Century, 2024. ISBN: 9781529920048. (Age:Adult - 16+) Highly recommended.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a compelling blend of well-researched historical fiction with the paranormal. Arden’s skilful authoring brings to life the horrors of life during World War 1 with the eerie appearance of ghosts with warm hands. Laura Iven, a nurse who was badly wounded on the Front, has been discharged and has returned home to Halifax, Canada. While suffering from the loss of her parents during an explosion in Halifax Bay, she receives the shocking news that Freddie, her brother, has been reported dead on the battlefields of Belgium. But as she holds his tags and jackets, something seems wrong and she decides to return to find out what really happened to him.
Told in vivid chapters from the point of view of Laura and Freddie, the reader is drawn into the horror of war in the trenches and the role of the nurse on the Front in Flanders, Belgium, 1917-1918, during The Great War. Laura returns to a private hospital as a volunteer, amid rumours of a fiddler who gives soldiers the gift of oblivion and of ghosts moving amongst the living. Did she glimpse Freddie in the hotel that the fiddler owns? Freddie awakes to find himself trapped in the mud under a pillbox with Winter, a German soldier, and together they desperately try to escape the death trap they find themselves in. Will they reach help or be shot as deserters?
The Warm Hands of Ghosts is an unforgettable story about the trauma of war and the bravery and resilience of the men and women who were caught up in it. Readers of historical fiction will become immersed in the detail, with ghosts and evil threading through the story in a believable way. Those who found Rebecca Ross’s duology, Divine rivals and Ruthless vows absorbing as I did, are sure to want to move onto this gripping stand alone.
Themes Love, Loss, Evil, Ghosts, World War 1, Flanders.
Pat Pledger
Dr. Seuss Graphic Novel: Cat out of water by Art Baltazar
Fans of The Cat in the Hat will be thrilled to have a companion volume in graphic novel form, especially as graphic novels are so popular with young children. Sally and her brother Conrad are home alone after school and freshening up the fishbowl when the Cat in the Hat knocks on the door. The Fish is appalled and knows that there will be trouble if the children let the Cat in, but he is very persuasive promising that he will be good. But chaos ensues as he decides that The Fish should have a bigger place to swim in. When Thing 1 and Thing 2 arrive, they turn on every tap in the house and the children just can’t keep up trying to turn them off. They give in and hilarious hijinks occur as the house turns into a swimming pool. The Fish knows that the house must be fixed before Mother arrives home, and the Cat in the Hat comes up with some astonishing inventions to suck out the water, clean everything and scoop up the bubbles.
Art Baltazar’s illustrations are cute and the adventure he illustrates is very funny. The panels and dialogue are easy to follow and readers will relate to The Fish and his fears about the havoc that The Cat can perpetrate. Young readers could find Cat out of water a transition to chapter books, while younger children will be happy to follow the fun when it is read aloud and try to draw the characters at the back of the book. They are sure to want to read the second in the series The Grinch Takes A Vacation by Kaeti Vandorn.
Themes Fish, Cats, Graphic novels, Humour.
Pat Pledger
Three boys gone by Mark Smith
Pan Macmillan, 2024. ISBN: 9781761269868. (Age:14+) Highly recommended.
This is every teacher’s worst nightmare: an excursion gone wrong and three students dead. A relatively new teacher to St Finbar’s school, Grace Disher was the one who planned the outdoor education hike, briefed the two male teachers accompanying the group of high school students, and the only teacher to see the three boys somehow ahead of the main group, plunging into the rip-bound sea. She knows the first rule of rescue: don’t create another casualty. She knows that if she went after them she would have drowned too.
Grace’s decision sees her world spiralling out of control; she becomes the focus of a police investigation, sensational news reporting, and social media speculation, all on top of her own feelings of shock and grief. And it also gradually becomes apparent that someone has a vendetta against her.
Smith excels at depicting the vicious maelstrom of social media, the hacking of personal images, and the unrestrained onslaught of opinionated abuse. Even in personal and work relationships there is an undercurrent of questioning her decision, of words unsaid, and discomfort in her presence. She is not allowed to grieve with the parents of the boys; it is as though she is the enemy.
