Reviews

Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew

Walker Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781406393446.
(Age: Teenagers) Highly recommended. This novel looks at some hard topics that teenagers deal with including their first sexual experience, periods, the internet, the importance of friendship and having someone to talk to.
Frankie thinks she is just an ordinary high school student, until things take a dramatic change for her. She has her first sexual experience with Benjamin, which she is excited about until someone turns it into a horrible meme that starts to affect her whole life, on top of this she has a huge fight with her best friend leaving her with no one to talk to and she finds herself dealing with all of these horrible things alone.
Frankie doesn't want to talk to her mum as she is worried what she will think of her, she longs to be able to talk to her best friend but that is just not going to happen.
As things continue to get worse Frankie confronts Benjamin and he explains what happened and that he is trying to help, he also showed her that her best friend was not involved in all the horrible things like Frankie had thought.
Frankie becomes overwhelmed by everything and tells her mum about everything that has been going on. Her parents leap into action to try and help her.
Frankie is finally aware that her best friend did not have anything to do with the horrible meme, and they talk. They come up with a plan to stand up for themselves at the school assembly in front of everyone.
This is a great novel that all teenagers should have the opportunity to read.
As a teaching text this novel confronts some serious issues in a way that can open up discussion and look at how something that someone thinks is just a bit of fun can get out of hand and have a huge impact on someone else's life. Also the importance of having someone you trust that you can talk to when horrible things happen is emphasised. Teacher's notes are available.
The format in which the book is written adds another layer to the story.
I highly recommend this book for teenagers.
Karen Colliver

A room made of leaves by Kate Grenville

Text Publishing, 2020. ISBN: 9781922330024.
(Age: Senior secondary) Highly recommended. 'Our nation rides on the sheep's back' and John Macarthur was supposedly the 'father of the wool industry' but, as Kate Grenville points out, the merino sheep were largely developed whilst Macarthur was actually in England for two lengthy periods being prosecuted for crimes in Australia. Grenville suggests that perhaps the Father of the Wool Industry was actually the Mother of the Wool Industry, his wife, Elizabeth Macarthur, a figure lost to history. What remains in the historical record, the letters of Elizabeth, reveal very little, but a closer more clever examination of her written words, could present an entirely different picture of the life of the Macarthurs. It is this idea that Grenville pursues. She imagines the life of the forgotten Elizabeth, as another example of the neglected contribution of so many pioneer women; for history only tells us of the exploits of the men. Grenville imagines the discovery of a memoir, and shares it with us, as an alternative picture from a woman's point of view.
Grenville's novel examines the limited prospects for women, denied education and dependent on marriage for security. Elizabeth fails to heed the warnings to 'keep herself safe' and her moment of wilfulness leads to a necessary marriage to the taciturn Captain Macarthur. Then it becomes the problem of how to manage his moods, and make some kind of life together in New South Wales.
A strong theme throughout the novel is the idea of false stories: from the need for women to protect their reputation, to the colonialists' versions of the conflict with the Aboriginal people, to the innuendos about the astronomer William Dawes' relationship with young Patyegarang. It just depends on who is telling the story.
Life in the colony managing a sheep farm, alone for long periods without her husband, could be imagined as one of hardship and loneliness. However for Elizabeth, thrown on her own resources, it actually becomes an opportunity to discover her true self.
Grenville's book is well researched and she even makes use of Elizabeth's own words from her letters to suggest a hidden alternative interpretation of her life. It is historical fiction but perhaps creates a more true understanding of the past.
Themes: Women, New South Wales colony, Aboriginal people, Conflict, False stories.
Helen Eddy

