The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Kira has been a lost child. She has been rescued by Cady and her son Jude but she still has scars - visible and invisible that have damaged her from her time 'alone' in the wilderness. 

Cady is an expert with training and using tracking dogs. Kira, perhaps because of that time spent alone surviving in the wild, has a special bond with the dogs especially a rescue dog named Saskia. Cady has been called to the small town where she grew up because a very young girl named Bella is missing. But as the story unfolds finding this missing girl is not the only reason Cady needed to come home.

This is one of those stories where reading feels like viewing a television show. Nearly every character has a back story and as a reader you will want to know more about each key person and discover how they are interconnected. Of course, the plot is also driven by the desperate need to find young Bella. 

Readers who enjoy survival stories and who have a special affinity with dogs are sure to love this book. The ending will be a surprise and as with all good Young Adult titles there are still a few loose ends. 

I recommend this book for readers aged 13+ mainly because there is a very violent scene towards the end when Kira is taken for interrogation by the local sherif. He is a vicious and nasty man who exposes parts of Kira's story that are utterly dreadful and harrowing. If you look at my labels for this post you will have a better idea of some of the issues raised in this story.

I bought this book by accident but I am glad I found and read it. I was browsing one of our city bookstores (Abbey's York Street). As usual I had found one book to buy but I decided I needed two! Abbey's have a good shelf of front facing newer titles and this one caught my eye. I thought I had heard of the author Jennifer Lynn Barnes but in fact she is new to me. High School readers, this is a Young Adult book, are sure to have heard of her book series The Inheritance Games. The Lovely and the Lost was published in 2020 but my copy is the UK 2025 edition. 

You can read a long description of the plot on the US publisher page. 

Blurb from the author page: Kira Bennett's earliest memories are of living alone and wild in the woods. She has no idea how long she was on her own or what she had to do to survive, but she remembers the moment that Cady Bennett and one of her search-and-rescue dogs found her perfectly. Adopted into the Bennett family, Kira still struggles with human interaction years later, but she excels at the family business: search-and-rescue. Along with Cady's son, Jude, and their neighbor, Free, Kira works alongside Cady to train the world's most elite search-and-rescue dogs. Someday, all three teenagers hope to put their skills to use, finding the lost and bringing them home. But when Cady's estranged father, the enigmatic Bales Bennett, tracks his daughter down and asks for her help in locating a missing child, Kira's memories threaten to overwhelm her at every turn. As the danger mounts and long-held family secrets come to light, Kira is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her adopted family, her true nature, and her past.

How did I decide this was a Young Adult title? What are some things I should have noticed?

• The print size is very small
• The bookshop price sticker (these are always worth exploring) says "Young Adult Fiction"
• The cover endorsement - 'A propulsive mystery-thriller ... You will cling to this book until you reach the end' Maureen Johnson - not a name I know - this should have been a strong hint

The hardcover edition of this book certainly has a Young Adult image:

The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett

Dear Reader,
If you are reading this, then chances are that 

our world has ended.

"My name is Kemi Carter, and I'm a scientist .... My favorite type of science is the science of probability. Probability is pretty great because it tells you how likely something is to happen or not happen. It is a way of predicting the world."

BREAKING NEWS: MASSIC ASTERIOD ALTERS PATH, NOW ON COURSE TO MEET EARTH! NASA RELEASES STATMENT: DO NOT PANIC! PRESS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN THIRTY MINUTES!

"How long did we have until the end of the world?"

Kemi knows the world is about to end. This is huge and impossible to process so she decides to collect a box of treasures so that the people who come next have some idea about her life and the lives of various members of her family. 

Begin here with this video by Colby Sharp - "this book is blowing everyone's mind" ... "this is the best book to read when you know nothing about it!" ...  "You are in for the ride of your life."

Colby also says do not read the back cover (blurb) - luckily I was not able to do this because I read the ebook of The Probability of Everything.

