The One and Only Jack Chant is available now in both paperback and eBook format where all great books are sold.
Thank you the fabulous Lara and Allen and Unwin
Check out My Review
Written by Rosie Borella
Published in Australia March 2014
311 Pages
Thank you to Allen and Unwin
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★★★★☆
Sixteen year old Amber never expected to find romance while working in an old people's home... But then Jack Chant is not what she expected either. He's young, exciting and enigmatic, and deeply troubled by something that happened in his past, something he can't quite remember. Gradually Amber suspects that Jack's past might be a whole lot further back in time than he realises. Is he solid flesh and blood, or just some kind of dreamy fantasy?A sweetly romantic coming of age story in which Amber learns more than most teens about getting old, falling in love and letting go.
Amber has just passed her carer's course and is now looking to apply for a full time position at Tranquil Banks Nursing Home, where she completed her practical assessment. While her friends have moved on to university, Amber is at a loss of what she wants to do with her life, deferring her further studies. At home, her parents expect Amber to be the adult, far too much responsibility than her sixteen year old self should shoulder. But with the lure of a full time job, Amber will be able to escape from home, earn her own money and save to flee Stockford and move onto university. Surely working at Tranquil Banks would give her the sense of freedom she so desperately needs.
The residents at Tranquil Banks are certainly entertaining. Floss who doesn't speak, rather than screeches out Bloody Murder and clucks along with nursery rhymes. Mister Hatchett who is Amber's former math teacher, stealing anything that isn't nailed down while telling tall tales of the many lives he's lead. The staff vary from kind hearted and caring, to lazy and perfectionists, but none more neglectful than Mrs Ingersoll. The woman simply known as The Eye, rules the home with an iron fist. Always short staffed, residents going hungry and verbally abused by the woman who also owns Tranquil Banks. Thankfully being relegated to the night shift has it's benefits, The Eye's absence being one of them.
Riding Warpaint has always been an escape, Amber's horse who brings a sense of freedom to her small world. Allowing her to visit next door neighbour, elderly resident Mrs Maitland. Although in her eighties, the widow lives alone, bakes and tends to her garden. She lives a life of solitude, with both her grown children having moved to the city, and rarely seen to return back to the family home. But when Mrs Maitland has a nasty fall, she's in need of care. Her family won't allow her to interrupt their own lives, so she's placed into care at Tranquil Banks.
With the stress of navigating work, home and fighting for the rights of Mrs Maitland, Amber stumbles across a campsite down by the river. A boy, not much older than she. He refuses to answer questions, and only provides cryptic clues of his own. But who is he? Well spoken and impeccably dressed, there is something strange about him that Amber can't quite put her finger on. So when he shows up at Tranquil Banks, naturally chaos ensues.
His name is Jack Chant and he can't remember why he's there, only that he feels drawn to Tranquil Banks. The last thing he remembers is fleeing the oppression at home to join the circus. Amber finds herself inexplicably drawn to Jack, and the sense of fun and mystery he brings to the sleepy town of Stockford. But will Amber allow the boy with nothing to offer but a smile, a chance to make a difference in her world and change her life in the process?
Kelly's Thoughts
The One and Only Jack Chant was wondrous. It follows the story of Amber, who is trying to find her place in the world. Like so many teenagers, Amber feels the pressure of the expectations to not only help out at home, but be a responsible adult. Nothing exciting ever seems to happen, and Amber feels as though the world has left her behind. Her best friend has left for university and since found a new life, one that doesn't include Amber. So when the mysterious Jack Chant comes to town, Amber is naturally attracted to the thrill of a mystery.
Even though the title may elude to the book being all about Jack, it isn't. It's strangely magical, allowing the reader to interpret the storyline to suit the individual. Where I see Jack as a metaphor, another reader may see him as a romantic protagonist who brings life to the story. But Jack is both. It wasn't Jack's character that drew me in, it was the idea of Jack himself. Magical, a conscious voice who brings sense of fun, in what could be described as a unsatisfying existence for both Amber and the residents of Tranquil Banks. Jack is a beacon of hope, he's that little voice in your thoughts that encourages you not to sit back, but to take a stand, create your own adventure and help those less fortunate than yourself.
I absolutely adored it.
Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer
Written by Katie Alender
Published in Australia September 4th 2013
296 Pages
Thank you to Scholastic Australia
Twenty first century girl. Eighteenth century ghost. Heads will roll.
