Steal my Sunshine-Emily Gale

I chose this book because when I read the blurb I found it very interesting.

This book is about a girl named Hannah, she lives in Melbourne and there is currently a record breaking heat wave. Hannah lives with her mother, brother and her grandmother Essie, with her dad walking out on them earlier in the book. Hannah and her mother never see eye to eye and are always fighting with her and her brother so Hannah spends a lot of time with her grandmother.

Essie has kept a secret from her family for 20 years and is ready to finally speak up, Essie send Hannah and her best friend Chloe go on a crazy journey to find out what this secret is.

But Hannah’s loyalty to both is tested, first by her attraction to Chloe’s older brother and then by Essie’s devastating secret that sheds light on how the family has lost its way.

“it had been thirty degrees most of the night and I wasn’t sure if I had slept for any of it. I could tell from the safety of my bedroom that mum had woken up foul: heavy footsteps in the kitchen, cupboard doors slammed, the dishwasher drawers yanked out and rammed in again. When I walked into the living room the floors were already baking underneath the sloping glass roof. The air-con remote was in the fruit bowl on the kitchen table. I pressed the button, hoping it would cool mum down, and keep my distance.”

This part of the novel best describes the relationship between Hannah and her mother and the environment that they are in.

I think the main idea of this book is identity.

I would recommend this book to teenage girls from about 12 and up as it has some romance in it.

Renee Viney Year 9

ALL THE TRUTH THAT’S IN ME BY JULIE BERRY

I chose this book because when I read the blurb all it said was “I am forbidden from telling” which I found very intriguing.

All the truth that’s in me is about a girl named Judith , Judith had been kept hostage for two years but before returning home her tongue was cut off in a savage attack to prevent her from telling who the kidnappers were. When Judith does return home she is considered as an improper lady or a monster, so pretty much an outcast. Judith doesn’t have many friends but she is in love with a boy named Lucas although Lucas is getting married to another woman. Throughout the book Judith starts to realise that it is her silence protecting her fromthe evil doers that wish to remain hidden. 

“There’s a curious comfort in letting go. After the agony, letting go brings numbness, and after the numbness, clarity. As if I can see the world for the first time, and my place in it, independent of you, a whole vista of what may be. Even if it’s not grand or inspiring, it is real and solid, unlike the fantasy I’ve built around you. I will do this I will triumph over you.” 

This part of the book shows that Judith is becoming more strong and independent, starting to take over the situation.

I recommend this to anyone above 12 years old, as some parts of it are quite gruesome although there is romance in the book so I would recommend it more towards girls.

Rachael Hayden Year 9

LIFE IN OUTER SPACE

Life In Outer Space – Melissa Keil

Review by Stephanie Tarn

I decided I’d write my review of the novel as a letter to Melissa. And so it begins:

Dear Ms Keil, or if you don’t mind breaking with formalities, dear Melissa. Nah, still too formal, dear Mel.

I read your debut novel Life In Outer Space  with a view to presenting a review for the children’s book council breakfast. Reading it was a joy! In this age of doom and gloom, apocalyptic contexts, abandonment, fear and depression, your novel stands as a beacon of hope. Thank you for having the courage to dream big dreams and fan the flame of romance. Yes, the ‘R’ word gets a bad rap these days – there’s more cheese out there than the original Bega factory. None the less, you have done a mighty job and thousands of young adults will be exposed to the real deal through your writing.

I must admit, for the first 50 pages I felt alone… like when the teens play the high pitched note on their phones that only they can hear. I sensed a lot of that – as I am out of touch with such elements as computer speak and horror movies.  Yeah yeah, I’m getting old, but I pushed on to see what the youngsters would get up to. It was mostly your brilliant sense of wry humour that folded me in its arm’s embrace. How clever you are!

You describe the protagonist, Sam Kinnison, as a geek. I beg to differ, Mel. He’s too social and he demonstrates throughout the novel that he is highly in tune with his feelings – granted he hasn’t got a clue what to do with his feelings until the 11^th hour, but still, he acknowledges them.

I love that you set the novel in a school, or more particularly, in a high school social group. I love the colourful bunch of misfits – Sam included – who form a lifelong bond due to their differentness. I love how you pay out on the bullies, although I don’t know how I’d go reading aloud in class when you give the bullies such titles as ‘Assorted Vessels of Wank’ and ‘High School Arsehat Hall of Fame’. Having said that, I do like a challenge!

