Weekender books August-November - HUMOUR

I don't know where the last few months went, but here we are - it's December again and I'm trying to detangle all my notes and thoughts on books I have read between July and December, before the festive season sets upon us. 

Even during the pre-Christmas period life has been busy for me, with my first (and failed) NaNoWriMo attempt, reading, writing and submissions. 

Good news is that I've finally chosen the books I  read since the last Weekender post that I would like to give a shout out. Because there were so many across genres, I decided to group them and post them into HUMOUR, YOUNG ADULT, FANTASY and SCIFI, each with their own post. 

So, please watch this space, if you like my first instalment. Let's start with Humour.

HUMOUR

                               Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire by Nat Amoore

Give Peas a Chance by Morris Gleitzman

Toad Rage by Morris Gleitzman

Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire 

by Nat Amoore (Puffin 2019)

This is a delightful book about dreaming of riches and fame. I mean, what ten-year old hasn't wished to become a schoolyard millionaire? 

Tess Heckleston, heroine of this story, hits the jackpot when her dodgy, criminal neighbour hides a fortune in her backyard. When she finds a bag, filled with  exactly one million dollars notes, the possibilities to spend the money seem endless. Toby, Tess' friend thinks it's brilliant too but suggests the money should be spend for just causes only. They soon find out that spending all that money isn't easy. What's worse, spending the money AND staying out of trouble turns out to be impossible.

The dynamic relationship between the two friends, whose approach to life are quite different, is beautiful played out in their finding/negotiating common ground. Tess is the daring, risk-taking, bold and aspiring entrepreneur, who ceases any opportunity to make money; Toby on the other hand is the measured, caring, responsible philanthropist, who makes sure that Tess isn't losing her moral compass. Tess frames her story with the philosophical reflections (the chapters contain tips on friendship, business practice, prejudice, how not to be an idiot, for example) which are hilarious and mark her growth throughout the adventure of becoming a schoolyard millionaire. 

The story is funny and fast paced. Tess and her friend Toby are both well-developed characters, who demonstrate that friendship is about trusting and learning from each other, even when there is a difference in opinions. A hilarious debut novel that should bring in the money and make the author's dream come true (in a perfectly legal and well-earned manner!).

😛😜😎😆😂

Recommendation: A book that's hard to put down. I'm certain it will be devoured by most readers with glee.  8years +

Give Peas a Chance 

by Morris Gleitzman (Puffin 2007; 2016)

I'm a huge fan of Morris Gleitzman and have binged on his books in the last few months, which is why this is the first of two books in the one blog. Sorry! Couldn't help myself and narrow it down to one! Give Peas a Chance is a collection of fifteen short stories about all the important topics in life like greenhouse gas emissions, saving parents, school projects about dieting mums, strange names, a granddad's legacy, dogs, breakfast and microbes, germs, worms, text messages, prejudice and, of course,  peas (and world peace).

The stories are very different and would be great for sharing in a reading group. Some of the characters also appear in other books or are linked to other stories and worlds by Gleitzman.

Funny and witty, the topics touched on in these stories would make for great discussion points.

😜😂😂😂😎

Recommendation: A great book to read out aloud. The funny language and stories about  sometimes serious topics are beautiful and gentle conversation starters. 8years+

Toad Rage 

by Morris Gleitzman Puffin books 2000)

This is the story of unlikely hero, Limpy, the cane toad. To make the reader see the world through the eyes of one of Australia's most destructive, and perhaps most 'hated' introduced species, is a bold move by Gleitzman.  

And it definitely pays off. Through humour, wit and empathy, we learn that cane toads are no different to us: they care for their friends and family, they have dreams and aspirations, they wonder about life and - most importantly - they can be heroes against all odds.

What I like the most is that underneath the cute story about a not-so-cute animal lies another layer of meaning, usually found in fables: a moral that makes us see that a 'pest' - like 'beauty' - is in the eye of the beholder and that walking in someone else's shoes can change our perception of the world; a world that neither holds only right or wrong; good and bad. And there's a bit of political innuendo that the adult reader could read into this story of species invasion, too.

Limpy, the cane toad is an unusual, but convincing hero. If I ever come across a cane toad on the road, I'd have to thank Gleitzman to see, underneath the rather ugly, lethal  exterior, a big, beating heart.

🙈🙉🙊😎😳

Recommendation: This book is fast and deep at the same time, with a lot of cliffhangers at the end of each chapter and therefore a guaranteed page turner for readers 7+.

>>There you have it: three very entertaining, witty books about the world as we (most of us) don't know it. Delights for young and not-so-young readers <<

Weekender Books July

Weekender Books July 

Contemporary/ SpecFic YA - from my writing community

That's me, on the beach at Egmond aan Zee, North Holland,

all those years ago when I was eighteen years old

Photo: Matthias von Herrath

I'm so behind with my Weekender Book posts, it's not funny. It has been a very busy few weeks, starting with a new addition to the family, lots of writing competitions, attending a writing festival and finishing the first draft of my Middle Grade Fantasy fiction (nearly there). And - yeah, celebrating two publications this month: my feminist historical short fiction Katherina, The Sorcerer and Her Scientist Son in the Heroines Anthology, vol II (Neo Perennial Press, 2019) and my Dark Moments flash fiction, Metamorphosis, published online by Black Hare Press, Sep 2019. Still, I have been reading nonetheless (can't go without reading) a stack of books that are definitely worth mentioning.

