Title: The Ghost of Gracie Flynn

Author: Joanna Morrison

Reviewer: Rhonda Bruce

Audience: YA 13+

"After my funeral, the three of them did their best to salvage things. They went to a coupe of films together and played Scrabble, drinking cask wine and discussing current affairs. But they knew it was futile." (Page 64)

Gracie Flynn is dead but she is not gone. Years later, her friends are reunited and Gracie tells her part of the story wistfully as the story weaves its way to the solving of her death and that of the murder of one of her friends.

Title: The Bravest Word

Author: Kate Foster

Reviewer: Donna Dobson

Audience: Primary

“I’m embarrassed and ashamed and filled with the worst guilt I’ve ever felt in my life. I’m a a failure. And I don’t think the world needs people like me. Instead of dismissing that thought, I keep it there, in my head, lingering, taunting. The world doesn’t need me.” (P173-174)

A timely book, dealing with the issues of mental health in a young boy on the cusp of his first teenage years. Matt is a believable character, with supportive parents and good friends. But Matt is tired, all the time, and has lost interest in school, sport and friends. Every day activities now fill him with dread, leaving him feeling ill and teary. He feels lost, alone and useless. 

Running parallel to Matt’s story, is Cliff, a dog who Matt and his dad discover abandoned and abused. Caring for Cliff, Matt learns that dogs can suffer from anxiety and depression, and he begins to recognise the signs within himself. This leads Matt to the bravest word…help. A sensitive, insightful read, particularly for 12-13 year olds, teachers and parents.

Similar books are “The Way of the Dog” by Zana Fraillon, “Talking to Alaska” by Anna Woltz and Laura Watkinson, ”August & Jones” by Pip Harry, “OC Daniel” by Wesley King, and “Runt” by Craig Silvey.

Title: Grace Notes

Author: Karen Comer

Reviewer: Rhonda Bruce

Audience: YA 13+

“This song has a grace note,

a tiny note that's there for

embellishment

but can easily be ignored,

not played.

Tonight, I add it in -

just because.

We can all do with an extra note

of grace” (Page 17).

Grace is a gifted violinist who wants to play violin for the rest of her life. James would love to be a street artist, who draws, paints and redraws and paints in his family garage. James sees Grace on Instagram playing the violin and paints her portrait in a Melbourne alley. Grace sees her portrait and sets out to find the artist. It's a great story set when the first COVID outbreak occurred in Melbourne. It's about learning to follow your dreams.

Title: The Little Match Girl Strikes Back

Author: Emma Carroll

Illustrator: Lauren Child

Reviewer: Donna Dobson

Audience: Primary

“I realised that people, working together for a purpose, could also achieve magical,                    magnificent things” (p175).

Unlike the traditional little match girl, this match girl proves more than a ‘match’ for the Match Factory Tyrants.

A simple retelling of the classic tale, reveals the horrid and poisonous conditions that young girls and women were forced to work in to earn money to support their families. This story takes place in Victorian times and subtly reveals what life was like for the poor, with the focus on the unhealthy conditions of match factories. Bridie, the main character sells matches on the street, but unlike the original little match girl, she is a determined, indignant and quick-witted child. After an incident, she is left with three crooked matches. By striking each match, Bridie gets a glimpse of the future, and it is enough to give her the courage and strength to stand up for what she believes in. But she doesn’t stand alone.

This story is further supported by the artistic flair of Lauren Child, who’s red, black and white illustrations depicting Victorian life with authenticity, and break up the story nicely.

A fast-paced historical novel, with quirky illustrations, suitable for primary school-aged readers. The book encourages readers to fight for what they believe in, and it’s magical a group of people can achieve.

Title: The Edge of Limits

Author: Susanne Gervay

Reviewer: Tom H (Year 11)

Confronting, empowering, and insightful. Susanne Gervay's novel, The Edge of Limits, is an emotional rollercoaster exploring the search for identity and finding one’s self in a confusing world riddled with expectations, unwritten rules, and unfamiliar experiences. Pulling from her own teenage children's experiences, Gervay artfully constructs an authentic story of a gruelling school camp through the lens of 17-year-old protagonist, Sam Knox.

The reader gets to follow not only the physical journey of teenage boys on a school camp–trekking through the bush, climbing sickening slopes, swimming in icy cold water and exploring a confronting cave–but also the heartfelt emotional journey that sees the characters grow and develop. The Edge of Limits is a coming-of-age story highlighting hidden qualities in people and the importance of talking about your feelings to better yourself and learn about others. It wholeheartedly grapples with pertinent issues relevant to both boys and girls, including consent, mateship, acceptance, and masculinity, making it an insightful and valuable read. However, what truly brings this book to life is the authentic voice of Sam, which is clear, strong, realistic, and nuanced, allowing it to make deep connections with young men. It's a book that keeps you turning the pages.

