Searching For Sky
Written by Jillian Cantor
Published July 3rd 2014
288 Pages
Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia
River means everything to Sky. They have lived alone together on Island for as long as they can remember. The two of them hunt for food, wash in Falls and curl up together in Shelter. Their life is simple and safe. Until River sees a boat . . .Across Ocean is California, a place where nothing makes sense to Sky. She is separated from River and taken to live with a grandmother she doesn’t know. Lost and heartbroken, Sky searches for him so they can return to Island, only to find out that their paradise wasn’t as perfect as she thought, and everything she’s ever known and loved may have been a lie.A gripping and beautifully told story of love and survival in a hostile world... Ours.
Flirty Dancing
Written by Jenny McLachlan
Published July 1st 2014
192 Pages
Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia
Bea Hogg is shy but fiery inside. When national dance competition Starwars comes to her school looking for talent, she wants to sign up. It's just a shame her best friend agreed to enter with school super cow Pearl Harris. Bea will fight back! But when school hottie, Ollie Matthews, who also happens to be Pearl’s boyfriend, decides to enter the competition with Bea, she will have more than a fight on her hands.This warm, nuanced, hilarious story about friendship, fortitude... And dancing is impossible not to fall in love with. Jenny’s voice is fresh and convincing, and she handles both darker and lighter elements of the story with equal panache.
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.
Don't forget to sign up for our Aussie YA Bloggers newsletter here.
Written by Tim Winton
Editon Published June 25th 2014
162 Pages
Thank you to Penguin Books Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★★
Abel Jackson has lived by the sea at Longboat Bay ever since he could remember. he helps his mother each day and loves to dive. One day he meets Blueback, the biggest and most beautiful fish he's ever seen.In the small community of Longboat Bay, ten year old Abel and his mother live off the land and spending their days in the company of one another. While snorkeling for Abalone along the pristine coastline, Abel discovers the most tremendous Blue Groper the bay has ever seen. Affectionately named Blueback, for his magnificent and brightly coloured scales, he's sly, he's playful and incredibly cheeky and Abel has fallen in love with the gentle giant.
When Abel's mother is approached by developers she decides she must do something to protect their fragile piece of coastline. But can Abel and his mother save Blueback and Longboat Bay in time?
As Abel strides into his teenage years, Blueback represents his life on the coast at Robbers Head, until a local developer releases that Longboat Bay is the ideal location for tourists, but the Jackson's won't go down without a fight. It's then, when Abel realises that in order to protect the water that Blueback and the marine wildlife call home, he'll need to learn about the ocean to preserve what men are out to destroy, leaving his mother as a staunch advocate for the preservation cause.
But throughout it all, Blueback is the one constant that the Jackson's are fighting for. To keep his home safe for generations to come.
Kelly's Thoughts
Throughout Abel's lifetime, his mother has seen illegal poachers who threaten to destroy the Bay by illegal fishing, developers who want to spoil the magic of the serene coastal property, raising a child alone with no support and living off the land to make ends meet. She's a phenomenal role model that should be celebrated. But it's her determination to protect her coast that will resonate with environmentalists worldwide.
It was simply beautiful. An incredibly poignant story that reminds us to take care of our environment from an author who leads by example. I hadn't heard of Tim Winton prior to reading Blueback, but the popular award winning Australian author is an incredible ambassador for Australian Marine Conservation Society and has been decalred a Living Treasure by the National Trust, and I can certainly see why. But the magic of Blueback isn't only confined to the storyline, but the series of Penguin's Australian Children's Classics are all simply stunning
Head of The River
Written by Pip HarryPublished June 25th 2014
304 Pages
Thank you to UQP
Add to Goodreads
★★★☆
It's the most elite school sporting event in the country. Nine rowers, 2000 gruelling metres and one chance for glory in the ultimate team sport. Sit forward... ROW.Tall, gifted and the offspring of Olympians, superstar siblings Leni and Cristian Popescu are set to row Harley Grammar to victory in the Head of the River.With six months until the big race, the twins can't lose. Or can they?When Cristian is seduced by the easy route of performance-enhancing drugs, and Leni is suffocated with self-doubt, their bright futures start to fade. Juggling family, high expectations, study, break-ups, new relationships and wild parties, the pressure starts to build.As the final moments tick down to the big race, who’ll make it to the start line? And who'll plummet from grace?
Twins Leni and Cristian Popescu were born into rowing royalty, the daughter and son of two Olympians and gifted athletes at Harley Grammar private school. Both siblings are on scholarships and depend on not only grades, but each being able to compete on the main stage at the prestigious Head of The River, where only the elite compete.
Leni has always been not only the ultimate athlete, but she's disciplined and manages to train, maintain an impressive study schedule and fine tune her body. Not only is she a role model for the girls on the rowing squads, but she's dating the popular Adam, wealthy and an athlete in his own right on the male squad. Cristian on the other hand is struggling with his weight, his fitness and to maintain a spot at the top of his field, a place that newcomer Sam is fighting his way towards. He struggles to live within his sister's shadow, and as far as Cristian is concerned, Leni is the golden child while he'll never live up to, and the expectation of being the son of two Olympic medalists.
When Cristian loses his place in the squad, he'll do anything to regain his seat again, including cheating. Along with a fellow team mate, the two boys covertly seek out a dealer who will supply them with performance enhancing drugs, steroids that will ensure his spot on the team. But as the months lead up to the Head of The River event, Cristian's dramatic transformation won't go unnoticed. While he begins to edge his way back in, Leni's world is falling apart. Her relationship with Adam is strained and she finds herself attracted to someone else, she can't seem to bond with her team and she doesn't have the drive to win. But in a dramatic turn of events, the siblings see that there is life beyond the river, and anything is achievable if only you believe in yourself.