I thought the portrayal of the principal, Jim Sheridan, was especially well portrayed; in his mediation of his role as public representative of the school, his responsibility to staff involved, his accountability to the Catholic Schools Directorate, and his own personal grief over the loss of a nephew.
The fallout has consequences not only for Grace as a teacher, but also for her personal life, as her same-sex relationship with another teacher becomes spotlighted in a way that neither of them are prepared for, adding to the social media fuel.
For me, the issues that Smith explores of trauma, guilt, isolation, and persecution are inherently absorbing in themselves. It didn’t need the extra elements of the psychological thriller, which he adds as the novel progresses, that of the unhinged pursuer. But avid readers of the thriller genre may disagree.
There is some unevenness in tone, some switches in narrator view, that detract from the narrative, but overall this novel explore issues highly relevant to all readers, of navigating personal responsibility and stress, and the dangers of social media.
Themes Trauma, Guilt, Responsibility, Social media, LGBQTI+.
Helen Eddy
Every rock has a story: An A to Z of Australian Geology by Kitty van Cuylenburg. Illus. by Cher Hart
The cleverly designed cover and endpapers of Every Rock Has A Story: An A to Z of Australian Geology will immediately hook middle grade readers who are fascinated by rocks and minerals. With the cover showing layers of soil and what might be found when digging deep below the surface and the front and back endpapers sharing multiple items related to geology, this new release will be a valuable resource for students and teachers.
The double page contents table begins with an introduction and then the chapters are listed in alphabetical order beginning with A for Artesian and ending with Z for Zircon. In the final pages there is map of locations, a timeline, glossary and acknowledgements. The Introduction shares information about Australia, its rocks, fascinating facts and hints at the amazing geological wonders that are to be found if you know where to look.
Each of the 26 chapters contains information about one of the following areas: landforms, minerals, fossils or resources. For example, Chapter M is about a mountain, Mount Augustas/Burringurrah which is an inselberg - a large steep sided outcrop rising out of flat surrounding landscape - and is twice the size of Uluru. The double page spread for each chapter is thoughtfully set out with highly accessible paragraphs of information, images and illustrations in soft earthy tones, labelled tables, text boxes and a map.
This is a fascinating read and will be a fabulous reference book for a home, school or public library.
What a romp! Ibanez's novel opens with a marriage proposal: Inez is obviously in love with Whit, but at the same time unsure if she can truly trust him. I hadn’t read the first novel in this duology, but quickly realised there was some history between them. I didn’t need to know exactly what had happened because Ibanez launches into this new episode without complicated reminders. Readers can immerse themselves in this fantasy world and enjoy the book as a stand-alone. We know that Inez’s father is missing and her mother is involved in black market trading in Egyptian antiquities. There is a treasure, the Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra, the recipe for the transmutation of lead into gold, which everyone seeks, Whit included. This sets the scene for the dramas that ensue.
The characters are clearly stereotypes. Inez is the impetuous heroine determined to solve the mystery, whilst Whit is the handsome, steely jawed hero who, despite his disreputable persona, forever comes to her rescue. How can Inez doubt that he loves her? I enjoyed Ibanez’s depiction of these two people. I am sure that there is more than a little humour involved in their characterisation, particularly as she occasionally inserts Whit’s point of view into the narrative. We know that he has a secret plan, something hidden from Inez, but it is obvious to every reader that he will come good in the end.
For the reader who, like me, is drawn to this book because of ‘library’ in the title, alas, no library features until past two thirds of the way into the narrative, despite the exotic setting of Alexandria, location of one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. But the plot leads all the actors there and everything comes to an exciting climax in the Serapeum, the daughter library of the Great Library of Alexandria. Ibanez has clearly researched the background to this novel. Her ‘Author’s note’ reveals the depth of her historical research, something the fantasy reader might just take for granted in this light-hearted depiction of a past world.
‘Where the library hides’ offers a historical setting, a gripping romance, and a bit of magic for the lovers of fantasy. It has it all. Furthermore, I am sure there is a twist of wicked humour as the author creates her dance of deceit, trust and deception. I found it all highly engaging.
Beam of Light is a collection of 29 short stories, most of which powerfully evoke the people and landscape of the WA wheatbelt, where Kinsella grew up.
