|
Amelia Dee and the Peacock Lamp by Odo Hirsch
Amelia Dee and the Peacock Lamp is a gentle story with some positive messages. It’s about making the most of the life you have and giving happiness to others, leaving bitterness behind.
Michael Sweeney’s Method by Sean Condon
Michael Sweeney’s Method is about the last year of school, about trying something new, about doing what your heart tells you and never regretting the turn your life has taken.
Starcross by Philip Reeve
Starcross is a delicious romp filled with time travel, giant Martian clams, a nasty race of alien top hats and a Douglas Adams-like race of beings who are knitting a World Cosy to cover their freezing planet and to this end have incorporated knitting into their culture.
Pool by Justin D’Ath
Longtime fans of Justin D’Ath, who have grown up with his books, should enjoy this one, and new readers will be happy to discover him.
To the Boy in Berlin by Elizabeth Honey and Heike Brandt
To the Boy In Berlin is told entirely in e-mail and postcards. It proves to be an easily read format for reluctant readers, because you can put the book down after each section.
Memoirs of A Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
Girls who like teenage fiction will like this one. It’s got boyfriends and teen problems and girls who don’t like you. “Worth checking out," says January’s reviewer.
Cold Skin by Steven Herrick
Verse novels are good for encouraging reluctant readers. Each “chapter” need only take a page or two and a lot of meaning can be conveyed in a few words.
Heart of Gold by Michael Pryor
The second book in the Waves of Magic series is great fun. Set in an alternative universe version of Edwardian England, the action here is almost non-stop.
Nim at Sea by Wendy Orr
With a Jodie Foster/Abigail Breslin movie based on the first book in this series due for a summer 2008 release, it seems likely that Nim at Sea will make some serious waves.
|
|
Earth: A Visitor’s Guide by Ian Harrison
Earth: A Visitor’s Guide is a book of fascinating facts and trivia for those readers who enjoy the type of fact soup found in the Guinness Book of Records.
Tomorrow All Will Be Beautiful by Bridgid Lowry
The author is well-known for funny, sad, gentle novels for teenagers. She does them beautifully but, despite the cover blurb and the enthusiastic endorsements from teenage girls on the cover, this book is not aimed entirely at young adults.
Worse Than Boys by Catherine MacPhail
In Worse Than Boys, we enter the world of school girls and their friendships and the things that turn them against each other.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Our reviewer finds some flaws in Rowling's final installment. However, they're not fatal flaws: she came away feeling satisfied that most of the loose bits had been tied up.
I, Nigel Dorking by Mary-Anne Fahey
Twelve-year-old Nigel Dorking is -- well -- a dork. We’ve all met the kind of boy who is short of friends and long on intelligence, with about a million facts at his fingertips, all of which he tries to impose on everyone in his range.
Living Hell by Catherine Jinks
Catherine Jinks is an amazingly prolific and versatile writer. From historical fiction to children’s ghost stories to science fiction to fantasy to suspense, she’s had a go at all of it.
Night of the Fifth Moon by Anna Criddor
The author of the Viking Magic series is back with a whole new arsenal of magic: this time set in ancient Ireland where magic is a part of everyday life.
Magic's Child by Justine Larbalestier
The final book in Justine Larbalestier's Magic or Madness series, Magic's Child is tightly written, a roller coaster ride all the way, with no wasted space.
Love Like Water by Meme McDonald
Meme McDonald’s young adult trilogy were coming-of-age stories centred around a young Aboriginal boy in present-day Australia. In Love Like Water, also on Aboriginal themes, the author travels back in time to the early 1980s.
Healing Our World by David Morley
We all know the expression, think globally, act locally, but David Morley takes it one step further, showing his readers how easy it is to put your body where your mouth is and actually get out there to make a difference, one pair of hands at a time.
Elysium by Catherine Jinks
There’s a lot of humor in Elysium and Jinks' style is as enjoyable as usual. What it doesn’t actually seem to be is a ghost story, or even a monster tale, or the paranormal adventure hinted at on the cover.
Un Lun Dun by China Miéville
China Miéville's first book for young adults works on all levels. Un Lun Dun will be a delight for its intended audience, but adults who love this author's work won't want to miss it.
See previous reviews of books for children -->
|