So, here is a selection from my book stack I read in July. They are all debut OZYA (Australian Young Adult fiction) novels but very, very different, which I love about this genre: we get an earth shattering, apocalyptic scenario of survival of body and soul in Sky So Heavy; while How it Feels to Float dives right into the physical pain of grief and the destabilising effect of mental illness; and tender, first love tugs the heart strings in Making Friends With Alice Dyson.

Despite differences in subject matter, themes, language and style, all three books have at least a couple of things in common for me. They all resonate strongly with experiences, struggles and fears I had as a seventeen/eighteen year old (picture) that are still with me - in more ways than just through memory. The other thing they have in common is that they are all written by authors I have met in person or online. 

I have to say, reading books by my fellow writers from my writing community gives me that extra level of pleasure, I don't know why. I was lucky to attend a workshop run by Claire Zorn earlier this year, where she talked about this book and others. Helena Fox and I have been writing together and Poppy Nwosu is part of my online writing community. 

I'm so glad to add them to my authors-to-watch list.

 Making Friends with Alice Dyson by Poppy Nwosu

How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox

The Sky So Heavy Claire Zorn

Making Friends with Alice Dyson 

by Poppy Nwosu (Wakefield Press 2019)

Aaah, that last year at high school! We all remember it so well, don't we? So full of pressure to study hard, while so many unwanted distractions -- like school gossip and a very annoying yet fascinating boy -- shift the main focus all the time. For Alice Dyson, learning the one life lesson that year has nothing to do with grades and tests but with Teddy and the fact that you can't plan for everything in life, especially not friends and love.

Making Friends with Alice Dyson is a tender, romantic love story about the tugs of first love. But it is also tackling the theme of friendship. To me, this book was equally about the changing dynamics of friendship in all its guises (but especially the one you have with your best friend), and how it can impact on everything we do: our hopes, dreams, and the way we see ourselves. Alice's story conveys a real, contemporary world full of inner and outer conflict thrown at the protagonist, while standing on the edge of adulthood. 



💓👫💕💘😀
Recommendation: A lovely read on a sunny Sunday down at the beach. For readers who look for a love-not-at-first-sight contemporary YA story with a dash of sweet innocence!

How It Feels To Float 

by Helena Fox (PanMacmillan, 2019)

What can I say about this book? So much and yet no words (by me) can come close to what reading this book meant to me, so I'm not even sure why I want to try. Its beautifully evocative language enabled me, as the reader, to 'flow' through the story and 'touch' the pain of grief that comes with profound loss. 

Biz, a young girl in Year 11, has a lot to hold in: all the emotional turmoil that comes with juggling school, a father who still 'visits' after he suicided and she can't/won't talk about the things that matter until she finds her own way to deal with it all.

What's so beautifully captivating is that Biz tells her story through emotive words, composed in a way that feels like moving through clouds; they reflect the story's negotiating of the fluid stages around sexuality, gender, and mental illness. Here is a trailer of How It Feels To Float. The fact that the book is set in the Illawarra was the cherry on top (I'm totally biased, I live here)!


💙💚😢😀👀

Recommendation: When you need a cathartic read (you get tow for the prize of one: tears and laughter). Keep a box of tissues or handkerchief nearby. You will need it! 

The Sky So Heavy 

by Claire Zorn (University of Queensland Press, 2013, 2017)

This book had me hanging on the edge of my lounge, where I was reading the book in almost one session (I nearly fell off once or twice, because I was so engrossed by this gripping story? Or was it because my heart stopped once or twice?   I simply forgot completely where I was, while reading). 

This apocalyptic story set in the dystopian future that is now. It is such a timely reminder of what it means to be human, of being only a can of beans away from being the worst version of one self. It's also a reminder how volatile and outright deadly political game-playing is, in the nuclear age. 

When Fin's ordinary life as a seventeen-year old ends after some nuclear testing's gone wrong, he's faced with the apocalypse and its aftermath: He soon finds out that there is a line drawn by the authorities, between those who are chosen to survive and those who are left to die a slow death in the freezing cold conditions amidst an ever growing shortage of resources. Fin, his brother and friends Noll and Lucy, the girl who makes him want to live, regardless, make their way from the 'wrong' side of the line (somewhere in the Blue Mountains) to the other side (somewhere in Sydney), only to find that the hopeless despair on this side has just a different face.

💀💀💀💪❤😱
Recommendation: This gripping story will stay with you for a long while. Best to read it when you need a reminder that life can get a lot worse!

These books, I know, won't leave my library. I look forward to re-reading them one day and I hope you will, too. If you have read them, let me know what you think.