Now listen (just play it without the image) to this video where the reviewer explains it is best to come to this book knowing nothing about the plot. This review is 9 minutes and at the end the librarian says she would like one million dollars so she could buy this book for everyone - surely that makes you curious about this story.

This book will shock and shake you - it is utterly fabulous but any more plot points will spoil it. I will however list a few text quotes:

"A sudden chill entered the room. It was Narnia cold, the kind of cold that makes your bones ache, and I shivered. The front door creaked like it had been left open, and I wondered if that was the reason for the cold."

"Amplus ... has a 84.7 percent chance of hitting us."

"When Mrs Wallace had taught us about asteroids, I hadn't really considered the possibility of one colliding with us. It was kind of the way I hadn't paid too much attention to our lesson on Tasmanian devils because I knew they were only in Australia."

"Would Baby Z be born before the asteroid hit? Mom was only five months pregnant, which meant the world would have to last another four months at least, if we were ever going to meet the baby. We didn't even know if we had four hours."

"... the end of the world might sound like a whoosh, like a thunderclap, or like a peaceful silence."

"Four days meant less than a full week of school. It meant we would never meet Baby Z, that I would never have two sisters instead of one. It meant the world would end on a Thursday."

"There has to be a way to make sure they don't forget all about us."

"I'm make a time capsule ... If I save all the most important stuff, the things we love the most, then nobody has to feel so sad about the end of the world. ... If I saved one thing that was precious to each member of my family, then something that was part of them - something that they loved - would always be here. It wouldn't be destroyed by the asteroid, and the next earthlings could find it and know about us."

What are some things to put in a time capsule:

• Photographs
• Newspaper clippings
• Favourite books (Kemi likes The One and Only Ivan; Charlotte's web and Where the wild things are).
• List of movies or tv shows you love
• A mobile phone
• Food (that won't spoil) 
• Clothes
• A map of your town showing all your favorite places
• Letters between you and your loved ones

ONLY after you have read this book (yes you do need to read it) you might look at a few reviews such as this one from Kirkus (star review). 

Awards:

• NPR Books We Love 2023 
• Publishers Weekly Best of 2023 
• Winner of the Governor General's Literary Awards for Young People's Literature

This review by Betsy (my blogging/reviewing hero) contains spoilers - WAIT - read the book first please!

And while I’m generally a pretty slow reader, I devoured this baby immediately. How could I not? Sarah Everett wrestles with an outsized and ambitious bit of plotting, all the while keeping her cards close to her chest. Here’s some advice: Hand this to kids that like their books with a bit of a twist. And do NOT skip to the ending and read that first. You will live to regret it if you do. Betsy Bird

Companion book:

Wishtree

William Wenton and the Liridium Thief by Bobbie Peers translated by Tara Chace

 

The opening scenes in this book reminded me of The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman. Do you remember the scene where the assassin arrived to murder the baby? In my book today William Wenton and his family are living in hiding in Norway. Young William is a skilled code breaker, but his parents have banned him from all codes and puzzles and also told him he must keep a low profile. He even has to remember his new name at school. But William reads in the newspaper that there will be a one-day exhibit at the local museum of the Impossible Puzzle. William is desperate to see this object which has been touring the world and luckily his class are going to the museum on an excursion. The exhibition is too full for the children to visit but William finds a way inside and amazingly he finds himself on the stage with the puzzle - and yes, also amazingly, he solves it. Oh no - he has drawn attention to himself and now his family are in grave danger.

"Suddenly he spotted a large shadow, which moved along the wall then disappeared. William was about to call out, but he was interrupted by his father who suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, "WILLIAM GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! RUN! RUN! William stood on the landing, completely paralyzed. He heard his father wail and then his father shouted again. "RUN, WILLIAM, RUN!"