Dark Blue Rising by Teri Terry

The Circle Trilogy book 1. Hachette Children's Books, 2020. 9781444957105.
(Age: 13+) Recommended. Fans of suspense will be sure to enjoy this thriller from the acclaimed author of Contagion and other exciting stories. Our heroine is Tabby, a teenager living with her mother Cate, moving from place to place hiding from an unknown threat. Then one day Tabby finds that her whole life has been a lie. Cate is not her real mother, instead she is arrested for kidnapping her as a child. She finds herself with a whole new family and finding it difficult to adjust, turns to swimming and the ocean where she feels at home. Spending the summer at a swim school, she uncovers some startling facts about the Penrose Academy which has been treating her since she was a baby. Totally isolated and locked inside the training compound, Tabby desperately seeks answers to the mysterious DNA found in her blood.
Told in Tabby's voice, a high level of suspense is maintained right through the book. Tabby is a self-contained, intelligent young woman, who is not prepared to blindly accept what she is told and always attempts to work out things for herself. Readers will empathise with her search for friends and people she can trust and be prepared to avidly follow her quest for answers about the mysterious Circle that Cate had warned her to beware. The mixture of the genres of fantasy and science fiction will also intrigue as Tabby dreams of beings in the ocean, and grapples with the knowledge that her DNA is different.
I am a fan of Teri Terry's character driven suspenseful stories and enjoyed trying to work out the mystery of was happening to Tabby, her relationship with the ocean and dolphins and the sinister Penrose Academy. The subtle theme of climate change in the background also kept me guessing and I look forward to the next book in the series.
Themes: Genetics, Ocean, Climate Change, Science Fiction, Fantasy.
Pat Pledger

The LEGO Games Book: 50 fun brainteasers, games, challenges, and puzzles! by Tori Kosara

Dorling Kindersley Ltd, 2020. ISBN: 9780241409466.
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. A great book for all those LEGO fans, The LEGO Games Book gives 50 interesting games and things to do with LEGO. It also has small bricks and figures that come with the book. These can be used in conjunction with other LEGO pieces that will be in any household which contains people who love to play.
The games span a large variety of things to do. TIC-TAC-TOE caught my eye on a quick flick through the book. It has clear instructions on how to build a board with nine squares and choose five game pieces of one design for each of the two players. Some of the games, like Whisper It, require a player to write down ideas and others challenge players to use patience and skill like Sliding Squares where a picture must be built and Impossible Puzzle where a puzzle has to be taken apart without breaking the whole thing. Another one that I liked was Sort-A-Thon, where the bricks were sorted by colour, type, size of shape, trying to beat the clock, or using a blindfold to feel the shape of the bricks. Of course, with any of the DK quality products, this book has a clear and easy to scan Contents page which allows the user to find games quickly.
All the family will certainly have fun with the games in this book, and it will be a wonderful tool to have on hand for those people who have a bucket of bricks and want to make something different. It would also be a perfect present for any LEGO lover.
Pat Pledger

Loveless by Alice Oseman

HarperCollins, 2020. ISBN: 9780008244125.
(Age: Older adolescents - Adult) Brilliant in its explanation of love, captivating in a beautifully empathetic consideration of friendship and human relationships, Alice Oseman's new book reveals some of the ways in which human beings are different. In this emotive tale, Oseman focuses on the areas of love, loyalty, sexuality, friendship, support and kindness.
Having successfully been offered a place at University after completing her schooling, Georgia is assigned to share a room with a young woman whom she has not met before. Learning to adapt to such a situation prompts her to seek a considered understanding of who she is herself, and to ponder what drives her. When she joins a dramatic society, Georgia meets new people, and in this world of play-acting, she becomes aware of, and is deeply puzzled by, her notion of herself, in terms of what drives her, and in what loving friendship means to her.
When she finally discovers the reason for her inability to 'fall in love' or to desire a sexual relationship, she is stunned, initially. She is determined to come to terms with her diagnosis and is moved deeply when her dear friends pledge ongoing, loving support. Knowing that she is 'aromantic' and 'asexual', Georgia realizes that she had often felt intimidated, indeed throughout her adolescence, by her indifference to the idea of romance or strong sexual attraction to anyone else. The diagnosis finally enables her to face life with a new sense of who she is, and to think about what is important to her in this newly considered version of herself.
This compassionate story would be appropriate for older adolescent and adult readers.
Elizabeth Bondar

Lightfall: The girl & the Galdurian by Tim Probert

The Helen Keller quote at the beginning of this beautifully illustrated graphic novel asserts “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light”. The Pig Wizard’s adopted daughter Bea and her irrepressible companion Cad take us on an adventure that is all about darkness, light and friendship. While Bea is out collecting ingredients for one of their potions she loses her footing high in a tree. Cad happens to be nearby and catches her as she falls. It seems he is on his way to see the Pig Wizard who might be able to translate a document in the language of the Galdurian, a race that was thought to have died out 500 years ago. Cad appears to be the last of his kind but is searching for others. When they get back to Bea’s home the Pig Wizard has disappeared and something sinister seems to be awakening. They find a note from the Wizard indicating he is looking for ‘The Seal of the Restless Sleeper” and that she should keep the jar of light safe at all times.

