by Anita Diamant. Reviewed by Bron
The red tent is a place where sisters Leah, Rachel, Zilpah and Bilhah join together to discuss their lives and experiences. Told in the voice of Jacob’s daughter Dinah (mentioned in the Book of Genisis), we become privy to the goings on within the red tent; births, mothering, storytelling and day to day life in Egypt. We follow Dinah through her childhood and adolescence to the event which will change her life forever.
by Nick Hornby. Available in the Senior library.
Reviewed by Bron.
Will is a 36 year old man who has never worked, he lives off the royalties of his father’s one-hit Christmas song. He goes about life with well organised activities to fill his hours. Marcus is a 12 year old who is having a terrible time at home and at school. He lives with his ex-hippie, single mom Fiona, who suffers from depression and he is in constant fear that something bad will happen. Marcus and Will meet via a friend and the two boys grow to become friends. Marcus helps Will to become and adult who cares about people and Will helps Marcus to simply enjoy his teenage life. A really basic story with well developed characters and a lovely ending. Enjoyable reading, very genuine uplifting story.
by Bill Condon. Available in the Senior and Junior library.
HONOUR BOOK CBCA 2007. Reviewed by Bron.
Bri is 17 and has just left school to start the night shift at a dairy. Here he meets 3 knockabout blokes who keep his mind off looking after his manic depressive mother. His father lives in a shed at the bottom of the garden and does not provide much support. Then there’s his school friend Emma, who he has fallen in love with, but she wants to be friends because she is about to go on an exchange to Canada.
I found this book a little more confronting than what I had first expected when I picked it up off the shelf. Dealing with his mother is very hard for Bri and her mental state only gets worse throughout the novel. Quite a difficult book to read at times but very real and touching. A tale of death, love, joy, family and relationships.
by Deborah Ellis. Available in the Senior and Junior library.
Reviewed by Bron.
I read this novel for the English department to assist them with selecting a year 8 novel. What a fantastic little book! Parvana lives with her family in war torn Afghanistan in a small one bedroom house. Women and girls are not allowed to leave the house without a man. When Parvana’s father is arrested by the Taliban and put in jail Parvana cuts her hair and turns herself into a boy so that she can go to the market and earn money for the family to survive.
I really enjoyed this book, so easy to read and just a beautiful story. Fantastic for exploring themes of refugees, terrorism, family, conflict, survival… so much to discuss.
by Sonya Hartnett. Available at the Senior and Junior library.
WINNER OF THE CBCA OLDER READERS AWARD 2008
Reviewed by Bron.
A quirky little story centered around 75 year old Matilda who lives alone with her dog Peake. One day she comes home and finds a boy sitting on her couch to whom she begins telling her life story. Maddie tells the boy the story of her quest for the most beautiful thing in the world and her love for a man only known as ‘Feather’. The identity of the boy becomes apparent by the end of the story and the relationship between Maddie and Feather and the way they deal with their separate lives leaves you with a tingly feeling inside.
A really lovely story, quite different from anything I have read in ages. It is written beautifully, asks lots of unanswerable questions and makes you think outside the square for just a minute.
by Gail Carson Levine. Available in the junior library.
Reviewed by Ms McGowan
‘That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me. She meant to bestow a gift. ‘My gift is obedience. Ella will always be obedient. Now stop crying, child’. “ Ella can’t wait to be free of Lucinda’s gift and feel that she can be herself. But it just isn’t that easy when she knows that at any time, anyone can order her to hop on one foot, cut off her hand, betray her kingdom, marry a prince … Ella’s quest to break the curse is a funny, poignant and truly enchanting tale set against a bold tapesty of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters and fairy godmothers.
Reviewed by Rebecca
by Rachael Mead
Reviewed by Ms Carruthers
This is an awesome book – the begining of a series of course. It focuses on the life of a young girl, Rose, who has dedicated her young life to being the guardian of her best friend and vampire. They are at a school, a vampire academy actually (funny that) and are training to become the best they can be. Lissa (the friend/vampire) is the last surviver of her family after her parents and older brother were killed in a car accident that could have quite easily killed Rose and herself too. This accident occured before the book is set however everything that occurs is a result of it.
As these girls are teenagers, they have love interests, relationship issues and bullying to deal with as well as their eduacation.
It is an incredible story that will leave you wanting more.