Crow Country

Kate Constable's latest book Crow Country just arrived in stock on Wednesday and by Thursday evening I had finished it. It is beautiful.

It's the story of Sadie, who has moved to a country town (which was NOT her idea of a good move) with her mum. Her weekend are apparently going to involve watching the local footy team get beaten and her mum forcing her to make friends.

Then when Sadie is exploring the cracked, dried bed of what used to be a lake she happens upon a curious circle of boulders. Drawn to them, she can sense their importance. A crow speaks to her and sets into motion an exciting, frightening time-slip mystery. If she can correct some old wrongs she might just be able to make amends in her present.

The characters are all brilliant, it's beautifully written and has Dreaming stories woven through the narrative. With mystery, love, feuds, family and friendship and a bit of magic Crow Country is a must read for 11+.

New Jackie French! Nanberry: Black Brother White

Nanberry: Black Brother White by Jackie French (Harper Collins)

For really, really good Australian young adult (and middle-grade) historical fiction, Jackie French has always been a winner - just look at titles such as Somewhere Around the Corner, The Night they Stormed Eureka, and her recent A Waltz for Matilda. With Nanberry: Black Brother White she delivers an excellent fictionalised account of the First Fleet’s settlement at Sydney Cove, spanning the years 1788 to 1823, and using real historical figures to do so. Nanberry is the young indigenous boy who grew up half-English, half-Aboriginal, adopted by the Chief Surgeon John White when Nanberry’s entire people were killed by an outbreak of smallpox. French gives us such a rich view of the colony and its everyday workings, weaving them into the story effortlessly and without the dreaded information “dump”. She also doesn't gloss over the nasty parts of first fleet colonial life, such as the treatment and plight of Aboriginals, the terrible treatment of women in the colony, the drunkenness and violence of both soldiers and convicts (they are the real ‘savages’ in this story), malnutrition and the ‘tyranny of distance’. All of the characters are well drawn, with distinct voices, and French offers two strong female characters in Rachel and Maria. Nanberry: Black Brother White is a powerful novel; it would fit excellently into the Australian schools curriculum but it will also satisfy any reader from 11 up, including grown-ups.

--Kate--

This review originally appeared in Bookseller+Publisher magazine.

2011 NSW Premier's Literary Awards

Winner of the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature:

My Australian Story: The Hunt for Ned Kelly, Sophie Masson (Scholastic)

Winner of the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature:

Graffiti Moon, Cath Crowley (Pan Macmillan)

Congratulations to both winners! Especially Cath, because she is a special local author and beloved by the Younger Sun. We even launched Graffiti Moon last year. We love it so.

Pics from launch:

That's Cath on the right.

And here's a Graffiti Moon cake:

And we cannot forget to offer our best Younger Sun congratulations to Libby Gleeson, who received the special award for all her amazing contributions to children's literature since 1985's excellent novel Eleanor, Elizabeth, which was one of my favourite and best books growing up.

Libby's latest book I am Thomas (illustrated by Armin Greder) is in stock now:

You can see all the other winners and find more information here.

Surface Tension

Surface Tension, Meg McKinlay (Walker)

The day that I was born, they drowned my town.

The town of Old Lower Grange was flooded to become a catchment on the day that Cassie was born. The town's Mayor pulled a lever, let the water in, and now all their houses are at the bottom of a lake and they all live in New Lower Grange in new houses that look just like the old ones.

Cassie is twelve now and she has to swim laps of the pool every day to help her lungs, which didn't develop properly on account of being born too early. One day, sick of swimming in the town pool (after a particularly disgusting "seven-bandaid swim") she goes down to the lake, to a spot that no one goes to - so she can swim in peace.

Liam, about the same age as Cassie and with a past that also distances him a little from people in their town, joins her at the lake and the two of them form a fast friendship and act as sounding boards for one another's theories when strange truths start to appear from the murky depths.

For the water level is dropping - revealing dead trees, forgotten objects and one humdinger of a mystery. Cassie is smart, she questions things, she has insight and listens to what isn't said - more so than any adult within these pages.

This is an eerie tale, a real page-turner and a wonderful read for anyone about ten and up.

The Friendship Matchmaker by Randa Abdel-Fattah

The Friendship Matchmaker, Randa Abdel-Fattah (Scholastic)

The first middle-grade fiction from the popular YA author. It is the story of Lara Zany, an eleven-year-old grade fiver who is the Friendship Maker of her school. Following the strict rule book she devised, her goal is to help students make and keep friends. Never deviating from her rules, Lara herself has no friends as she feels that would compromise her role at school. Then Emily Wong arrives and turns the rule book upside down.

A book about friendship, bullying, fitting in, and expressing one’s true nature.

A lovely fun read for 9+ girls.

A little bit like the fantastic Hating Alison Ashley (Robin Klein)

--Sarina--

Angel Creek, Sally Rippin

Our very own Clare wrote a lovely review, published in Magpies magazine, of Sally Rippin's latest novel Angel Creek.

The days stretch out long and hot and restless, Year Seven lurks in a vaguely intimidating manner on the horizon, and the summer holidays just aren’t the same when you are ten suburbs away from all your friends and familiar surroundings, with only annoying boy cousins to hang out with. So Jelly spends a lot of her time in the branches of the apricot tree or down by the creek, the only good things about the crumbly old weatherboard that is the new house.

On Christmas Eve though, Jelly, Gino and Pik find a broken angel in the creek, and everything changes. This is lovely, just lovely. The characters are instantly likeable and perfectly formed, making it impossible not to care about scruffy little Pik, with his chewed nails and determination to keep up, or Nonna, with her velvety cheeks and wrinkled hands, fierce hugs and attitude. Jelly herself is easy to relate to, because while she is a down to earth, resourceful kid, she isn’t perfect. The tiny, clever details the angel is given makes it just as real as the other, human, characters, and very likeable, with the lack of the traditional, simpering angel stereotypes making this screechy, snarly, demanding (grape peeling) otherworldly creature a force to be reckoned with.

I think this would appeal to fans of Martine Murray’s The Slightly True Story of Ceder B Hartley, as the flavours are reminiscent, but still wholly original, and the story bounces tangibly out of the page. Absolutely delightful, I loved it.

We all loved Angel Creek. Congratulations, Sally! And congratulations to Clare for such a wonderful review.

You're in the museum now and anything can happen!

Museum of Thieves 1: The Keepers, Lian Tanner (Allen&Unwin)

Blurb: In the city of Jewel, impatience is a sin and boldness is a crime and Goldie Roth is both impatient and bold. When she escapes the clutches of the Blessed Guardians to find haven at the Museum of Dunt, an unforgettable adventure begins that will unlock hidden mysteries, dark secrets and awaken dangerous enemies. The thrilling first book in The Keepers trilogy.

What we think: Well, to be honest I am only a chapter in. But already - totally gripped. The children of Jewel are attached, by chains around their wrists, to their parents when at home or the Blessed Guardians at all other hours - apparently to protect them from the dangers of the world. Goldie is instantly a likeable character - gutsy and curious - and I know I'm going to love her.

Now please excuse me so I can get back to reading...

--Kate--