Reviews

The dragon in the library by Louie Stowell

Nosy Crow, 2019. 224pp., pbk. ISBN: 9781788000260.
Kit can't stand reading. She'd much rather be outside, playing games and getting muddy, than stuck inside being quiet with a book. But when she's dragged along to the local library at the start of the school holiday by her two best friends, she makes an incredible discovery: the local library is run by wizards . . . and she's one too! The youngest wizard ever, in fact.
But someone is threatening to tear down the library and disturb the powerful magical forces living beneath it. And now it's up to Kit and her friends to save the library . . . and the world.
The first book in an exciting, imaginative and brilliantly funny new series, which Miss 8 curled up with on Christmas afternoon when it was too hot to be outside. Full of illustrations and written in short manageable chapters, it is a fast-paced story with the perfect mix of reality and fantasy to capture her imagination. It also captured mine and it sheds a new light on the value of both libraries and reading for those who think neither has anything of value for them.
This is the perfect book to recommend to teachers as the first read-aloud for the new school year to encourage students to investigate the magic in your school library.
Barbara Braxton

The space we're in by Katya Balen

Illus. by Laura Carlin. Bloomsbury, 2019. ISBN: 9781526610942.
(Age: Mid upper primary +) Highly recommended. Katya Balen's The Space We're In is a moving story about autism. The behaviours and the situations experienced by Max and his family members are perceptively painted. It would be a hard-hearted reader who could remain unmoved.
Autism is grounded in the life and world, universe and cosmos. It is a book about love, acceptance and joy. It's about where we all fit in and how love binds us together - that we are all made of stardust - and somehow everything makes sense like the existence of the Golden Ratio.
The story is told from the perspective of ten year old Frank. He is initially embarrassed by and ashamed of his brother, five year old autistic Max. He loves and protects Max but (before he learns to be proud) he joins others who deride Max. As if life isn't hard enough, his family is knocked for six with further tragedy. Somehow love prevails through time and the care of steadfast friends, family and community.
I want to lend this book to friends with autistic children. I want teachers to read this book to classes to build an empathy for disability and the lived experiences of families. It's a searingly sad but uplifting book. It helps us to understand our own part in community.
There is a lot a teacher could do with this book. Frank has an affinity for numbers. Code permeates the book. When deciphered, it forms chapter headings, which make a lot of sense e.g. meltdown, sorry, joy, fury, magic, wild, fight, treasure. A wordle created from the vocabulary would capture the essence of living with disability. Text to text background reading for children and teachers are Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are and Michael Rosen's We're Going on a Bear Hunt.
The illustrations by Laura Carlin, including quirky fonts and layouts, are in themselves, a soft and subtle visual journey that travels with the storyline.
Wendy Jeffery

The end and other beginnings: Stories from the future Veronica Roth

Harper Collins Children's Books, 2019. ISBN: 9780008347765.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Veronica Roth is amazing! Her Divergent series was hugely successful and her youthful understanding of young people is again demonstrated in this collection of short stories set in future worlds and imagined scenarios of beginnings and ends. This book contains six short stories that are equally compelling and potent in their exploration of what might be expected in the future. The scenarios are set in an array of different earth or space-inspired locations, all with some similarities to our present world but with a variety of warped situations or circumstances or technological advancements. The characters though are all battling recognisable challenges or internal conflicts, and the short story genre gives a relatively quick (but certainly not saccharine) resolution to each complication. This is a brilliant short story collection to recommend to lovers of science fiction or dystopian fiction and the skill of Veronica Roth in creating new Sci-fi vernacular or possibilities is note-worthy. Despite the genre implications of 'new worlds', there is something very familiar about the young teen characters who contend with the internal challenges in the world of the future.
This is certainly something to recommend to younger readers, but the Short Story genre is well handled by an author who is creative and sometimes unnerving in her view of what the future could look like. I am sure there will be many readers who wish that Roth had extended each story into a longer novel.
Highly recommended for readers aged 14+ and for lovers of sci-fi and short stories. Themes: Short stories; Futuristic fantasy; Science Fiction; Dystopian worlds; Extra Terrestrials.
Carolyn Hull