Best known for his poetry, here Kinsella masterfully displays his skills as a wordsmith. With a very small word-count he creates a thoroughly believable, evocative picture of the often-damaged inhabitants living hard-scrabble lives on the land and in rural townships. He instils his concerns as an animal activist, his preoccupation with the effects of colonialism on the land and its animals, and his experience of addiction, into the stories without being heavy-handed or moralistic.
His characters are invariably flawed, often battling addictions and obsessions, and negotiating difficult relationships, trying to reinvent themselves, and be their best. Drug-induced paranoia, and conspiracy theories drive the plot in several stories.
He clearly understands the issues facing people of all ages. Young characters try to make sense of the world; in Playing Chicken he explores young love and peer pressure. In Entertaining the Admiral adult morals and secrets confuse a young boy. Bullying surfaces in 7000 Wheelies.
Family dynamics are paramount in attempts to repair and build father/daughter, and husband/wife relationships. A jealous FIFO husband and a homesick wife circle each other in The Jacuzzi. Two father’s enmity affects their daughters in Ballet Class. In Abandoned a family man reacts to feeling overwhelming oppression.
Unreliable memories of a troubling time stir in Bonfire, and a moral quandary involving car theft drives Law of Necessity. The Invitation unravels a tense dinnertime conversation with religious fanatics.
Kinsella’s concern for the environment shows as people bond or disagree over the treatment of various animals in Burying the Rabbits, Fox Skeleton, and Ballet Class.
Several stories are set in Ireland, teasing out characters’ difficult relationship to locals and the land, building on a suspicion of ‘others’ and the need for ‘belonging’.
Kinsella masterfully controls the emotional landscape, in some stories injecting an underlying unease, in others an immediate threat of violence. Isolation in the bush is a recurring theme, and emotional abuse is often lurking.
This is an excellent read; easy as the stories are short, but difficult as we watch Kinsella’s characters struggle in cycles of imperfect behaviour, poor judgement and damaging obsessions.
Warnings; drug use, addiction, emotional abuse.
Themes Australia, WA, Resilience, Rural, Short stories.
Margaret Crohn
Tigg and the bandicoot bushranger by Jackie French
Twelve-year-old Tigg has had a difficult life, abandoned by family, and then raised from early childhood by a rough and tough woman who has worked as a ‘baby farmer’, but who now runs an equally rough bar near the Goldfields in Victoria. A life as a bushranger gives opportunity for Tigg to make some money and also to help the local Chinese man stay in a nearby area in his productive garden. But a shooting puts Tigg’s life and future at risk and the hidden details of a twisted life must remain undercover. The mystery of Tigg’s past and present then take a complex turn as Tigg must pretend to be a Chinese person on their way from Robe to the goldfields on The Long March. Can Tigg ever find their place in the world?
Jackie French has a wonderful way of uncovering Australian history and telling a compelling tale in the process. The personal troubles for Tigg are combined with the struggles for the Chinese people who came to Australia in its early Colonial years. This is an almost romanticised account of this history, a history that is sometimes brutal, but there is also a thread of love running through Tigg’s drama-filled life. It is a story that is easy to read and an enjoyable journey into the past. Jackie’s historical notes at the end of the book highlight the background research for the story. Readers aged 10-14 who enjoy historical fiction will enjoy this latest work by a respected and prolific Australian author. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Bushrangers, Australian history, Chinese in Australia, Goldmining history, Orphans.
Carolyn Hull
Saturday, Sunday Busy Day, Fun Day by Natalie Kate Forbes. Illus. by Danny Snell
For working families the weekend is a precious time to get things done and to have fun with the children.
The routine for Saturday is laid out in a list on the first endpaper, and reading through that list will have lots of events recognised by the readers, highlighting that their families do similar things on Saturday. Waking early, feeding the dog, and going swimming, intermingles with shopping, going to the library, then dinner, bath time, books and bed. Each rhyming stanza outlines the things the family does. On Saturday it all seems a mad rush as the sleepy family members force themselves out of bed, eating a very quick breakfast watching the clock to ensure all the activities will be done with no time to lose.