William does escape only to be captured moments later and then the roller coaster ride of this thrilling story begins. William's grandfather has been missing for many years. He was a famous code breaker, and he also founded a school called the Institue for Post-Human Research and this is where William is taken. He is told his mother and father are safe and so William settles into school life - a school which is perfect for his intellect and abilities BUT William is a curious boy and he really needs to know about his missing grandfather and so the adventure takes on another enormous plot twist with William searching disused railway tunnels searching for the cryogenically frozen body of his grandfather. Little does he know he is heading straight into danger because it is William's own body that holds a secret and the evil Abraham Talley will stop at nothing to get the precious liridium (of the title) and this means William will need to be killed.

If you are in need of a page turner, then this is THE BOOK for you! I started this in the morning and finished it later that night. In fact, I was visiting friends and I had to ask them to stop interrupting me so I could keep reading. I now see this book is part of a series but luckily this installment has a good ending and so I have not been left hanging around waiting for book two or three. Book one of the William Wenton series has also been issued with a different title. [9781481478267]

I also need to mention there are fabulous robots in this story. I will say that again - fabulous fabulous robots! I think this series will be enjoyed by fans of Harry Potter (of course) and fans of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. I also recommend look for The Great Fox Illusion by Justyn Edwards.

Bobbie Peers is a Norwegian author film director and screen writer.  

Bobbie Peers made his mark on Norwegian film history when he won a Palme d’Or in 2006 for Sniffer, written and directed by Peers himself. The award became the first of many milestones in the London International Film School graduate’s career as a director and film writer. The first book in the William Wenton series, William Wenton and the Luridium Thief was published in 2017, has been translated into over 30 languages.

Here is the original cover of The Liridium Thief.

This novel received the Norwegian Ark Children's Book Award in 2015. Peer's imaginative and intense cybernetic world add excitement and danger to William's dangerous quest for the truth, and this would make an exciting class novel for Upper Primary students. Read Plus

Here is the Reading Time review.

It also won the Box Hatcher Award 2017 (Bokslukerprisen award) which is a Norwegian children's choice award. This award uses an interesting form:

Middle school pupils will vote for their favourites based on excerpts from an anthology with excerpts from 10 books for the target group.

Use Google translate to read the text extract the students read as they judged this book their winner. 

Awards:

• Shortlisted for the Fantastic Book Awards 2018-19 UK 2019
• Parents’ Choice Award recommended title US 2017
• The Bokslukerprisen Award Norway 2017
• Children’s Book Award Norway 2016
• Book of the Year Norway 2016
• The Ark’s Children’s Book Award Norway 2015

Here is the German cover:

Scar Town by Tristan Bancks

 

"The three of us lean on our handlebars, breathing and sweating hard, late afternoon sun pinkening our skin and the sky. We stare at the house that's poking from the water about fifty metres from shore - weatherboards caked in mud and water weed, a ragged monster rising from the deep. Only the attic and half a storey below are visible above the waterline."

You could introduce this book using this sentence. What do we know? There are three kids - perhaps they are friends. A house is rising out of the water. Why? What could have caused this? How does the phrases 'a ragged monster rising from the deep' make you feel? Does this change the things you anticipated about this story? Think about the contrasts here - extreme heat and (possibly) murky water.

Will is with his friends - twins Dar and J. J's real name is Juno but watch out she will punch you if you call her that name. This house, rising up from the lake, is so tempting. It is part of the old town that was flooded to make way for a new dam many years ago but with the drought the town is slowing reappearing. J is clearly the leader of this group, and she declares they all need to swim out to the house to investigate. Will is cautious but he decides to follow his friends. Inside the house they make two life changing discoveries - money, lots of it, and human bones. 

Scar Town feels like a real place - this is the prophetic nick name of Scarborough. Perhaps you have seen towns like this where there is a new town built beside an older town which is now submerged under a lake. The town has been 'drowned' to allow a dam to be built. An example of this is Adaminaby, a small farming town nestled in the Snowy Mountains on the border between New South Wales and Victoria states, was submerged under 30 metres of water in 1957 when the local valley was dammed to form the man-made Lake Eucumbene. In 2007 Australia was under drought conditions and so slowly the old town began to reveal itself. This is exactly the scene in Scar Town.