The city of light just got a little darker. . . .
Colette Iselin is excited to go to Paris on a class trip. She'll get to soak up the beauty and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family's French roots. But a series of gruesome murders are taking place across the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours museums and palaces, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: A pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks suspiciously like Marie Antoinette.
Colette knows her popular, status obsessed friends won't believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they uncover a shocking secret involving a dark, hidden history. When Colette realizes she herself may hold the key to the mystery, her own life is in danger...
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online bookshops, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course eBooks. Hosted by Tyngas Reviews.
News
● Dre over at Sporadic Reads and I have decided to indulge in matching superhero mugs. Naturally it's the next step after matching spandex and capes.
● I won a double pass to see Vampire Academy, with thanks to Braiden at Book Probe Reviews.
● By the time you read this, my Afterworld giveaway may be over. If you weren't moving at turtle pace, you could have entered.
Publisher Paperbacks
Looking For JJ by Anne Cassidy. Book one in the Jennifer Jones series. With thanks to Scholastic Australia.
Dangerous by Shannon Hale. With thanks to Bloomsbury Australia.
Enmity by E. J Andrews. Thank you to Harlequin Australia.
Dangerous by Shannon Hale. With thanks to Bloomsbury Australia.
Enmity by E. J Andrews. Thank you to Harlequin Australia.
Take Back The Skies by Lucy Saxon. Incredible series by a nineteen year old author. A big thank you to Bloomsbury Australia.
Tales From The Half Continent by D. M Cornish. Thank you to Scholastic Australia.
And thanks to Braiden from Book Probe Reviews and Studio Canal Australia, this week I won a double pass to see the Vampire Academy movie. Thanks Braiden. Go check out his blog, it's incredible.
Purchased Paperbacks
Halo, Hades and Heaven by Alexandra Adornetto. The entire Halo series. I tried reading book one previously, but lately have a greater appreciation for Australian Authors, so decided to buy the series and give it another go.
Now it's time to show me your goodies.
Tandem (Many World: Book One)
Written by Anna Jarzab
Published in Australia February 3rd 2014
448 Pages
Thank you to Random House Australia
Everything repeats.
You. Your best friend. Every person you know.
Many worlds. Many lives, infinite possibilities.
Welcome to the multiverse.
Sixteen year old Sasha Lawson has only ever known one small, ordinary life. When she was young, she loved her grandfather's stories of parallel worlds inhabited by girls who looked like her but led totally different lives. Sasha never believed such worlds were real - until now, when she finds herself thrust into one against her will.
To prevent imminent war, Sasha must slip into the life of an alternate version of herself, a princess who has vanished on the eve of her arranged marriage. If Sasha succeeds in fooling everyone, she will be returned home; if she fails, she'll be trapped in another girl's life forever. As time runs out, Sasha finds herself torn between two worlds, two lives, and two young men vying for her love - one who knows her secret, and one who thinks she's someone she's not.
Tandem is a riveting saga of love and betrayal set in parallel universes in which nothing, and no one, is what it seems.
Doomed
Written by Tracy Deebs
Published December 10th 2014
480 Pages
Published by Bloomsbury, provided by Allen and Unwin
Pandora’s an average teen, glued to her cell phone and laptop, until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring photos of her as a child. Curious, Pandora enters the site, unwittingly unleashing a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there’s no Internet. No cell phones. No traffic lights, hospitals or law enforcement. Only Pandora’s Box, a virtual-reality game created by Pandora’s father, remains up and running. Together with her neighbors, gorgeous stepbrothers Eli and Theo, Pandora must follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father—and rescue the world. Part The Matrix, part retelling of the Pandora myth, Doomed has something for gaming fans, dystopian fans, and romance fans alike.
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Eleven (The Last Thirteen: Book Three)
Written by James Phelan
Published in Australia February 1st 2014
192 Pages
Thank you to the wonderful Scholastic Australia
This is it. My nightmares have finally come true.
Sam's deepest fears become real as his enemies grow more numerous and ever-more powerful. Struggling to stay one step ahead, Sam must locate 11 more Dreamers and solve the next piece of the puzzle.
Can Sam and his allies unlock the secrets of an ancient journal to reveal their final destiny? Sam is far from home, with the fate of the entire world in his hands.
He must find the last 13. The race is on.
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