Rate the book: 9
Nick is the bassist for a punk band with an ever changing name, and he's just had his heart broken. Norah doesn't know what she wants, and thinks she's ruined her life, by making all the wrong decisions just to annoy her super rich, music executive, father.
Nick and Norah are thrown together in one incredible night in New York City, that will change their lives.
This was a fantastic book, which has been made into a movie (due out in March '09, I think) and is really all about friends, love, and life in general; but mostly it's about music. And without sounding too sickening; the music of life. I'd recommend it to young adults; it's all sex, drugs, and lots and lots of swearing, but definitely an amazing read, totally romantic in places - not like a Mills and Boom romance novel, but really cool 'why-doesn't-this-happen-to-me-style' romantic. Read it!! It's fantastic!
----reviewed by kate
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Books - The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney by Suzanne Harper
Rate the book: 7.8
Sparrow just wants to be a normal 15 year old. But its hard to be normal when you are the youngest of seven sisters all named after birds, your grandmother practices Karate on you, there are baboon skulls decorating your front porch, and four of granny's husbands buried in the backyard. And you can see and talk to ghosts. Unfortunately for Sparrow, she is an amazing medium, and every ghost in the world knows it; although she does her best to ignore their constant requests for help. However when she starts at her new high school she meets two very nice boys; one's alive, but the other is dead, and Sparrow is the only person who can help them both.
This was a great story, and I'd recommend it to 12+ readers. The supernatural theme is really nicely handled, and it's definitely worth a read.
----reviewed by kate
Sparrow just wants to be a normal 15 year old. But its hard to be normal when you are the youngest of seven sisters all named after birds, your grandmother practices Karate on you, there are baboon skulls decorating your front porch, and four of granny's husbands buried in the backyard. And you can see and talk to ghosts. Unfortunately for Sparrow, she is an amazing medium, and every ghost in the world knows it; although she does her best to ignore their constant requests for help. However when she starts at her new high school she meets two very nice boys; one's alive, but the other is dead, and Sparrow is the only person who can help them both.
This was a great story, and I'd recommend it to 12+ readers. The supernatural theme is really nicely handled, and it's definitely worth a read.
----reviewed by kate
Friday, December 19, 2008
Books - To Dance: a Ballerina’s graphic novel by Siena Cherson Siegel with artwork by Mark Siegel
This is the story of Siena as she realises her childhood dream of becoming a ballerina. The story starts off in Puerto Rico with Siena as a 6 year old discovering about the world of dancing and then following Siena’s life as she decides that she wants to be a ballerina. The story then follows Siena as she pursues this dream to New York and onto the stage. The story also follows what is happening in Siena’s family life and how this affects her by spending more time working on her dancing.
The illustrations in the story draw the reader into Siena’s world. Through the graphic illustrations the story starts on the end pages of the book at both the beginning and the end. The words and the graphics work very well together and the story in an interesting insight into why people dedicate themselves to the world of dance. I found this story to be a great and enjoyable read but also one that makes the reader aware of what drives people to dedicate themselves to something like dance.
----reviewed by sarah
The illustrations in the story draw the reader into Siena’s world. Through the graphic illustrations the story starts on the end pages of the book at both the beginning and the end. The words and the graphics work very well together and the story in an interesting insight into why people dedicate themselves to the world of dance. I found this story to be a great and enjoyable read but also one that makes the reader aware of what drives people to dedicate themselves to something like dance.
----reviewed by sarah
Books - Broken glass by Sally Grindley
Our lives are fragile- one minute we are up the next down in the gutter. This is just the case for two the brothers in the novel, Broken glass by Sally Grindley. Suresh and Sandeep leave after their father loses his beloved mother and his job and becomes abusive, towards their mother and them. Sadly, the boys believe that things will improve for their mother if they are no longer around.