As they set out to find the Pig Wizard they face many challenges but with Bea’s courage and Cal’s optimism and great strength they endure what seems to be the first part of an epic journey. The world of Lightfall is in the vein of Lord of the Rings with warm coloured pastoral landscapes intertwined with cold dark sinister threats. Bea struggles with panic attacks and self-doubt but she bravely carries on while Cad refuses to believe his race is extinct and insists of looking at the bright side of things. Lightfall is a lovely story, which will appeal to lovers of fantasy. Well-paced, beautifully drawn and carefully constructed, look out for the next instalment. Teacher's notes are available.

Themes Friendship, Fantasy, Quests, Adventure.

Sue Speck

100% Wolf by Jayne Lyons

Puffin Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781761040207. 231pp.
(Ages: 9 - 12) It is no surprise that 100% Wolf was made into a slapstick Australian animated film. The novel was originally published in 2008 but was republished in 2020 with the film's release. Freddy is a boy who lives in Farfang Castle with his traitorous uncle Sir Hotspur and his cousins Harriet and Chariot. They are all descendants of a nicer kind of werewolf called Fangen. When Freddy gets to the right age and on a full moon he is supposed to transform into a werewolf at a ceremony called a Transwolfation. Unfortunately this goes wrong and he becomes a poodle. His cousins make this permanent by attaching a moonstone to him and humiliating him with pink poodle styling. Freddy flees and makes friends with a noble stray but they end up in the Coldfax Dog Prison. This suits Sir Hotspur because Freddy's superior bloodline threatens his role as the Grand Growler and leader of the Fang Council. In prison Freddy is desperate to escape and alert the Fangen about his uncle. Another threat Freddy must deal with comes from Dr Cripps who is out to destroy the Fangen. There's a steady stream of more crazy events, a big reveal and Freddy and friends become heroes.
This is an over the top story with villainous characters and a semi interesting plot line when characters can't speak to each other in the same language of human, werewolf or dog. There's plenty of unsubtle bodily function humour and nudity designed to appeal to young readers. Freddy is a naive show-off who gradually shows more upright characteristics. The main message is really about being moral and brave in order to defeat the bad. It may be of interest to children who have watched the film and want a light funny read, bearing in mind it will differ from the film.
Jo Marshall

I love dad with the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Puffin, 2017. ISBN: 9780141374376.
(Age: 0+) Recommended. Lovers of The Very Hungry Caterpillar will be thrilled with this gorgeous version of Eric Carle's illustrations, showing how much a child loves Dad. Little children will be enthralled by the brightly coloured pictures and will have lots of fun finding the little caterpillar on each page. There are many details to hold the interest of a very young child, who will love the page where there are beetles and tiny little ants while the page showing the father seahorse and its baby is delightful.
It is a book that parents will be happy to read again and again, helping the young child to give a name to each of the dads and their babies and increasing their vocabularies. The narrative is brief and easy to read aloud and gives the opportunity for lots of discussion about why children love their dads. The situations are ones that will be familiar to children, who will delight in recognising the silly dad who acts like a gorilla, and the loving dad who is still cool even when the child is as prickly as a hedgehog.
This is a perfect book to read aloud on Father's Day and would make an ideal gift, especially for a new father.
Pat Pledger

You can't call an elephant in an emergency by Patricia Cleveland-Peck

Illus. by David Tazzyman. Bloomsbury, 2020. ISBN: 9781408880630.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Filled with an array of situations where an emergency worker is called for, this book, the third in the series, after You Can't Take an Elephant on the Bus and You Can't Let an Elephant Drive a Digger, will have readers, children and adults alike laughing out loud. The most unlikely of rescue attempts are presented as an elephant takes on the role of a firefighter, a sloth becomes a traffic cop, a chimp is a paramedic and a panda takes the controls of a fire fighting plane. Children will readily see the incongruity of these animals in situations totally inappropriate for them. The contrast between the very important emergency service workers' abilities and those of the animals provides a wonderful way of teaching children the work these people do. And how appropriate that this book has been published now, when younger children are exposed regularly to images on television of people in masks and scrubs. A most opportune book to discuss with classes and at home, the illustrations will be pored over by readers.
Of course you do not have lemmings in a helicopter rescue team: those who drop the person being rescued are outdone by the others that leap from the helicopter overhead.  And the hen that thinks she'd make a good police officer is so timid that the robber has a smile on his face as he runs away.
Each double page has a four line rhyming stanza outlining the inabilities of that particular animal for the job at hand, supported by wonderfully vivid illustrations which will entice readers to look more closely at the events being pictured.
Patricia Cleveland-Peck has published fourteen children's books as well as adult books and plays. She returned to the world of children's books with the bestselling You Can't Take an Elephant on the Bus and You Can't Let an Elephant Drive a Digger which, together, have sold over 200,000 copies. David Tazzyman is the bestselling illustrator of the Mr Gum books, which have won a multitude of awards, including the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. David studied illustration at Manchester Metropolitan University. The elephant books are just two of his books published by Bloomsbury.
Fran Knight