Weekender Books - June 2019

Weekender Books - June 2019

Weekender Books - Fantasy YA

Carl Heinzelmann, kobold (Artist: Freddy Iryss 2019)

It's been a while since I've posted my five-cents-worth on books I read. This is not because I haven't read anything, or the books that I did read aren't worth writing about. Quite the opposite, but sometimes life and other writing deadlines get in the way, as was the case in May and June. Overall, I can say though,  I've made significant headway working through my tsundoku  and my pile of brand new books that I bought recently (which I hope don't end up in my tsundoku pile!). The reason why I haven't posted much is, I have written a lot of short stories and poems, some of which have now been published, more details here.

Most of the books I read lately are Junior fiction and YA and have maps, dragons and other mythical and not so mythical creatures roaming their magical worlds. I also read a heap of other books but today I want to feature books about adventures in fantastical worlds!

I admit, I'm not impartial at the moment when it comes to fantasy fiction: my current WIP, The Helpers (working title only) is my first novel-length fantasy story, with MC kobold Carl Heinzelmann and his friends (drawing is of a young Carl Heinzelmann. I hope I can manage to draw him as the fourteen year old MC of my story).

So, let's begin!

Wundersmith by Jessica Townsend

The Mapmaker Chronicles by A.L.Tait

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

Wundersmith - The Calling of Morrigan Crow 

by Jessica Townsend (Lothian Children's Books)

I read Nevermoor when it first came out in pretty much one sitting. It was a new world I was drawn into, with an unusual heroine and her friends leading the way. Wundersmith is the sequel, which took me much longer to read. Morrigan Crow finds herself facing a threat to her new life which she'd come to cherish. This time, the threat comes from within herself and others. Entangled in good versus evil magical forces, Morrigan needs to prove that she belongs in the elite Wondrous Society, against all odds and the workings of an unexpected enemy.

This book is about Morrigan defending her place in her new home and family, which includes a mostly absent guardian and father figure, Jupiter North, and Fenestra, a 'magnificat'. I really enjoy the way each character's name has a double meaning: Jupiter North may not be god-like but he is pretty much one of the most important people at Nevermoor when it comes to its safety. Fenestra means window in Latin and she's the housekeeper who seems to know it all. The book is also about team building and team play and the cost that come with it.

Wundersmith is a logical sequel to the brilliant Nevermoor, and will have most fans sitting on the edge of their beds at night.

For everyone who invested in Morrigan in the first book and who wants to see the her succeed as a scholar of the Wondrous Society and as a trusted friend.

😼😼🙀🙀👀

Recommendation: The fast paced, action driven plot set in a unique world will keep the reader entertained to the last page. For readers 9+

The Mapmaker Chronicles - Race to the End of the World

by A.L. Tait (Lothian Children's Books)

Farmboy Quinn is chosen for the King's training school of mapmakers and ends up on board a ship, racing to the edge  to create a map of the world for which the King has promised a handsome prize.

I first heard about this fun, action-packed sea adventure series when the author, A.L. Tait, read at the Sydney Writers' Festival - Live and Local at the Wollongong town hall a few years back, hosted by the South Coast Writers Centre and Merrigong Theatre. 

Even before the readings began, I immediately was drawn to the fabulous covers when I saw the books at the book stall. Yes, books, because Race to the end of the World is the first in a series of four. I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to book covers and have purchased many books based on that alone (unfortunately!). While some of those have turned out to be duds, the book behind this cover delivers on the swashbuckling, seafaring adventures it promises! There aren't enough seafaring, monster-filled mystery adventure books out there at the moment and the Mapmaker Chronicles series caters for those who love stories with pirates, sea and other monsters shaking the world of the likes of young adventurer, Quinn. 

This is a great sea adventure, full of action set in a time long gone, with characters that resonate in readers of today.

💀🐋🌊🌎🔱📜

Recommendation: Readers who look for adventure stories that are set in times long gone by but not forgotten, full of twists and turns and mystery, will love to follow Quinn in his quest to map the world. For Readers 9+

Dragon Rider

by Cornelia Funke (Chicken House 2017, orig. Drachenreiter, Dressler Verlag 2000)

As humans encroach on their hideout, the dragons only hope is to find a mythical place their forefathers once called home. Dragon Firedrake and brownie Sorrel set out to find the dragon sanctuary with the help of a boy, called Ben. 

This book reminded me a bit of the books I read when I was a kid, like The Never Ending Story, by Michael Ende and The Wonderful Adventures of Niels Holgersson, by Selma  Lagerlöf. The adventure filled travels of a dragon a brownie and a boy is written in classic fairy tales style and introduces mythological creatures and places as they appear along the way. 

While it may conjure nostalgic feelings for the adult reader, it is a safe story for children 7+ who don't like the violence that often have a place in contemporary children's fantasy fiction. Oh, and the book has a map of the trio, crossing three continents!

🐉🐲🧚🧝🌄🌖

Recommendation:  This is a great epic adventure story for younger readers 6+