaining introduction to mystery and crime novels. Considering Friday started the series at 11 years of age, her character has grown up and is facing the same challenges as most teenagers, especially relationships with friends and boyfriends. She is an honest character who openly admits to her flaws and imperfections, as well as her likes and dislikes, which makes her a great role-model for young teenagers reading these stories.
Themes Mystery, Detectives, Art thefts, Criminal Investigation.
Gabrielle Anderson
Glimpse by Jane Higgins
Text Publishing, 2023. ISBN: 9781922330598. (Age:12-15) Highly recommended.
Glimpse is inspired by Higgins’ experience of the Christchurch earthquake in 2010: the collapsed buildings, the darkness, the rats, people traumatised, but also people helping each other. In her novel, there are people who can ‘see’ quakes before they happen, only minutes before they occur, but enough time to warn people to take to safety.
Two young friends, Jonah and Bas, are living in D-Zone, a zone that has been wrecked by earthquakes and is scheduled for demolition. It’s a place where there are many ‘illegals’ living, people without official papers, always in fear of Border Control.
Into this world comes PANN, People for a New Nation, ready to exploit people’s grief and take their money with false promises. And then there is Glimpse Corp, a reality TV show sensationalising the stories of ‘glimpsers’. Both companies move in, motivated by the opportunity to make a profit from the situation.
Bas falls for the con trick of PANN, and Jonah finds himself stepping into danger to try to save his friend. Luckily Jonah has a girlfriend, Evie, who keeps him grounded, and able to calmly analyse the best solution. And another young friend Shikha, has insight into the media world. Nevertheless, the danger ramps up, and it is a race against time for Jonah to try to save his friend, and his community.
In the end, survival and strength comes from the bonds of friends, and people uniting together against adversity. As Higgins says, ‘Glimpse is about the ways that, in the worst of times, people shine’. Teacher's notes are available.
Allen & Unwin, 2023. ISBN: 9781761180125. (Age:10-15) Highly recommended.
A message in a bottle leads to an accidental slip through time for Felix and his ‘almost’ stepsister, Zoe. Travelling from the Roman ruin located in France, back into the Ancient Roman world, presents all sorts of immediate difficulties for the pair. Felix aged 11, and the 15-year-old Zoe have not always got on harmoniously and having to adjust to life in the ancient society is challenging. An encounter with a grand young lady, Petronia, enables the two almost-siblings to overcome some of their animosity towards one another … but first Petronia gets a chance to travel forward in time to the modern world, and then back to her own ancient world. Time travel causes some further challenges as well as opportunities, but for Felix who ‘misplaces’ the vital stylus needed for his return to his real world, there are also stresses as they race to restore Petronia to her ancient-world life.
This book is the second in Anna Ciddor’s time slip books, and although there are a few touches of connection between the two books, they are quite separate stories and can be read independently. The input of Anna’s Ciddor’s sister as researcher utilises her Archaeology background and historical knowledge to give credibility to the setting in Ancient Roman times. There is action, plus drama and history rolled together with a funny Felix and his more mature almost-sister Zoe as they navigate the role of slaves, the power or powerlessness of women and the restoration of their own relationship. This is a very enjoyable story for lovers of Ancient history, but also for any reader aged 10-15 who enjoys thinking through the challenges of time travel.
Themes Ancient Rome, Time travel.
Carolyn Hull
Hercules Quick's big bag of tricks by Ursula Dubosarsky. Illus. by Andrew Joyner
Allen & Unwin, 2023. ISBN: 9781761067747. (Age:6-8) Highly recommended.
In a quirky three-storey building lives an intriguing community of animals and the endearing boy Hercules Quick. A desire to earn enough money to buy a box of Magic Tricks from the local toy store leads Hercules to advertise himself for jobs. (Not quite ‘bobs-for-jobs’ … but rather the incredibly small 10c for each job done.) The tasks he is engaged in are strangely amusing. His house does include a family of Elks, an octopus, two turtle siblings and a strangely mysterious maybe-arachnid who lives in the basement, as well as the alligator who is Hercules’ Aunt. In this collection of three books, there are amusing moments as Hercules works hard to raise the funds for his Magic Box.