The pony question by Jackie Merchant

Walker Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781760651640. 255pp.
(Ages: 9 -13) Recommended. Twelve-year-old Essie lives a modest life with her mother Francesca in an Australian country town. They resettled there from the city after her father 'Shiny Steve' remarried. Essie is still recovering from glandular fever and feeling rather unloved by her father. Francesca restores old furniture for a living and this takes them to a clearance sale on a farm. They accidentally purchase a pony on its last legs. In her past life Essie was a successful winner of dressage events. However her father drugged her horse because it had injuries when he wanted Essie to go in the dressage finals. He was caught and this caused Essie to be banned from competitions. Essie's reputation was ruined and social media helped spread the message. As the new pony, Moxie, recovers with Essie's care it also develops some difficult behaviours but they also learn it had a successful past. Essie believes Moxie needs to be retrained but this is expensive. Her father has moved to Germany and offers little help, although he was once her mainstay. Fortunately Essie's friend and neighbours make up for it. Francesca has much sage advice, which helps Essie but as her self-confidence grows, she makes her own decisions.
This is a well-paced hopeful story. It is not just about a girl obsessed with horses, although the author's knowledge clearly adds to the believability. It is more nuanced than that, which makes it quite satisfying. The setting is well imagined and the characters all have their own interesting personalities. You feel it would be terrific to be part of this caring community. Essie is a very likeable girl with understandable self-doubts, a sharp assessor of other people's characters, yet considerate and with good values. Like Moxie, Essie is also getting a second chance at success as she becomes a teenager. The author weaves in values of appreciating what you have and calling out artificiality. In particular sustainable practices of reusing and remaking things is juxtaposed with our plastic throw-away society.
Jo Marshall

Roald Dahl: Shapes by Roald Dahl

Illus. by Quentin Blake. Penguin, 2020. ISBN: 9780241439999.
(Age: 0-4) Highly recommended. What a fabulous way to help young children learn about different shapes. Quentin Blake's amusing illustrations will bring smiles to the faces of the children who have the joy of hearing this book read aloud to them. They will be engrossed in finding shapes right from the first page, where they encounter a circle and the words,
Good morning,
Enormous Crocodile!
The sun is in the sky!
With a combination of cut-outs, lift-the-flaps and touch-and-feel this is a superior board book for little hands and curious minds to explore. The shapes of a circle, diamond and triangle are shown first, each with its double page spread, giving children the opportunity to trace over the shape and then find the shape in the drawings. Then follows a double page spread that has many shapes, all which can be found by a touch and feel, and this is followed by a wonderful lift the flap square. Finally, a goodnight is given to the enormous crocodile, who is pictured against a black sky full of twinkling stars.
As always, the quirky, bright illustrations of Quentin Blake set against gorgeous colours, are superb, and children will want to return to this fun book again and again. What a memorable and fun way to learn shapes. This board book is a keeper!
Pat Pledger

Peppa's summer holiday

Penguin Random House, 2020. ISBN: 9780241412251.
(Ages: 3-6) Little Peppa Pig fans will love reading about Peppa's holiday in the sun, especially when she is surprised by all of her friends. The story shows Peppa and her family as they prepare for the holiday: packing, driving to the airport and then checking in for their flight. Their holiday involves swimming in the hotel pool, watching turtle hatchlings on the beach and a jungle walk to find sloths. Everywhere they go Peppa and George discover lots of their friends are holidaying here too! It isn't long before they are all having fun and dancing in the pool together. Even when their flight home is delayed and they are all stuck on the plane they manage to have a fun time to end their holiday.
This cheerful, bright celebration of family holidays and friends is a joyous read, sure to be loved by Peppa Pig lovers. Themes: Peppa Pig, Holidays.
Nicole Nelson