An unwanted guest by Shari Lapena

Transworld, 2019. ISBN: 9780552174879. 320pp.
(Age: Adult) Recommended. What a thrill to try and work out 'who dunnit' in this nod to the locked room mystery genre. Instead of a room, Lapena has put a group of guests who don't know each other into a luxurious boutique hotel in a remote forested area. Then a blizzard causes all roads into the hotel to be closed and the electricity is cut off, and it becomes totally isolated from the outside world. Suspense and tension grows as the guests begin to be murdered, one by one, suspicion falling in turn on each one of the guests, leaving the reader desperately trying to figure out who has committed the crimes among a myriad of red herrings and alarming back stories of the guests.
Easy to read in one or two sittings, Lapena has developed her guests so well that the reader feels that they know them and their fears and feelings. It is very difficult to work out just who could be the murderer as each character has strengths and flaws which Lapena skilfully describes as the body count grows. Each murder has different characteristics - a fall down the stairs, a drug overdose, and a bashed head, all of which makes it hard to know if there is more than one person on a killing spree or a stranger lurking in the hotel picking off the guests. And that twist at the end! What a well-constructed and satisfying finale to a great read.
I really enjoyed this book and will be sure to pick up other books by this best-selling author. Fans of Adrian McKinty and Ruth Ware may enjoy this book.
Pat Pledger

Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza

Cold Fear by Mads Peder Nordbo

Greenland book 2. Translated by Charlotte Barslund. Text, 2019. ISBN: 9781911231301. 400pp.
(Age: Adult) Recommended for lovers of dark Nordic noir, Cold fear takes the reader on a cold and grisly trip through Greenland as Matthew Cave tries to solve the mystery of his sister's abduction and father's disappearance. Cave first appeared in The Girl Without Skin and while Cold Fear could be read as a stand-alone, it continues the story that had been hinted at in the first novel. Matthew is faced with the question of why his father disappeared so many years ago, and why he was accused of a double murder. Now that his cold case has been reopened on the suspicion that he is still alive, it becomes imperative to work out what happened. But more immediate is the urgency of finding what has happened to his sister. Tupaarnaq, the woman with many tattoos, returns to help find his sister, while on her own quest for revenge.
Not for the faint hearted, Cold fear has many horrifying scenes of child abuse and imprisonment, grisly murders and dangerous attacks all set against the cold bleak landscape of Greenland which Nordbo describes so well. There are many twists and turns to keep the reader guessing as old secrets are brought to light. Readers will be fascinated by the role that Greenland has to play in international politics and could find themselves looking up locations found in the book.
Throughout all the nail biting events Matthew Cave's determination and persistence in carving through the lies and treachery lends authenticity to the story as he works out what has happened with skilful investigation. And what a thrilling and unexpected ending!
Pat Pledger

Invisible in a Bright Light by Sally Gardner

Zephyr, 2019. ISBN: 9781789544848. 320pp.
Recommended for those who like a challenge, aged 14+. The dream-fantasy scenario and premise of this book has all the logic and clarity of a medication-induced dream. Initially very confusing, the book follows the characters Celeste and Maria who are one and yet two, and who must rescue the people who have disappeared from the ghost ship. Their life in the theatre is muddled with their former life before the mysterious disappearance of many of the ghost ship's characters; they are in the spotlight and also invisible. A formidable man in an emerald green suit (akin to Rumpelstiltskin) appears and enables the girls to win a contest to save the lost souls. Along the way, they rescue the daughter of an objectionable operatic genius and perform like stars on stage.
Sadly, this bizarre narrative is so perplexing and dream-like as it ripples through time, with characters appearing and disappearing, acting with eccentric personality traits in an unfamiliar context, that it may leave young readers floundering. However, if you loved Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and like to be confused as you read, then this book is for you. Entering someone else's dream is automatically confusing, but ultimately a persistent reader may actually enjoy the theatrical journey of this book and the rescuing of the young character Hildegard and putting the broken shards of the 'glass' back into some semblance of order. Be prepared to be confused! Themes: Fantasy; Dreams; Ghosts; Theatre.
Carolyn Hull