This book is a compilation of three previously published books for young independent readers and is just eccentric fun. At the end of each book is a single, simple magic trick for readers to attempt. This book will intrigue readers aged 6-8, who will also like Joyner’s black and white illustrations in his usual naïve style. The trusting and innocent demeanour of Hercules and his desire to earn some money and his friendship with a maturing tadpole/frog will engage young readers, or their significant adults who share this book with them.
Themes Magic tricks, Pocket money, Friends.
Carolyn Hull
Eleven liars by Robert Gold
Sphere, 2023. ISBN: 9780751582796. (Age:Adult, young adult)
Ben Harper works for an online news organisation writing true crime podcasts. He lives in a sleepy village in outer West London called Haddley Common. Walking home one evening, taking a shortcut through the local churchyard, he notices the derelict community centre near the church is on fire. When he sees a figure inside the building he races to the door and, finding it locked, breaks it down. The person inside appears to be looking for something but as the fire takes hold, they race past him and away from the building. The story shifts to PC Dani Cash at the local police station. She is the daughter of the legendary detective Jack Cash, her hero, who had been Chief Inspector at Haddley Police Station. She has just been told her promotion to CID has been approved when she is called out to help with investigations about the fire. It seems nobody was hurt in the fire and the figure Ben saw is long gone. Dani meets the vicar, Adrian Withers who claims to have not noticed the fire until the fire engines had put it out and he hurries away to check on his wife who she sees peering out of an upstairs window. Ben sees Dani and is reminded of the time earlier in the year when they worked closely together. Meanwhile Ben’s journalist instincts lead him to sneak away from the interviewing officer, PC Karen Cooke and into the burned-out building to see what the figure had been searching for. He just has time to see a knife before it disappears as debris crashes down and he retreats to safety. As he leaves the scene he finds a broken bottle with traces of accelerant, evidence the fire was deliberately lit. PC Cooke, annoyed at his interference, assures him that the fire investigation team will find any evidence in the morning. They don’t find the knife in the morning but what they do find is much more serious and leads to a web of intrigue with interweaving plots as lies going back decades are brought to light and the fragile veneer of this small town is permanently shattered.
The story switches between the first-person narrative of Ben Harper and the third person stories from the point of view of other characters, including the eleven liars. The book is divided up into eleven numbered parts and has days of the week breaks as well. The result is a 430 page book with 90 numbered chapters some as short as one page, separated by numerous page breaks, this fragments the storyline and it never gains momentum. The plot would have fitted well into an episode of Midsomer Murders and several of the characters like the vicar and the 75 year old widow, would have been quite at home there. In all a workmanlike, entertaining read if you can suspend disbelief.
Themes Murder, Drug addiction.
Sue Speck
Little lunch: The Block B roof by Danny Katz and Mitch Vane
The Block B roof is one of the more recent additions to the series about what children get up to at school during break times. A TV programme as well, this series has a huge following as children relate so greatly with the characters and what they do when they are not in the classroom at school.
The first story in this book is set on a rainy day when the children are sent outside but must remain under the large shelters outside one of the classrooms. In this case the children are really bored, and they all start to make suggestions about what to talk about. Someone runs into a wall, someone else shows their bellybutton, riveting stuff! Then Battie recounts a time when he got a haircut and starts to tell it in such a way that the other children turn it into a hair-cut story dance. They start clapping, drumming and dancing around him. They surprise themselves with how entertaining this was, and then the wet weather bell went, of course! The other two stories cover familiar scenarios as well. A crazy sock day incident that ends up with Debra-Jo in the sick bay and a misheard word that gives Manny’s thumb superpowers and starts a chasing game, putting at risk Tamara’s chance to go to Athletics camp. A great series for beginning readers with plenty of interesting illustrations by Mitch Vane as well as a few bonus pages at the end of the book that contain Jokes, puzzles, quizzes and interesting information about things mentioned in the book.
Themes School stories, Humorous stories.
Gabrielle Anderson
Pick a story: a pirate + alien + jungle adventure by Sarah Coyle. Illus. by Adam Walker-Parker
With three stories and lots of endings, the choice is up to the reader in this choose your own adventure style of picture book. A new series awaits eager adventurers as they are offered not just a pirate but a jungle and an alien all in one book.
