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Colin Meloy’s UNDER WILDWOOD
Colin Meloy returns to the Impassable Wilderness in the second instalment of the brilliant Wildwood Chronicles.
All seemed well in Wildwood after Prue and Curtis rescued her baby brother from the clutches of the Dowager Governess. Prue returned home while Curtis stayed behind to learn how to be a bandit. But the peace Prue and Curtis won for Wildwood is on shaky ground.
Pure by Julianna Baggott
When I read this book I knew it would make a fantastic movie and Fox have bought the rights. It is an amazing novel and I still have pictures in my mind about some of the characters. When the detonations happened body parts were fused to other body parts,in fact any debris flying around were joined, just use your imagination! The Pures escaped this event as they live safely in the Dome. Those outside live in hunger, disease, ash and fear of gangs roaming around let alone fear of their damaged bodies. Partridge, a boy inside the Dome wants to escape and search for his brother. He meets Pressia, damaged but surviving outside the Dome. Unsettling and a bit creepy and totally original. I have never read anything like it.
Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck
Not another mouse book I hear you say but I really don’t think you can get enough especially if they are this good. An upstairs downstairs tale, where the humans live upstairs and the mice downstairs. The mice really know what is best for the family and even join them on a board the ship bound for England. The mice run from one situation to another and even have time to arrange a marriage. It is like a comedy of errors or a French farce. The illustrations alone are worth reading the book for. The story would be a great one to read out loud together. I will just give you one example of the fun. ‘When we are upstairs, or out and about, we naturally wear nothing but our fur. We wear clothes only when we are in our quarters.’ Naturally it is a mouse talking!
Tunnels of Tarcoola by Jennifer Walsh
No dragons and no time slips! I love a novel that is based on historical facts and set in Sydney. Four children start to poke around an old house and discover an underground world of tunnels. They have discovered the old mine shafts that used to give work to plenty of people in Balmain. They also find out about a world of servants and masters and of war and depression times. As they explore the tunnels they discover hidden doors and trapdoors, and encounter many hair raising adventures. I particularly liked the part when one of the four plunges down into a hole in the ground and the other 3 have to work out how to get her back out. It is a really exciting mystery with the thrill of the chase as the bad guys try to stop them discovering the secrets in the tunnels.
The Last Summoner by Sheryl Jordan
Ari longs to be a boy so that she can learn the secrets of dragon summoning. When the last summoner, her blind grandfather, makes one last trip to raise the dragons for the king Ari goes too, to act as his eyes. Together they raise dragons to fight in the king’s army. But the king is cruel to the dragons and Ari and her grandfather long to set all the dragons free. This is a well written novel for younger readers, a tale of adventure for both boys and girls.
by Kat Lamb
Wood Angel by Erin Bow
It is hard to describe the plot of this book without giving something important away. Lets just say that it is a sumptuous adventure tale set in a feudal world and interwoven with magic. The most compelling reason to read this book is Taggle the talking cat. I don’t know how many times he made me laugh out loud with his very cat-like attitudes. The other compelling reason is Plain Kate. A girl with very real fear who consciously decides to be heroic. A dark fairy tale very worth reading.
by Kat Lamb
Joanne Van Os’s THE SECRET OF THE LONELY ISLES
Jem’s world has been turned upside down by a family crisis, and then it gets worse. Just when it all seems too hard, along comes Ella, Jem’s great-aunt, who’s also a solo round-the-world sailor. She decides that what Jem, his sister Maddy and brother Tyler need is a sea change. What’s the mystery that Ella is chasing? Why does Jem keep having strange and troubling dreams, and what could they mean? And who is stalking them all? Very exciting. Chris
Would you like to be a book reviewer for Pages & Pages?
We have started a blog at Pages & Pages for readers at our bookshop to submit their own reviews. www.fanthepages.com
To start reviewing for us email a review of any book you have read to jon@pagesandpages.com.au . We will then post the review on this blog.
You can then come into the store and choose your next book to review from our advanced reading copies.
Each time you submit a review you can choose another reading copy
Reviewers of all ages welcome!
Y.S.Lee’s THE BODY AT THE TOWER Book Two in The Agency series
Book one of the Agency series is Called a Spy in the House. You don’t have to read them in order but you will want to read both. The agency is an all female detective academy set in the grimy underbelly of Victorian London. They are full of suspense, exciting and a great way to get a glimpse of a moment in history. Totally untrue of course as the choices for young women did not include becoming detectives! For the romantics there is the added interest of James who is showing a lot of interest in our heroine Mary Quinn.
Sonya Harnett’s MIDNIGHT ZOO
Sonja Hartnett is one of my favourite Australian authors. Everyone of her novels are different. In this book she writes a fable like story about war, children and talking animals. A book that would be great to read together out loud. Heaps to talk about. Sonja Hartnett won the prestigious Astrid Lindgren award in 2008.
Chris
Jon Page