The words and illustrations show lots of movement, underlying the idea of Saturday having little time to fit everything in. A quick swim and then on to the shops, things falling around their feet as they rush to get it all done. A visit to the library is just as rushed as mum’s bag is pulled along, and books teeter on the shelves. The formula is all rush and hurry, as the family tries valiantly to fit it all in.
Turning the page is quite a contrast. Sunday is different as the family relaxes into their free day, the family all piling into the double bed, eating breakfast slowly together. Noise is the order of the day as the drum kit is used, and activities include the children digging in the garden to plant some seeds. Running through the sprinkler is always a fun thing to do, and lying down on their blankets, looking into the sky is a calming, quiet activity. When grandparents arrive, a picnic is shared, and after all this activity a long soaking bath is the order of the day.
The first half of the weekend, Saturday is all about rushing, while the second day the weekend, Sunday is almost the opposite. Things are taken slowly, quietly, calmly, welcoming visitors, playing with the dog, looking at the clouds.
Danny Snell’s wonderful images of a family at work and play, being active, eating together, bathing and going to bed are beguiling, showing the range of things the family does together both on a fast rushed day, and on a slow, calm day. The cover shows a frazzled family, taking long strides, doing lots of things all at once, intent on getting through the list. The bottom half of the cover shows the same family releasing on Sunday, food spread out on the picnic rug, a child reading a book while leaning on her father’s leg, another playing with the dog, and mum quite happily eating an apple. The contrast is amazing, and readers will quickly recognise the difference between the days offering things their families do on the weekend.
A loving family is shown in text and image, sharing the frantic moments on a day when a list is appropriate to get everything done, then winding down on the Sunday, a quiet, peaceful day for all the family to join together. I love the gentle humour of Snell’s illustrations, the clouds in the sky, the frazzled look on the parents’ faces, the dog with bubbles forming a hair piece, the accident at the supermarket: all supporting the idea of family and the things they do together.
Tor Books, 2024. ISBN: 9781035053575. (Age:Young Adult) Recommended.
In A Pirate’s Life for Tea, Rebecca Thorne delivers a strong fantasy adventure set in a world where piracy and tea culture collide. The story follows Kianthe, a powerful mage, and her partner Reyna, a former soldier, beginning almost immediately after the events of the first novel of the series, Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea. The couple have resolved many of the issues that threatened their idyllic life together in the previous book and are looking for a new adventure. All they’re really hoping for is a change of pace and a chance to see more of the world, but they quickly stumble into more trouble than they ever anticipated.
They reluctantly agree to help Bobbie, a constable working for a powerful lord, capture her childhood friend Serina, a former farmer turned pirate. What starts as a simple journey soon turns into a mess of unexpected danger, strange alliances and high-stakes choices. Especially as Reyna and Kianthe are finding it difficult not to meddle in the complicated relationship between their two new acquaintances.
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea is billed as a cozy fantasy, a subgenre of fantasy that focuses on comforting tales normally set in warm and inviting worlds. There is usually more focus on building friendships and communities and achieving small goals rather than epic battles or dark conflicts. However, in A Pirate’s Life for Tea there are more elements of a swashbuckling pirate adventure than a cozy slice-of-life tale. Readers of the first book may notice quite a sharp divergence from low to high stakes situations and challenges. Nevertheless, Thorne has crafted a whimsical yet heartfelt story with charming characters and plenty of humour.
12 year-old Dylan is about to start High School and change is hard. His friends from Primary School, Hannah, Gemma and Yusuf, are also navigating the big step up to life where new timetables, room changes, teachers and potential new friendships compete with comfort and uncertainty in this new environment. Dylan has the added factor to negotiate - he must do all things from the comfort of his wheelchair, an instrument of speed and agility, but also an occasional impediment to progress in a classroom environment (the science labs are not designed for wheelchairs). His disability does not stop him from participating in life - he loves gaming, creating digital music mixes and playing sports. But sometimes everyone else (except his old friends) seem to make life difficult or totally belittle him with their attitudes or comments. He knows that ‘life is not all about him’, but working out life and friendships can be hard.