This is a powerful story of the hardships encountered by the boys in a large city in India. The only way they find of making, what turns out to be a pittance, to exist on, is to pick their way through mountains of rubbish in search of broken glass. However, amongst the seeming hopelessness of their lives, the boys find time to enjoy the pleasures of companionship with other street kids, through a simple game of cricket. A masterful novel, that allows the reader to imagine themselves running through the streets of India along with the other unfortunates.
----reviewed by pia
This is a powerful story of the hardships encountered by the boys in a large city in India. The only way they find of making, what turns out to be a pittance, to exist on, is to pick their way through mountains of rubbish in search of broken glass. However, amongst the seeming hopelessness of their lives, the boys find time to enjoy the pleasures of companionship with other street kids, through a simple game of cricket. A masterful novel, that allows the reader to imagine themselves running through the streets of India along with the other unfortunates.
----reviewed by pia
Books - Birth Of A Warrior by Michael Ford
Birth of a warrior by Michael Ford is a fast paced adventure story. The second in the series entitled Spartan Warrior, it is not necessary to have read the first, The Fire of Ares, to have a full understanding of the story as Ford artfully intersperses relevant details throughout. However the reader will want to devour the earlier title as well.
Lysander is a half breed, the son of a Spartan Warrior and a Helot slave, and is continually having to prove himself even to the extent of being forced to whip his old Helot friend, Timeon. Training to become a Spartan warrior is difficult and full of dangers. As part of this training, Lysander is sent into the mountains with only a small amount of water and bread, to face the Ordeal, a five day test with his old enemy Demaratos as a companion and another boy, Agesilaus as their guide. Each must use their wits, strength and sheer will to survive. Lysander soon discovers that Agesilaus means to sabotage his every move.
Boys will love this book. It has all of the ingredients to captivate them. Filled with fascinating historical detail, Birth of a Warrior is energetic and gritty. It is both enjoyable and entertaining whilst 'teaching' the reader about life and friendship.
----reviewed by pia
Lysander is a half breed, the son of a Spartan Warrior and a Helot slave, and is continually having to prove himself even to the extent of being forced to whip his old Helot friend, Timeon. Training to become a Spartan warrior is difficult and full of dangers. As part of this training, Lysander is sent into the mountains with only a small amount of water and bread, to face the Ordeal, a five day test with his old enemy Demaratos as a companion and another boy, Agesilaus as their guide. Each must use their wits, strength and sheer will to survive. Lysander soon discovers that Agesilaus means to sabotage his every move.
Boys will love this book. It has all of the ingredients to captivate them. Filled with fascinating historical detail, Birth of a Warrior is energetic and gritty. It is both enjoyable and entertaining whilst 'teaching' the reader about life and friendship.
----reviewed by pia
Books - Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan's latest offering, Tales from Outer Suburbia, is a whole package that is to be poured over countless times. From the intriguing front cover, of a dog sitting on a television set, that pulls the reader, most insistently, into the book, to the back cover. The 15 stories contained within are thought provoking, they cling to the reader, like survivors of a shipwreck holding on to the remains of the ship, even though the book has been closed. Initially, with casual reading. the stories appear fantastical and even, a little weird - surely a water buffalo could not exist in a suburban landscape, and certainly would not be directing the inhabitants. Delving deeper into each story, though, the reader finds meaning in the stories, even words of wisdom. The illustrations, whose media vary from crayon, pencil, paint and collage, add further meaning and delight to a reading of the tales.
To select favourites from the 15 wonderful stories (fables), is no easy task, However the tale of Eric the foreign exchange student is a special delight amongst many. It is easy to imagine a classroom teacher reading this without the illustrations and asking the students to picture Eric. How amazed they would be to view Tan's Eric? Or what about Grandpa's Story? Or distant rain? It leaves only one thing more for this reader to say, GO, GO quickly, grab a copy of Tales from Outer Suburbia, find a quiet place to sit, then don't move till you have read every word and examined every illustration, over and over again. It will thrill and delight you!