All bodies are good bodies by Charlotte Barkla

Illus. by Erica Salcedo. Little Hare, 2019. ISBN: 9781760503932. 24pp., hbk.
I love hands!
Hands that are white and hands that are brown,
Freckles mean sunshine has sent kisses down.
Short fingers, long fingers, bendy or straight,
Hands to clap, or high-five your mate.
Even though the human body comprises the same elements, each is unique. No two are the same unless you are an identical twin. In this superbly illustrated book, each body part such as hands, hair, eyes and even tummies is featured while those characteristics which make them unique are celebrated. It doesn't matter if your nose is long and thin or short and flat or even turned up like a pussycat, we each have one and each does its special job.
With its bouncy rhyme and positive message about accepting the diversity and differences which make each of us special, it actively promotes the acceptance of the body regardless of shape, colour, or size so that we appreciate our individuality and are inclusive in our choices. When even our youngest readers are aware of their physical appearance these days and start to develop their relationship with their body, this is a critical message that encourages the positive mental health mindset so essential to developing resilience and empathy and offering lots of scope to collect and interpret data as the children compare and contrast their differences.
Barbara Braxton

Brave and bold: Female DC super heroes take on the Universe by Sam Maggs

DK Penguin Random House, 2019. ISBN: 9780241389164. hbk, 127 pgs.
Ages: any super hero fan, but if I have to give an age 7+. I so much love my comics but don't know much about DC super heroes until now. I do know the major ones and this book opens up a new universe to me of DC female super heroes. It's a great introduction and especially helpful to those teachers and parents out there who want to be in the know for their students and children. I would keep Brave and bold nearby for quick reference.
You will find a forward by Gail Simone who is a bestselling DC writer. Then you get a two page spread-out for each female super hero presented in the book. You get a page about the character that I found very easy to read and very informative. You also get colourful drawings of the characters that looks awesome and will find children and fans drawn to the book. Did you know that some people who have seen Supergirl in action say she may be more powerful than Superman?
I loved how each page starts with a character's quote and I did recognise some of them from movies or comics. It is also separated into 4 different parts, compassionate, bold, curious and persistent, all traits that the super heroes have.
Reading through the book, I was thinking how many female super heroes are there? There are heaps. I was also thinking, where is my favourite super hero of all time, Raven? I even came across Lois Lane who I wouldn't have considered a Super hero. I was getting closer and closer to the end and my heart missed a beat . . . there was Raven from Teen Titans.
Brave and bold would be great on anyone's book shelf that likes their super heroes.
Maria Komninos

Pretty guilty women by Gina Lamanna

Hachette, 2019. ISBN: 9780751576696.
(Age: Adult) This is a story of a wedding, and conversely, and unexpectedly, a story of a murder. While these two events may seem incongruous, in this narrative there is such a large amount of loving friendship, and indeed a large amount of love, that a murder, in this context, somehow seems even more terrible. Yet the guests make the decision to put aside the issue of one guest murdered, and to go ahead with the drinking, partying, socialising and preparation for the big day.
Unexpectedly, while flying across the US, one woman rather unexpectedly has a sexual encounter with a man in the toilets of the aircraft. We read about the great amount of alcohol consumed, while the pre-wedding drinks and socialising takes place, ironically entailing the murder of one man. Even more ironically, all four women, friends since university days, confess to having committed the murder. Why, we might well ask! It is certainly not easy to understand their motivation to confess, yet we are persuaded that it is the bonds of friendship that drive these confessions, obviously not all being true.
Not a book for younger children, nor indeed for young adolescents, this is pitched at a mature adult audience, and is most notable for the mystery at its heart. A light read about a strange group of people, albeit well educated, who seem to simply be happy to spend their money on pleasure and frivolity, fuelled by copious quantities of alcohol.
Elizabeth Bondar