The change from Primary to Secondary school is a life change all kids will recognise, so this book will suit those about to, or who have just transitioned to Secondary schooling. And Dylan Alcott’s perspective on how this might be different for someone with a disability is an important one, normalising participation in the school environment and reminding readers that kids are kids, no matter what their abilities, and that friendship dramas are universal. The character Dylan is not the only one with struggles, and restoring friendships requires maturing understanding into his own failings or lack of insight. (The dilemma of ramp access, doors that do not open easily for wheelchair access, the inaccessibility of disabled toilets and the unthinking rudeness of people who are not in a wheelchair are all issues that are presented in the course of the story, insights that are important for young readers to consider.) This book has a youthful cover and some cartoon-style illustrations that perhaps make it seem for a younger audience than Year 5/6/7, but it is a life-change story that has some maturity as it reveals life from the perspective of someone that is wheelchair bound. This insight is not deliberately trying to invoke sympathy, rather it reveals the abilities and human issues with a sense of humour and normalcy that is refreshing. It is an easy-to-read transition story, and I imagine that there will be more to come as Dylan wheels his way through life.
Themes Friendships, Disability, Starting High School, Gaming/coding.
Carolyn Hull
A new day by Emmaline Carroll Southwell and Heather Dryden
Affirm Press, 2024. ISBN: 9781922992345. (Age:3+)
Today's a new day, today's a fresh start. I move through this day with open mind and open heart. I release yesterday, letting go of what's done. Today's about joy. Today's about fun!
A New Day is a positive look at a day in a child’s life, reaffirming the hope that every fresh day brings, empowering children to navigate their way through life’s challenges.
If on this fresh new day, a child feels somewhat alone and concerned, then this book offers five strategies to get back on track.
The first is to stop and breathe. Quietly concentrating on breathing in and out is calming. Next is to look out for the good. This maybe simply taking in the natural environment, or talking to a friend. The third is to listen to how the body is reacting.Number four is showing kindness and sympathy to others, and this ensures others will be kind to you. And the fifth is having your family by your side, supporting, loving and caring. With all these at your heart, each day is fresh and new, positive and life affirming, full of positive people, family and friends.
Thisempowering look at the days’ routines are reflected in the illustrations, which show children in familiar situations, whether that be at school or home, in the street, in the woods, playground or with family or friends. A positive situation is shown in each illustration, reinforcing thepositive message in the text.
Children will see themselves in the illustrations, visiting, playing, cooking,and so on, as the images in the book cover all sorts of situations which are familiar. Support is shown by family and friends, neighbours and teachers, as each new day means a fresh start.
Practical tips to help children navigate their first days at school are offered by the author, who had a reticent child anxious about going to school. The five ways to help the child keep on a positive track can be practised by all children as they navigate life’s journey.
Tatty Mouse: Birthday by Hilary Robinson. Illus. by Mandy Stanley
New Frontier, 2024. ISBN: 9781922326980. (Age:3+) Recommended.
Tatty Mouse is back with another book in the delightful series about the little mouse that loves to recycle. This time she is preparing to make things for her friend’s birthday and children will love to follow her as she uses her tool kit and craft box to make amazing paper hats and wrapping paper. Most amazing of all she uses tin cans to cut out biscuits and to use as mugs for party drinks.
Author Hilary Robinson and illustrator Mandy Stanley have ensured that this series of book has immediate appeal to its young readers. The narrative is told in a few words and the little 'can-you-find' illustrations gain the attention of children who love to find small details on pages. The lift-the-flap pages are sturdy and will last multiple re-reads of the books. The items that Tatty Mouse makes in Tatty Mouse: Birthday by using recycled cans and paper are ones that children could also produce with the help of an older sibling or caregiver.
Mandy Stanley’s illustrations are bright and interesting. Tatty Mouse is a loveable character, very caring of her friends who are cute, and there are many small items on each page to draw the eye of children.
Allen & Unwin, 2024. ISBN: 9781760294762. (Age:13+, Young adult) Recommended.