The Edge of Limits’ story is also blasted forward by the antagonist, Watts, the school bully who strikes fear and frustration into all who cross him. His character is scheming, power-seeking, evil, and has a twitching personality born from peer pressure, locked-up feelings, a lack of good role models, and not understanding healthy masculinity. These traits cast Watts as a core agent in driving home many morals, including the dangers of drugs, suicide rates, violence, and abuse.

While the reader builds an increasingly unpleasant image of Watts, we follow Sam's journey from a lost and confused teen into a more confident young man with a greater understanding of himself and his place in the world. He learns to stand up for what is right and surprises the reader by facing his fears and crushing what is wrong. This heroic character allows readers to form their own opinions of whether they want to be the bully or the hero. The book doesn't force anything; it presents good and bad values in action and guides the reader to choose wisely.

In terms of the beautiful imagery and plot, there were some minor things I noticed. Firstly, this is quite an intense book and generally suited to readers aged 15 and above. This is because the story has scenes and characters that are so disturbing or frustrating that it might trigger powerful emotions and leave unforgettable memories. And although this is where much of the book's value lies, younger readers should proceed with care.

The book also employs small flashbacks that dive into Sam's past and give more depth and clarity into his thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. These flashbacks are insightful, and I wish the book used this technique more often and in more depth.

So, will younger readers take the time and effort to commit to a book like this? Gervay sure thinks so, and after reading it, I agree. It's short enough to be approachable and long enough to engage the teenage brain and invoke actual, lasting change for the betterment of humankind.

The Edge of Limits helps boys find themselves. It shows them that  there's value in their hearts and shatters many stereotypes constraining men and women, allowing people to live happier, fuller, and freer lives.

It was a pleasure reading this book and a joy to rate it 9/10. Happy reading!

Interested to learn more about Susanne Gervay and her work? Then you may like to consider attending our next Professional Learning Summit: The Strength of Story (4 March 2023) where Susanne is presenting the opening keynote address "The Search for Identity is the Journey"

Title: The Sugarcane Kids and the Red-Bottomed Boat

Author: Charlie Archbold

Reviewer: Donna Dobson

A simple and fun read that children will enjoy as it does not take too long to read, and when getting kids into reading that is important. You want children to finish a book, feel a sense of accomplishment, and leaves them ready to devour another… and then repeat.

The Sugarcane kids are four young children who live in far North Queensland, so they know to keep an eye out for crocodiles, particularly a large saltwater crocodile called Sebastian.

Andy shares his time between his mum and his dad; each parent having a new partner, but they generally get along.

Andy enjoys the time with his mum, as his best friend Eli lives nearby.

The crux of the story is that Eli’s older brother Jacob is arrested for jewellery theft and his court case is looming. Whilst Jacob is in custody, Andy and Eli decide to investigate because they are certain that Jacob is innocent.

With the help of two other friends, and Andy’s sausage dog Washington, the foursome starts an investigation that takes them into the mangroves and into the territory of the legendary Sebastian.

Woven into the plot, are subplots of a schoolyard bully, diverse family situations, Aussie/Indonesian culture, and push-bike riding fun. This book engages the reader as it is simple, interesting, subtly funny, and contains enough suspense to hold the reader captive.

Title: Grandma Mary’s Factory

Author: Elizabeth O’Brien

Reviewer: Vicki Bennett

An informative story that explores the simplicity, yet complexities, of growing up in a multicultural community in Australia. The book explores the history of a family to keep this alive.

The descriptive language used creates a clear representation of Grandma’s Factory. The story explores the community and how they all support each other.

Each page has text highlighted to enhance the meaning of the work using Kerning–the visual representation enhances and highlights the importance of these words to explain what is happening in the factory.

Family and community is the most important message that I took from this book. The author is sharing her and her children’s memories of their grandma and mother.

It is a historical fictional picture book that is keeping the stories of the past alive.

Title: Ice

Author: Susan Brocker

Reviewer: Donna Dobson

If you are a boy who likes gaming, and your parents give you a hard time about the amount of time spend indoors on games, then this might well be a book for you.

The book starts with a helicopter crash into a snowy and mountainous part of New Zealand and the only survivor is a tracking dog.

The book then jumps to Zac, a young boy who is now living in Wanaka with his father, a hard man, and a kind step-mother, thoughtful step-sister, and a step-brother.

Zac feels out of place and prefers to spend time in his room gaming.

His step-mother takes him to a dog-shelter to choose a dog. This is where the tracking dog from the beginning of the story comes into it. A bond forms through the cage between boy and dog, and even though his step-mother has misgivings, this is the dog Zac takes home and names her Ice, because of the colour of her eyes.