The odd 1s out the first sequel by James Rallison

Scholastic, 2020. ISBN: 9781760973377.
Highly recommended. The Odd 1s out: The first sequel is the second funny book in the Odd 1s out series by James Rallison. It is a story that has many funny anecdotes about his life in Arizona and is (in his own words) "full of pointless advice".
Before giving it Master 10 to read, I sat down for a look and really enjoyed it. James Rallison is a great writer within the humour/comic genre and as I got through the book, I found myself smiling, chuckling, and wanting to keep reading! I loved that although it is a humorous retelling of parts of his life, James adds in interesting (albeit pointless) information about toads and types of cacti, plus attempts to make light of things such as fears and dislikes all in the name of individuality. One of the main takeaways I got was that he was showing all the wired and wonderful parts of his life, and how the most important thing is to just be you, to change your mind if you want to and to be unique. Who would have thought that a YouTuber would be able to write such a funny book full of life lessons!
Lauren Fountain
This book was very funny. I loved every part of it and thought it was funny that he put in a section about Australia and it was upside down in the book! I agree with him that Vegemite is the key ingredient in Asphalt-YUK!
I really liked the cartoons, especially how he draws his dog Georgie and cat Poppy. I like drawing too so used his drawing to practise my cartoon animals.
I loved this book so much that I now really want to go and read the first book, watch his YouTube channel and look on his website. It is that good. 5 out of 5 from me.
Aston (10 years old)

Brasswitch and Bot by Gareth Ward

Walker Books, 2020, ISBN: 9781760652210.
(Age: 11+) Recommended. 'Until today, being called a Brasswitch would have got you killed. Now, it may save your life.' (Back cover). In this book, the first in a new Steampunk series, set in the Victorian era, Wrench is forced to choose between outing herself as a Brasswitch and saving countless lives, or allowing the runaway tram to crash, killing her and all the passengers. Wrench chooses to stop the tram using her Brasswitch powers which enable her to control machines, but is arrested as an aberration. Saved from her interrogation by the mechanoid, Bot, Wrench becomes the Brasswitch of the elite 'Cabal Thirteen'. Working with a team of regulators with Bot her new boss, Wrench must come to understand and control her powers, while hunting down rouge aberrations. Sadly orphaned by the cabletram accident that killed her parents, Wrench has spent years hiding her Brasswitch powers, fearing the regulators. With a good balance of self doubt and sassiness, Wrench befriends her new team consisting of other aberrations, combining humour and compassion.
The first book of a new Steampunk series, The Rise of the Remarkables, Brasswitch and Bot follows Wrench, the female protagonist, finding herself, working with a dynamic team and facing prejudice from all fronts. This action packed story is well paced, humorous, detailed in a Victorian era setting and ideal for middle grade readers. I found it just plain clever and I think you'll 'bally-well' enjoy it!
Themes: Steampunk, prejudice, relationships, good and evil.
Melanie Phillips

Grumbelina by Esther Krogdahl

Illus. by Aleksandra Szmidt. Hachette, 2020. ISBN: 9781869714291.
Recommended. I feel like the book Grumbelina, by Esther Krogdahl was written about my daughter! The similarities are far too easy to spot . . .
Hazel Spratt grew to be a happy, well mannered child who was a true joy to her parents. Then one day when she turned three-and-a-half things took a turn for the worst and she turned into Grumblelina! The girl who was suddenly grumpy, irritable, whingey, and whiney! She did not want to play, and everything was just not right. Her parents exhaust all the strategies they knew to make her happy but, in the end, they just seem to give up. Suddenly Grumblelina disappears and back comes their lovely Hazel! She hugs them and smiles and gets tucked into bed . . . but Grumblelina is not gone for good yet!
So many parents can identify with their three-year olds' mood swings and the fact that they just cannot get anything right. Esther Krogdahl does a great job of sharing this well-known story through rhyme and with the edition of Aleksandra Szmidt's illustrations it turns in to a wonderful picture book. The illustrations are my favourite as they really show the facial expressions of Hazel which I know so well from my own feisty daughter. I feel a page worth sharing which sums up the twists and turns of a 3-year-old is this 'She grumbled about that and grumbled about this. She screamed "Go away!" then demanded a kiss'. The author really captured so much in these two sentences, and I love every bit of it!!
This is a funny picture book that will entice both young listeners and parents alike. 4 out of 5.
Lauren Fountain