'The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl' by Melissa Keil

If you like art, especially of the cartoon/animation style, combined with the implausibility of a doomsday hoax from an unreliable media source, this book is for you. The protagonist – Sarah alias ‘Alba’ – uses her cartoon artwork in much the same way as a therapist would recommend keeping a journal.

My latest menu is a new style I’ve been experimenting with, sort of the wicked inventive layouts of the last X-23 meets the linework of Faith Erin Hicks, but with a palette of old-school Marvel colours, all reds and blues and limey greens. I’m trying out a new character in this one as well. Her hair is styled a bit like mine, with a thick eye-sweeping fringe, but instead of my longish brown boringness I’ve given her masses of red curls streaked with blue… She’s not supposed to be me, even though she dresses like me and has my height and, okay, maybe my solid thighs. I think she looks pretty kick-arse. (p.13) 

Sarah is a normal, if not introspective, girl who has just finished high school but is uncertain about leaving the comforts of her small town to pursue a dream of going to a city art school. The novel is mostly the unfolding of her wrestling with her fears, real or imagined.

The language used throughout the novel is simple, extremely colloquial teen speak. I found it a bit overdone, but that’s probably just my age showing… I found the pace too slow and the number of characters too confusing. There’s a romance curve ball that helped bring the story home, but other than that, I found Cinnamon Girls’ so-called adventures to be completely underwhelming.

Miss ^__^

the minnow - Diana Sweeny

Here is a copy of the book review I gave at the CBC (Children's Book Council) Brunch yesterday...

Good morning!

I’d like to begin my review with a question: Hands up if you would avoid reading a book which stated on the cover ‘…this is a book about abuse and loss and starting over.’?

Well I (too) would steer clear – by choice – from novels where the theme is abuse. Maybe it’s an age thing, given that I am a nanna as well as a teacher.

Diana Sweeney’s novel ‘The Minnow’ does not actually have the word ‘abuse’ on the cover. It uses the word ‘love’! Hmm, sneaky. A few more readers will probably give the book a chance as the cover declares that the book is about love, loss and starting over.

You can probably detect my bias by now – I didn’t warm to the story.

The protagonist, a 15 year old girl whose nick name is ‘Tom’, short for tomboy, has had a shocker of a start in life, losing her mum, dad and sister in a catastrophic flood. Her nan would have become her guardian if it weren’t for the fact that she’s living in an aged care facility. It is unclear why Tom ends up living with a man old enough to be her dad, just long enough for him to abuse her, both psychologically and sexually. But as luck would have it, Tom is soon able to leave him and move in with her best mate because all his family died in the same flood. He is in senior school and he’s been given the run of the family home. How convenient.

I recommend reading the book in one or two sittings tops, reason being, Tom spends most of her time talking to the ghosts of the dearly departed. And if that’s not confusing enough, she’s also quite savvy at talking to animals as well, particularly of the aquatic kind. Here’s an excerpt from when Tom visits her favourite pet shop:

All four carp are side by side, almost motionless, looking at me…

‘Oscar,’ I say, pausing for a moment so this comes out right, ‘why haven’t you told the others?’

‘There are carp and there are carp,’ he replies. ‘These three are sweet but uncommunicative. They’ll find me floating on my side in a couple of weeks and the only one who’ll grieve will be Mrs Blanket. This lot will just take it in their stride.’

‘And me,’ I say, ‘I’ll miss you heaps.’

‘And you,’ he says back.

I turn to walk out the door.

‘Tom,’ Oscar calls after me. ‘The police were here asking questions.’

‘Like what?’

‘Just stuff about your family.’

‘Thanks, Oscar.’

And then I think of something else. ‘Did they mention Dad?’

‘I don’t remember.’ (p.36)

So, in summary: Floods, abuse, dementia, restless dead and talking carp. ‘The Minnow’ wasn’t my cup of tea but at the end of the day, it’s all a matter of taste, isn’t it?

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