Zak’s father is not impressed by Zac’s choice of dog and grumbles about his ability to handle a strong husky, so he sets Zac up with a job at a private wild life sanctuary, collecting animal dung. But things are not what they seem on the surface at the sanctuary.

Zac meets several characters, both good and not so good. Ice appears to be a good judge of character and either accepts a person or gets her hackles up with others. Unbeknown to Zac, Ice is recognised by the wealthy sanctuary owner and his henchmen as she is the dog they had secretly organised to come out from South Africa with her tracker.

This sets off a chain of events that sees Zac grow in confidence and determination to find out what is really going on. Why is a lion tormented, why are the elephants mistreated, what is underneath the sanctuary, and who is following Zac and trying to steal Ice?

Zac ventures into the wilderness with Ice, where Ice leads him to the site of the crashed helicopter and its deceased passengers, but they also discover a wrecked van filled with a cachet of exotic animal pelts and tusks.

Zac, who has limited experience in the wilderness and in dealing with ruthless henchmen, finds himself battling for survival. This is where his gaming skills and knowledge come in handy. In games, Zac is a hero, but in real life, his father thinks he is useless. But Zac uses survival techniques he has learned from playing games to outwit criminals, scale up out of a cave, and save his dad and step-family.

This is an adventure story that holds one’s attention from start to finish, and whilst far-fetched, kids, particularly gamers, will enjoy this book (and maybe feel that it authenticates their time gaming). And we all fall in love with the husky, Ice, and feel the loss of her handler as much as this sensitive tracking dog.

Title: Denizen

Author: James McKenzie Watson

Reviewer: Kellie Nash

Audience: Mature readers

James McKenzie Watson’s beautiful dedication to his mother at the start of this novel and the paragraph to her which ends the acknowledgements helps contain the brutality of this gothic novel within the pages of the book.

The story is told by Parker, a twenty-four-year-old music student living in Sydney. Parker travels home to the far west of New South Wales with his infant son to camp with friends. He has been troubled by a violent incident in which he was involved as a boy that left him believing something is wrong with his brain. The story switches between the present and the past as Parker recounts episodes in his young life that help inform the reader about events happening in the novel’s present. Parker and his mother are cruel to each other, while Parker’s father works long hours on their farm to avoid interaction with him. 

The characters are well written, and the plot is compelling, keeping the reader turning the pages even when you know it is better not to. The writing of Parker’s love for his son is exquisite. The country in the story will be familiar to many readers, with James drawing on his own memories of growing up and being educated in rural and remote New South Wales. 

This is a book that shines a spotlight on the devastating reality for many people in need of mental health care living in a small town in remote Australia.  While James has drawn on his own experience, this novel is not autobiographical.

Denizen is confronting. You would have to read this book before putting it on the shelf in your library. It is suitable only for your most mature readers. I would certainly talk with any potential readers to help them make an informed choice about what they were taking home with them. The writing is so good, an alternative to student borrowing would be to use extracts for students to study different writing styles.

Title: Solomon Macaroni and the Cousin Catastrophe

Author: Ashleigh Barton

Reviewer: Natalie Lincoln

Solomon Macaroni must cope with being left with his uncle and prank playing cousins when his parents go away for a holiday. A challenge for any kid, it is especially difficult for Solomon. His uncle is Dracula and his cheeky cousins play endless tricks on him that are far from amusing to the ‘young’ 552 year old vampire. A serious and studious child, he must navigate his way through his time with his extended family. The novel touches on themes of friendship, loyalty, family and letting go and having fun.

A sweet protagonist, fastidious Solomon is most concerned with the state of his cape, from its cleanliness, to how wrinkled it is and the pride he takes in ironing it. Amusingly (for a vampire), he is vegetarian – taking immense pride in cooking tofu bolognese. I absolutely adored Fred, his spider, who has packed his suitcase to join him on the journey, proving to be a trusty sidekick in moments of need. As a meticulous child, it is no wonder Solomon is challenged by his inventive Uncle Dracula and his Transylvanian mansion, fashioned as it is, on the inside, as a beach house. The five raucous cousins, themselves grieving the loss of their mother, add to the chaotic surrounds and Solomon’s discomfort.

There are some great moments of humour involving allusions to the storylines of Harry Potter and Twilight, alongside an intertextual nod to some classics, which could be teaching moments if used in a classroom. What I liked most about this novel, possibly from seeing a whole lot of myself in Solomon, was his learning that “sometimes, things were about creating a little bit of joy.” Solomon Macaroni and the Cousin Catastrophe, which would be enjoyed by primary school students, is an excellent reminder to have a little bit more fun. As for Solomon, I’m proud of his fortitude and bravery.

Teachers’ notes available for UQP titles via: https://www.uqp.com.au/books