Mel, it was also a great idea to have one of the group members ‘come out’ in the story. Mike is a beautiful young man. Thank you for making him an attractive and humble guy who just happens to be drop dead gorgeous and a black belt in karate (as an aside, the scene at the dojo where Sam gets willingly beaten up is absa-freakin-lutely hilarious – reminiscent of Janet Evanovich.) Thank you for your sensitivity in dispelling homophobia by how the group care for Mike, how they love and accept him. Readers will glean a lot of wisdom here.

I’m saving the best til last, Mel. What about Camilla. Camilla, Camilla. She is the bomb. How amazing was she when Sam’s parents were in crisis? I love the fact that you had her overseas visiting her mum when it all unfolded. She had to be incredibly astute in her support of Sam. I can still remember the clear instruction she gave to him as she was boarding the plane to leave: hire the 80s feel-good movie Say Anything -  she knew would uplift him. From thereon in Camilla assigns him little tasks to help him function every day until she returns, including the basics such as getting out of his pjs and actually showering! Getting Sam to learn the guitar at this point was also really clever.

The burgeoning friendship between Camilla and Sam is, in my mind, the backbone of Life In Outer Space. Mel, you are deeply in touch with teenage themes (including developing resilience, family dysfunction, peer pressure, bullying, sexuality, conflict resolution and peer support) -and you handle each with sensitivity and humour. Any author who can make me laugh out loud, and later reduce me to tears, is a winner. Congratulations on your debut novel and let me know when your next one is published.

Kind regards,

stephanie

Gazing At the Stars

I will keep this post short, sharp and shiny. It is the powerful memoir of Eva Slonim, a holocaust survivor who was a child of eleven when she was taken to the death camp at Auschwitz. I really don't mind which of the holocaust novels you read but you MUST read one!
I teared up more than once during this 'uncorrected proof' edition due to its raw yet intricately detailed recount of the inhumane and insane treatment of the Jews during WWII. My teenage son quipped whilst walking past me, 'Yeah, and it wasn't that long ago.' Everyone needs to know about the holocaust; no excuses.

   'My name is Shmuel,' he cried. 'I am nine years old and my time has come. Promise me that you will say kaddish for me. Remember this day, this date. Remember my name. My name is Shmuel!'
   I felt a cold wave of panic pass through my spine. I did not know what the date was, nor the day. I would forget Shmuel, his memory, his suffering, his eyes, his life, lost and anonymous among the bodies piled in that room by the hospital.
   I looked down and saw the numbers tattooed on my arm: A27201. The number transfixed me, startled me with the starkness of its sudden permanence. 'A27201,' I said, 'this will be your kaddish.'
   Shmuel was content, relieved that his God and his people would not forget him. He walked towards the exit of the barracks. (pp.118-9)

Due for release May 2014.

Miss ^__^

The Ink Bridge

 I found this book to be a heavy but necessary read.
In this current political climate of demonising asylum seekers I am heartened that The Truth on the issue can be found if you are really searching for it. This is one text that sets the truth to right without hyperbole. In fact, author Neil Grant even vocalises common myths such as, "You just don't know what they're hiding behind those burqas. I heard they use them for terrorist attacks back home,'(p.149) I feel this is a risk  given that a skim reader might walk away from the novel wrongly believing it validates perverse unsubstantiated popular opinion.

When the moon began its climb over the stone niches where the Buddhas once stood, Omed and Wasim crept out of their bunker, throwing long shadows against the cracked walls. There were only rats and dogs on the streets; no one felt safe when the Taliban were out for revenge. If they didn't find the right man, any would do.
... Omed knew it was too dangerous for his brother to go any further with him. He pulled him by the sleeve and shook his head. Wasim's eyes filled with tears. 'It is not fair, Omed. I am small without you. What can I do against the Talib? I cannot protect our family.'
Omed spun him around and pushed him in the small of his back. Wasim shouted after Omed as he ran. 'I hate you, Omed. It is all your fault! Do you hear that, I HATE you!'
But as Wasim's voice faded he heard a last desperate sob, 'I love you, my brother. Don't leave us.'
(p.15)


The protagonist, Omed, can't reply to his brother; his tongue has been cut off by the Talib. This young adolescent escapes Afghanistan fearing for his life, leaving behind all that is familiar to him. With some American currency his widowed mother has stashed away for a time such as this, Omed decides to head for Australia given he has heard good reports about Australia's treatment of asylum seekers. Ultimately he hopes to be a free man in this alleged 'welcoming' country. As the story transpires he discovers what really happens behind the razor wire in one of Australia's detention centres.

The Children's Book Council of Australia awarded honours to this novel in 2013. It is well worth the read.

Miss ^__^