----reviewed by pia
To select favourites from the 15 wonderful stories (fables), is no easy task, However the tale of Eric the foreign exchange student is a special delight amongst many. It is easy to imagine a classroom teacher reading this without the illustrations and asking the students to picture Eric. How amazed they would be to view Tan's Eric? Or what about Grandpa's Story? Or distant rain? It leaves only one thing more for this reader to say, GO, GO quickly, grab a copy of Tales from Outer Suburbia, find a quiet place to sit, then don't move till you have read every word and examined every illustration, over and over again. It will thrill and delight you!
----reviewed by pia
Books - Rhyming Boy by Steven Herrick
Rhyming Boy is award winning author Steven Herrick's first foray into prose novels. It is about one young boy's search for identity. Obsessed with words, dictionaries and the Guinness Book of Records, Jayden Hayden (hence the nickname “rhyming boy”) lives with his single Mum, who is equally obsessive, but in her case with football and football players. One player in particular, Jayden Finch, to such an extent that she named her only child after him!
Life is fine, until the day the School Principal announces a program called Boys and Books and Breakfast. The Upper Primary male students are invited to bring along their favourite books and their Dad. With the help of new girl, Saskia, Jayden finds, not only his father, but also himself.
Rhyming Boy is a novel that touches Jayden's life sensitively. Herrick, as always, uses humour to great effect throughout the tale. Herrick's latest does not have the depth of his verse novels but, nevertheless, teenagers will see their own lives reflected in its pages.
----reviewed by Pia
Life is fine, until the day the School Principal announces a program called Boys and Books and Breakfast. The Upper Primary male students are invited to bring along their favourite books and their Dad. With the help of new girl, Saskia, Jayden finds, not only his father, but also himself.
Rhyming Boy is a novel that touches Jayden's life sensitively. Herrick, as always, uses humour to great effect throughout the tale. Herrick's latest does not have the depth of his verse novels but, nevertheless, teenagers will see their own lives reflected in its pages.
----reviewed by Pia
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Books - Twilight by Stephenie Meyers
Rate the book: 5.5
I know this is the biggest book in the world at the moment, but it just wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I'd been really looking forward to it, and had waited ages in the huge library line, before I gave up and went and bought my own copy. I figured I'd love it and I wanted to own it. But now that I've read it...
It is long, and it doesn't have to be that long, because it's really repetitive, and overly detailed. The first half of the book is really slow. We read about every class Bella takes at school, every meal she eats, and every bit of homework she does - even on days when she doesn't see Edward! There's no need for those days to even be in the book! Finally about half way the action starts, but that's mostly just Edward saying "Are you scared of me?" and Bella saying "No", even though she really is. Neither of them have any personality at all - no one in the entire town has any personality!
Then there's a huge build up to the climax at the end, which just fizzles into nothing.
I know everyone wants to read this at the moment, and once the movie comes out, it will no doubt be even bigger, but it's just disappointing. If you have to wait in a line of 500+ people, you want to make sure it's worth it, and sadly this just isn't.
----reviewed by kate
I know this is the biggest book in the world at the moment, but it just wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I'd been really looking forward to it, and had waited ages in the huge library line, before I gave up and went and bought my own copy. I figured I'd love it and I wanted to own it. But now that I've read it...
It is long, and it doesn't have to be that long, because it's really repetitive, and overly detailed. The first half of the book is really slow. We read about every class Bella takes at school, every meal she eats, and every bit of homework she does - even on days when she doesn't see Edward! There's no need for those days to even be in the book! Finally about half way the action starts, but that's mostly just Edward saying "Are you scared of me?" and Bella saying "No", even though she really is. Neither of them have any personality at all - no one in the entire town has any personality!
Then there's a huge build up to the climax at the end, which just fizzles into nothing.
I know everyone wants to read this at the moment, and once the movie comes out, it will no doubt be even bigger, but it's just disappointing. If you have to wait in a line of 500+ people, you want to make sure it's worth it, and sadly this just isn't.
----reviewed by kate
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