When Vincent’s dog, Trouble disappears, it is natural to think that she has been kidnapped by pirates or an alien or perhaps lost in the jungle. There are plenty of places in the first double page where she could be hiding or lost, and readers are directed to check them all out. Then a choose your own adventure begins, as the storyline follows three different paths for the readers to choose their journeys from. Each page has a choice to make and once that choice is made, an instruction to take a path to a page which will tell you more. Watching the YouTube clip by Sarah Coyle is most enlightening as it shows the path she took putting the story together. Using a blackboard and paper clips, post it notes and string, amongst other props, she pieced her story together emulating the choose your own adventure stories she read and loved as a teenager.
This picture book and the next in the series, Pick a Story: A Dinosaur Unicorn Robot Adventure, will captivate younger readers as they explore the links and twists and turns as directed to new pages taking note of clues on each page. Full of humour, the text will engage the readers as they follow the paths laid out for them, and be intrigued with the plethora of places shown in the illustrations. Each page presents another funny scene with a variety of different beings in it, the readers will laugh out loud at the strange mix, and funny situations they all find themselves in.
With so much in common, how separate are their stories?
The slow reveal of how the alternating chapters of We Could be Something relate is clever and propels the reader through several generations, from Perth to Sydney and back.
Like his character Sotiris, Kostakis has written a ‘semiautobiographical’ novel that is a heartfelt look at growing up Greek and gay in contemporary Australia.
Harvey, keen to leave school at 17, takes the opportunity of his fathers’ breakup, to leave Perth and return to Sydney and work in his grandmother’s café. Here he becomes enmeshed in the emotional demands of the four generations of Ba’s family, with his great-grandmother’s advancing dementia an increasing concern in their lives. An attraction to his co-worker Isabella contrasts with a series of fumbling Grindr hook-ups as he navigates his sexuality.
Meanwhile Sotiris, also 17, has just signed a book deal but is struggling to establish himself as an author and overcome his writer’s block and cynicism with the publishing industry. However his involvement with Jay from the bookshop is becoming ever more problematic, and a high-school nemesis returns with unexpected consequences.
We Could be Something deals sympathetically with the emotional turmoil felt by many young people; self-acceptance and family reactions to coming out, cross-cultural and intergenerational demands and expectations, responsibilities and responses to family members’ aging and dementia. It is funny and poignant by turns, as it chronicles the cost of following your dreams, or not, while seeking to be ‘something’ in relationships, as well as working lives. Reading notes and a teaching resource can be found at the publisher's website.
Why haven’t I read this author’s works before? I absolutely loved and admired the way Smith created a murder mystery within the mire of Russian political activity. This is a book that lovers of Martin Cruz Smith will be delighted to read, but newcomers like me will be equally won over to the Arkady Renko series. Crossing over from Moscow into the Crimean Peninsula and Ukraine, Arkady Renko is embroiled into an investigation of the disappearance of a young woman. As he investigates, the body count rises, and the missing woman’s friend becomes a romantic interest. He is constantly confronted by corruption and the struggle to find truth in the Russian political world is almost impossible. Money, coercion and intimidation speak far louder than truth and Russia seems to express its power in so many unsavoury ways. Can you solve a crime within the mess of Putin’s creation while also battling the personal challenge of a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis?
Seated in the uncomfortable world of Moscow’s power and policing anomalies, this is almost an expose of the horrors of Russia and helps to understand how the invasion of Ukraine could ever occur. With bikers acting as political enforcers, police investigations tarred with corruption, and murder as a solution to uncomfortable realities, it is not surprising that Putin has remained in power and can accumulate obscene personal wealth at the expense of his country. This is the kind of murder mystery that adult readers will relish as it has a mature insight into the struggles in Russia, and some understanding of past historical events and present political posturing is also beneficial. The central character is flawed physically but seems surprisingly untainted in his struggles to uncover truth. There is also a tense ‘escape’ from the clutches of Russian authority. This is a well-written journey into the messiness of corrupted power. It is highly recommended for adult readers but mature and politically-aware readers aged 16+ will also enjoy this quick-paced drama.
Space kids: Blast off by Aleesah Darlison. Illus. by Nancy Bevington
Big Sky, 2022. ISBN: 9781922615862. (Age:8-12) Recommended.
This is the second book in the new series by this author about a group of children aged around 11, living in a space station called Misty in the year 2088. The first book in the series is called Sabotage.
The main character Nash is living with his father who manages the space station and is a very busy man. Nash has made friends with Raj, a sort of walking encyclopedia and KC, a confident girl who loves to dress up in animal costumes.