Kelly's Thoughts
Head of The River should be read by not only those who are interested in rowing, but for all teens who compete and strive to break into a professional level. It follows the dual points of view of siblings and twins, Leni and Cristian, whose parents are both Olympians and respected members of the rowing community, being only natural to both take up the sport themselves. I really enjoyed seeing both points of view, with Leni at the top of her sport, while Cristian struggled to maintain the same level, often feeling as though he was competing against his sister in the eyes of his parents. He sees Leni as having it all, but not realising that she struggles out of the water, socially, and finding herself in a lackluster relationship while she fights her feelings for new boy Sam. Cristian seemed terribly unhappy, his storyline was more engaging and allowed the reader to relate to his daily struggle with weight and his own mental anguish.
The storyline more than ever, is a really popular topic for discussion in Australia at the moment with the alleged drugs scandal at the Essendon AFL club, and the investigation by ASADA, the Australian Sports Anti Doping Authority. But where the media will just report on facts and accusations, we rarely see a personal side of the effects that the scandal had had on players and their families. Although Leni and Cristian are fictional, it allows the reader to see just what sacrifices athletes make for their chosen sport and that they are prone to mistakes, just as you and I are.
I wanted to enjoy it more than I did, whether it was due to being outside the intended demographic or haven't had played competitive sports outside of school, but I found myself wanting to skim over the training sessions just to reach the more personal side of the storyline. Pip Harry was able to put me right into the action from the grassy banks of the river, and loved the Melbourne locations scattered throughout. Overall, it was a fascinating story of the lives of young athletes and the pressure of competitive sports, from an author who has experienced the life firsthand.
A frightened girl.
An empty field.
Four houses.
Which house would you choose?
Four Houses is a dark short story told in an unusual format that leaves readers wondering how they'd react if found in the same situation as seventeen year old Maddy.
Written by Rachael Craw
Science Fiction, Romance
Published July 1st 2014
400 Pages
Thank you to Walker Books Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★
Evie doesn't have a choice. One day she's an ordinary seventeen year old, grieving for her mother. The next, she's a Shield, the result of a decades-old experiment gone wrong, bound by DNA to defend her best friend from an unknown killer. The threat could come at home, at school, anywhere. All Evie knows is that it will be a fight to the death. And then there's Jamie. Irresistible. Off limits.
Having lost her mother, seventeen year old Evie is now living in her Aunt Miriam's spare room in amongst the boxes that she can't bring herself to unpack. She mourns the only parent she's ever known, while night terrors, an awkward growth spurt and and her frantic heart palpitations only adding to her anxiety. But it isn't anxiety that is slowly consuming Evie's life, it's her DNA, and she's about to find out why.
Evie is a Shield, her hereditary disposition dictating that she's built to protect and serve those who need it most, and her instinct to protect best friend Kitty is overwhelming. So when Kitty plans to attend the Governor's Ball, Evie has no option but to tag along. But she never planned on seeing Jamie, the boy that Evie spent years trying to forget.
But when a killer has Kitty in his sights, Evie knows the only way to protect her best friend is to move into the lavish family estate and enroll at the prestigious Gainsborough Collegiate. It isn't long before training is in full force, honing her skills as a Shield requires focus and intensity, something that Evie has in abundance now that Jamie is slowly inching his way back into her life. But will the distraction prove deadly?
Kelly's Thoughts
Spark was a mix of science fiction and contemporary, but felt more like a unique spin on the superhero and savior role. It was intense, and entertaining. Not often does a young adult storyline take me by surprise, but Spark certainly did. I adored Evie's character, not only has her world fallen apart with the loss of her mother, she lives each day with the knowledge that she never knew her father and the only family she has now is her Aunt Miriam, whom she now lives with. The only constant in her life, is spending each summer with her best friend Kitty. Evie has known the Gallagher family for the best part of a decade, including Jamie.
Jamie is Evie's Achilles Heel. Having shared a brief, but embarrassing kiss before he left three years ago. But now Jamie's eighteen and back in Evie's life. But Jamie isn't without his secrets and the relationship between the two is as intense as it is forbidden. The romance reminded me of that of Rose and Dimitri in the popular Vampire Academy series, the student teacher aspect and forbidden romance that follows. I really enjoyed Evie and Jamie's relationship, the two teens shared a history together so the seemingly instant love felt more natural.
My only one real complaint was the overload of information once Evie is told exactly who she is. There were so many descriptions and acronyms, that I knew I'd never be able to remember. But I didn't need to. As the storyline progresses, you'll learn what being a Shield entails alongside Evie, as she navigates her new role. First time author Rachael Craw is a born storyteller, she's taken what are seemingly normal teens who are still finding their feet, and throwing them into a world of killers, protectors are rules of how they must now live their lives. But what made the characters so engaging, was her use of dialogue. It's quick, it's witty and realistic between the characters.
The Final Verdict
If you're looking for a sassy, intriguing and unique read, this one is definitely it. Already eagerly awaiting book two in the series, Stray.
Spark is a new young adult series with a science fiction twist. An intense forbidden romance and a seemingly average girl with an incredible secret. Set to be released on July the first, click HERE to read the prologue and first chapter of Spark. Thanks to Walker Books Australia, I was able to interview the sassy, sarcastic and superbly awesome Rachael Craw with only days until her first novel is released.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)