In the near future, Will Helloran is living with his poet father in Canberra which is now under a protective dome due to extreme weather events. Many places in the world are now under climate-controlled domes, requiring close monitoring of the infrastructure to maintain their integrity. Domes are also vulnerable to attack requiring a vigilant border security. Fear of attack is something the government is increasingly using to justify taking more and more control of people’s lives with constant surveillance, mandatory government bulletins and 're-visioned' history. Will’s mother works alongside the Minister for Border Security and travels between the Sydney dome and Canberra. She tends to be overprotective, monitoring his life and pressuring him to make the move to Sydney to pursue government approved academic study. Monitoring with cutting edge technology sits uncomfortably with Will’s smart best friend, Ender’s personal boundaries. She and her twin are enhanced XD serum children and while her sister Magda is brilliant, she has problematic behaviours and the family live with the threat that Magda may be 'quenched' if she becomes unmanageable.
Will was very close to his Uncle Adam who invented a game called the Wilful Hunt, laying clues to be solved before finding Adam at the end location. He gave Will a sophisticated kite called Lookfar which can be remotely controlled through Will’s body movements. Adam is now dead, his death apparently natural and Will, nearly 17, is starting to have a recurring nightmare involving the end of a Wilful Hunt where Adam warns him of danger and a black dog gores him awake. As Will starts to spend more time in the dreamscape he follows Adam’s last hunt clues, like learning the rules of an online game; he also learns how this other dimension is spilling over into the real world and those with evil intent are threatening everything he values. He needs the trust and help of his friends and the haptic enhancement of Lookfar to survive.
The dystopian worldbuilding is convincingly done and worryingly possible. The main characters are quite complex as Will struggles to accept the death of his uncle, his growing feelings for Ender and his relationship with his very different parents. Ender rails against increasing government control while others blindly accept it, she loves her twin but has to live with the family’s daily struggle to protect her. The dreamwalker fantasy elements are vivid and explore how future technology might be able to harness our unconscious minds.
Many will have loved Isobelle Carmody’s fantasy series Obernewtyn and this stand alone is a welcome addition to her many publications. There are opportunities for discussion about climate change, technological advancements, government surveillance and propaganda but mostly this is a well-crafted, entertaining novel to be enjoyed by a wide range of readers. Teacher's notes are available.
Mr Lemoncello's fantabulous finale by Chris Grabenstein
Penguin Random House, 2024. ISBN: 9780593707944. (Age:9-14) Highly recommended.
Mr Lemoncello is at his best as ‘competition master’ when he plans an audacious final succession plan designed as a compelling competition amongst thirteen lucky 13-year-olds. They must explore and challenge themselves in an array of competitive tasks until there is one final winner of the chance to inherit the Lemoncello empire. Can they outwit and outlast all the other contestants, setting aside friendship and cooperation, until they are the last one standing? And does Mr Lemoncello have opponents who will try and destabilise all that the Lemoncello empire has built over the decades (and the previous books in the series)? Is this the end of all the games and fun and the Lemoncello theme park?
This is another wonderful journey into gaming, knowledge and literature that twists all of these threads into a tapestry of good-natured fun! I loved it! The kids involved are a combined mix of talent and endeavour, and readers will respect their multi-faceted ‘brilliant-ness’. The gaming nature of the challenges requires many higher-order thinking skills and respects and honours readers and even word play. This is a book series to recommend to avid readers, aged 9-14, who are thinkers and who love a bit of fun.
Themes Competition, Games, Challenges, Libraries, Theme parks.
Fans of the Formula One (F1) Grand Prix racing will enjoy this next book in the series about Australian driver Oscar Piastri who at 22 years of age was the youngest driver on the F1 grid in 2024. This highly accessible read about Piastri is set out in a novel format with black and white illustrations throughout, highlighted key words, graphic images and an abundance of information. Also included are tables, diagrams, maps, comparison facts, F1 terminology as well as the opportunity to learn about what goes on behind the scenes.
The coloured cover photograph of Oscar Piastri with a black and white photo inside is then followed by a detailed contents section beginning with an Introduction to Formula One sharing interesting facts. Chapter One gives detailed information about Oscar Piastri including the fact that both of Oscar’s grandfathers were mechanics and loved motor sport. Of interest in this book are chapters about two other Australian F1 legends, Jack Brabham and Alan Jones.
This racing legends series is perfectly pitched at those reluctant readers who prefer fact over fiction with illustrations/graphics to break up text and are motor sport enthusiasts.
Themes Formula One, Motor Sport, Drivers, Family, Competition, Biography.