Don't tickle the hippo! by Sam Taplin

Illus. by Ana Martin Larranaga. Touchy-Feely Sound book. Usborne, 2019. ISBN: 9781474968713. 10pp., board book
"Don't tickle the hippo - you might make it snort!" But, of course with its touchy-feely patch being too tempting to leave alone, the littlest reader is going to tickle it - and won't they get a surprise when they do (if the adult has turned on the switch for the sound effects!).
This is another series in this new generation of board books that invites the child to interact with the text and the illustrations, to find the fun in the print medium and start to build up an expectation that stories are fun, that they have a part to play in making them come alive and they have the power to do so. Each creature makes its own sound when the patches are felt and the cacophony at the end of the book makes for a satisfying conclusion.
It will become a firm favourite bound to generate a thousand giggles as the child is in control.
Barbara Braxton

The pursuit of William Abbey by Claire North

Orbit, 2019. ISBN: 9780356507422.
(Age: Adult) Recommended. William Abbey is a truth-speaker. It is a curse on him, a curse by the mother of a black boy cruelly murdered by a lynch mob in Natal, a curse for standing by and failing to speak out and prevent the torture. Abbey is a doctor but he can do nothing for the charred dying boy. And now his shame will haunt him forever, as the boy's misshapen ghost relentlessly pursues him around the world wherever he goes. Each time as the ghost of Langa draws closer, Abbey finds he can see into the inner heart of whoever is near him and he is compelled to reveal the truth of what he sees there, he babbles their secrets, and ultimately whoever he loves will die.
We learn his story as he gradually reveals it to a nurse at the bedside of soldier who has had his guts ripped out on the battle fields of 1917 France. The nurse senses that there is some dangerous connection between the two men, and is determined to protect her patient. But will she be able to face the horror of the tale he will tell? And what is her truth? Is she brave, or will she fail?
Abbey is not the only person cursed to be a truth-speaker. In his desperate travels to escape his pursuer he meets others doomed to speak and doomed to lose their loved ones. Can he save the people he cares about, can he avoid loving anyone, and can he find a cure for his condition somewhere in the far reaches of the world? There are those who want to exploit his truth-revealing skills, he is wanted as a spy; and there are those who want to discover the workings of his brain, probe and analyse it as the ghost approaches.
Within this framework of mystery, horror story, is a highly researched examination of the history and politics of the late 19th, early 20th century world, from the colonial ravages of Africa and India, to Peru, to the machinations of Europe, to the black white conflicts of America, to the songline guardians of Australia, North puts the spotlight on human conflict and failure across the globe. It is a harsh unflinching look at imperialism and its destructive interactions, and reveals the moral turpitude of the human race.
Whilst the original premise may ignite interest, fans of mystery or romance stories may find this book hard going, as the spotlight is steadily focussed on the complexities of human nature and politics, and the failings of individuals, and indeed the human race. It is a serious examination of a particular time in history with ramifications for present times as well.
Helen Eddy

Forgotten fairy tales of brave and brilliant girls ed. by Lesley Sims

Usborne, 2019. ISBN: 9781474966429. 208pp., hbk.
Ask a young child for the title of a fairy tale and you are likely to be told Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel or Rapunzel or whatever the Disney princess-du-jour is. But in fact, there are many more fairy tales than those that were collected and written down by the great storytellers like the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault and Hans Christian Andersen. Fairy tales were told orally for many generations before they were preserved in print, each being shared a little differently by the teller according to time, place and circumstance, but each having a fundamental truth at its core.
For whatever reason, the tales that were collected and written share common characteristics of strong men and weak women who needed to be rescued by the male's prowess and those in which the females were the leading protagonists were almost lost to time. The story of their discovery and recovery is almost as fascinating as the stories themselves, and shows the slowly changing attitudes towards women and their place in society. Food for discussion and debate right there!
In the meantime, this remains a collection of very readable and beautifully illustrated fairy tales that deserve to be as well-known as their more famous counterparts. Perhaps the next Disney heroine will arise from this anthology. Regardless, stories about brave and brilliant girls are always good for the soul.
Barbara Braxton