In this story the billionaire inventor and owner of Misty brings his son Finn to the station to participate in the inaugural Milky Way Space Race. Finn, lacking many friends in space, is excited when his father invites the Space Kids to race with them in their blaster ship, Ventura. Some of the other teams seem bent on winning the highly prestigious race and employ some very dodgy tactics to that end. But Nash and his space friends stay on task, completing the race themselves when some of those tactics result in the adults being injured and unable to continue.
Children who are curious about the possibility of living in space will find enough detail to satisfy their curiosity without it dwelling too much on day-to-day activities to interrupt this well-paced story. The positives of this book lie in the great example of teamwork between the children who not only work to win the race but also show that helping others in need has positive outcomes for them as well.
Themes Space stations, Competitions, Space ships, Future settings.
Gabrielle Anderson
You need to chill! by Juno Dawson and Laura Hughes
Intrigued by the questioning of the classmates, readers will go along with the teasing text as the children keep asking where Bill is. The brother of their classmate has not been seen for a while. Has he gone on holiday, is he hiding, is he ill? The questions keep coming, until Bill’s sister tells her peers that they need to chill. Was he taken by a whale or shark and munched up like krill, the questions keep coming, until again she says, ‘hun, you need to chill.’
This questioning and answer technique is used for most of the book, the sister keeping on telling people that they must chill. Reading the story out loud will see kids joining in with the refrain, ‘hun you need to chill’, while asking themselves what they think has happened to Bill and thinking about why the class is so interested.
The funny questions keep on coming: is he playing in the pool or on the pitch, is he at the fair, has he been kidnapped by aliens, is he on Mars. Their concern is represented through their questions, they are worried that he needs to take a pill, until his sister cannot say anything but what has happened. Her brother Bill is now her sister, Lilly.
This unexpected climax will present a different family to the reader. The transgender member of the family is accepted and part of the family just as he always was. The pages are replete with love and inclusivity and caring, as the sisters hug each other, the class looking on with huge smiles, their questions answered and satisfaction abounds. The next day they walk to school hand in hand, the classmates just as accepting as the day before, but in case some have a problem, then the refrain, ‘hun, you need to chill’ is given another outing.
A wonderful presentation of diversity within the community, children will see a family that is similar to their own, but are a little different. The same things apply: love, support, caring in a gender diverse family as with others, and children are very accepting of this difference.
Subtitled a story about love, the theme is simply that, and a paragraph about the Mermaids at the end of the book will send many to their website to explore further, and give support to those families where diversity is a part of their lives. Check out mermaidsuk.org.uk
Goodman, author of the Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club series brings another historical book set in Regency times, this time a mystery featuring Lady Augusta Colebrook and her twin sister Lady Julia, who set out to solve three cases which feature much darker themes than the Lady Helen books. In 'Till Death Do Us Part' they are asked to rescue Caroline who is imprisoned in her home because she has not produced an heir. While attempting to free her Gus encounters Lord Evan Belford, who has returned illegally from the colonies in Australia after killing a man in a duel. Sparks fly between the two and they meet again in the second case, 'An 'Unseemly Cure,' where a young girl has been kidnapped to use as a Virgin Cure for the pox. In 'The Madness of Women,' Gus helps Lord Evan to rescue his sister, Lady Hester Belford, from Bothwell House asylum.
Narrated by Lady Augusta, an unmarried woman of independent means and aged 42 years, the pace is fast as Gus plunges into each exciting adventure, pulling her twin along with her. They face a hold-up, a murdering husband and evil brothel owners as well as the horror of an asylum as they go about rescuing women from dreadful fates.
The fast-paced action and plight of women are dominant themes and the growth of feelings between Gus and Lord Evan will please readers who enjoy romance. The everyday life of Gus and Julia with all its restrictions, entertainments and fashions, is vividly described. Some historical figures like Beau Brummel and Lady Caroline Lamb also make an appearance.
Goodman has researched the Regency period in depth and the reader will learn much about the way women were treated during these times. In her Author’s Note, she describes her sources which highlight the atrocities performed against women and which she so vividly describes in The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies. A list of discussion questions for book clubs reading the novel is also included.
Fans will be delighted that there is plenty of scope for another book in the series, as Gus is determined to prove that Lord Evan is innocent of the crime for which he was transported. While waiting for the sequel readers might like to move onto the classic Regency novels by Georgette Heyer.