Laetitia Rodd and the Case of the Wandering Scholar by Kate Saunders

Bloomsbury, 2019. ISBN: 9781526611116.
Recommended for readers aged 15+ - Adult readers. Themes: Murder mystery; Redemption; Religious expression Laetitia Rodd is the widow of a former English Archdeacon and a very proper woman, living in rather reduced circumstances since her husband's death. Her history though has left her with compassion, lots of time and a collection of very interesting clerical acquaintances. She is also rather good at solving mysteries - this is the second book where her detective and observational skills are put to use. Her brother, a renowned and rambunctious lawyer, gets her involved in an investigation on behalf of a dying man which leads her to the home of a clerical household - her match-making skills had enabled their marriage ten years before. This interruption into her normal quiet life is further complicated when she becomes involved in investigating a murder. The suspected murderers seem to be the least likely to have completed the crime, but all the evidence points towards them. Mrs Laetitia Rodd, Inspector Blackbeard (a former 'colleague' in investigation) and her brother as legal counsel all work together to untangle the evidence and possibly defend the suspects. The complications continue, as happens in all good murder mysteries, and Mrs Rodd must work hard, with all her good graces to work our where truth lies. And truth does get uncovered, and justice is done.
This is a murder mystery, in the style of Television English clerical murder mystery dramas or even of an Agatha Christie Miss Marple murder mystery, where confession, faith, goodness, subterfuge, evil and murder are mixed together in a complex web. Mrs Rodd is a delightful character able to move through religious circles, with Oxford scholars, in rich and wealthy homes and with the poorer members of the community, and with wit and wisdom is able to unravel all the plot complications of a classic and old-fashioned murder mystery.
This is a pleasure to read. Set in a time of decorum and mannerly behaviour, and with faith observances a part of the culture of the day, the crimes and problems of the day are often hidden with tactful discretion to be uncovered unobtrusively by the careful investigations of the gracious central character.
Carolyn Hull

Genesis by Robin Cook

Macmillan 2019. ISBN: 9781529019124.
(Age: senior secondary/adult) Recommended. Robin Cook has set his sights once again firmly in the medical world. Laurie Montgomery-Stapleton is Chief Medical Examiner in New York and her husband Jack is one of the medical examiners who works for her. We enter the world of autopsies and forensic investigation.
A seemingly routine drug overdose throws up some anomalies, which pathology resident Aria Nichols is eager to solve. Dr. Nichols is intelligent, quick, decisive but shows no empathy or courtesy with co-workers or the general public. Perhaps it's as well she is working with the dead.
The body count begins to rise but the dots are not joined, especially when the first victim is not considered to have been murdered by anyone other than Aria. It is when she meets with the victim's friend that using ancestral DNA becomes a possibility in finding the killer. She has concluded with no evidence that the killer is a married man who has been secretly having an affair with the victim. The possibility of murder becomes firmer when the friend is pushed into the path of a subway train.
This escalation continues when medical examiners are confronted with the body of Aria Nichols in the morgue. Her death is in every way similar to that of the first victim. Dots begin to be joined, but the killer is eliminating those with any knowledge, and the final victim could be Dr Laurie Montgomery-Stapleton.
The most interesting elements of Cook's narrative are the descriptions of autopsies and their procedures. The characters are fairly standard with some being stereotypical, even the brash abrasive Aria is just a shell and Cook doesn't delve deeply into anyone's psyche. There is a need to confirm thoughts about who "dunnit", but the most interesting aspects are DNA ancestral histories and the uses to which they may be used, never envisaged by the developers.
Themes: Crime, Medical procedure, Autopsies, Mortuary procedure, Police, DNA.
Mark Knight