Just when Jigsaw thought everything was going well, he finds himself in trouble again! But what could he possibly have done wrong this time?
Midnight Mischief is the second book in the Ratbag series. Expertly created by Australia’s popular author, Tim Harris and talented illustrator, Shiloh Gordon this book is sure to entertain. Once again, with such a fast-paced storyline, you feel as if you are running just to keep up with those rascals!
The rats are in an uproar because they are infamously in the paper for all the wrong reasons. Ever since Jigsaw made that amazing pizza, rats are seen as the good guys. But this can not be! The rats don’t want humans to actually like them because then they may be kept as pets. Humans are the enemy, and rats must fight back to get back in the humans’ bad books.
So, when a prize is offered to the rat who can get themselves onto the front page of the local newspaper, can Jigsaw rectify his wrongs with the help of Pickles and Onion, or will they be banished forever?
A radically cool short fiction novel that is filled with an abundance of humorous, black and white cartoon pictures, speech text and action. In a style, mixed between a graphic novel and standard novel, this book targets a wide audience and will appeal to many. Containing short chapters, large print and a really cool layout, this is a great story for all ages.
If you love a little bit of fun and adventure, at a fast-past speed, then this novel will undoubtedly meet your entertainment level. Tim Harris and Shiloh Gordon are masters at their craft, and always knows how to keep their readers engaged to the very end.
Themes Friendship, Problem solving, Teamwork, Humour.
Take one friendly bee, an angry wasp, an enormous hairy spider, a boring worm turned into a beautiful butterfly, throw in some witty humour plus detailed graphic images, and you have a recipe for an enjoyable and engaging new read for younger readers. With a colourful and appealing cover and pages printed in colours of yellow, black and white, this fun read tells the tale of a perpetually friendly bee who is desperate to befriend every insect he meets. Angry Wasp is a real challenge for Friendly Bee, but bee perseveres with the friendship even when they are trapped together on an enormous hairy spider’s web. Eventually, with Friendly Bee’s relentless optimism and super-helpful ideas, the spider, wasp and bee all become friends.
This entertaining book is full of amusing conversations between Friendly Bee and Angry Wasp as well as cleverly inserted facts pages giving interesting information about bees, wasps, caterpillars and spiders. A second book about Friendly Bee and a Pessimistic Earthworm is on its way.
This is the third in Matt Stanton's Bored series, where each installment is told by one of the children living on the same street, Turtle Place. This one is told by Evie; she's creative, determined, fiercely independent and an effective communicator. She lives with her mum, dad and two younger sisters, one of whom drives her crazy and the other whom has cystic fibrosis. While this plays a major part in Evie's life it is woven in very naturally and doesn't gloss over the hard details, such as mum and dad having to massage her sister to clear mucous or having to stay home when nasty viruses are going around etc.
The storyline is that Evie is so fed up with her sister Grace and her parent's refusal to help diffuse their fighting that she decides to build her own tiny house to live in. What follows is a true reflection of the complexities of people and life. Sometimes her neighbours and family are supportive, sometimes their own personalities get in the way of what she needs from them. No character is one-dimensional. This is a big theme actually - as Evie talks about the four versions of herself: the outgoing, the introvert, the mature her who wants to be treated like an adult and the her who just wants to be protected. The story is honest about hard emotions such as anger and jealousy, which are such fabulous things to normalise, and about how understanding others can help us to live alongside them.
Just as with the previous two installments, this title hits all the major targets: realistic dialogue and easy-flowing text that is a joy to read. It showcases perfectly the true chaos of home life and the tension and frustrations faced everyday by both parents and children. Conversations are interrupted by phone calls, parents are trying to do ten things at once, are short on time and are often distracted and siblings are screaming at each other. A plethora of relevant, everyday issues that would drive interesting discussions make it a great read-aloud for classes or as a shared class text.
Stanton is masterful at drip-feeding new details about each of the kids so we get to know them more and more throughout the book and across the series. Each character is incredibly relatable, especially when we are able to look at the world through their perspective. Each one of them have something going on in their lives under the surface and contexts that have made and are making them who they are. Fans of Stanton's Funny Kid series will be obvious readers, but this really is a series that should be put into the hands of all tweens.
This is fine to read as a standalone, without having read the others in the series.