Will's father was the town cop. Seven years ago he, and nine other people, disappeared. Will and his mum have stayed in the town but their anger over the inaction of the authorities who never seemed to fully investigate what happened gives this whole story an undertone of grief, blame and unresolved anger. There is also a layer of decision making/moral dilemma. Should Will tell the police, or his mum or someone important about the money? Is it possible those bones might be his dad? Why is so hard to say no to J? Is this whole mystery way too big for three kids to handle?

Here are some text quotes to give you a flavor of the story:

"We've come across plenty of bones in the past year with the drought. Some famers had to walk away from their properties, leaving cattle to die. But these look different, and I wish like anything that we'd just taken the money and run."

"I want to shout at her that it might be my dad in that wall, but I know she'll tell me that's the perfect reason to go back to the house, and I can't do that. I want to keep my share of the money as much as she does. If I could find out what happened to my dad and use the money to help get mum and me out of Scar Town, my life would be two hundred per cent better."

"When mum first told me my dad had disappeared, I thought she was saying he'd become invisible. Being a cop, my dad was already a superhero, but invisible! That was next level. I used to set a place at the table for him and tell guests not to sit in a certain seat because Dad was sitting there. It wasn't my mum's favourite thing. I don't know how many times she explained he wasn't invisible. He was gone."

I often make predictions for our CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) awards. I am absolutely certain Scar Town will be on the 2024 Younger Readers Notables list, and the short list and at this stage (there are still a few reading months to go) I am going to predict Scar Town will be the 2024 winner!! Yes, it is that good and YES you need to read this book and put it into the hands of your mature readers aged 10+. Here are some Teachers Notes for Scar Town. Listen to an audio sample. Read the first few pages here including my text quote at the start of this post. 

Short, punchy sentences, along with realistic dialogue create instantly relatable, believable characters. Tristan has a way of weaving words into graphic vividly cinematic scenes full of tension and strong emotion.  Serious themes of friendship, family, and loss underpin the fast paced action making this much more than just a thrill ride read. Story Links

Bancks has again written an un-putdownable read that races along and puts the reader firmly in the position of having to consider what they would do if they were in that situation. By creating characters that are, in so many ways, just like them, Bancks hooks the reader into being more than just an observer, and places them in the position of having to take a stance. The Bottom Shelf

I have enjoyed EVERY recent book by Tristan Bancks:

Two Wolves

Detention

Cop and Robber

Cop and Robber by Tristan Bancks

Nash Hall has a complex life. His father claims they are related to the famous bushranger Ben Hall. His father was once a boxer but recently he has turned to crime and has almost been sent to jail. Nash is so worried about his father's behaviour and now he discovers his father owes a huge amount of money to some dangerous looking criminals. In just three days Lyle Hall has to come up with $256,568. If all of this sounds dreadful and impossible there is one more thing you need to know. Look at the title of this book. I have talked about the robber - that's dad and he has just held up a service station - but what about the cop? Well, that's mum. 

There are some violent scenes in this book so I suggest it will appeal to readers (especially boys) aged 11+. 

Publisher blurb: If your mum was a cop and your dad was a criminal who needed your help to commit a crime, would you do it to save him? At what cost? Nash Hall's dad is a criminal who just can't seem to go straight. He wants Nash to help him commit a robbery. A big one. The trouble is, Nash's mum is a cop. And the robbery is at Nash's school. But Dad owes a lot of money to some very dangerous people and if Nash doesn't help him do the job, it could cost both their lives.

Tristan uses humour as well as conflict to add light and shade to his story.  He uses Nash’s dilemma to explore complex themes of loyalty, love, honesty, and especially forgiveness. This makes it such a satisfying and memorable read, but beware, once you start it you will drop everything until you’ve finished it. Storylinks

Here is a very detailed set of teaching notes from the publisher - Penguin Random House. Here is Tristan Banks web site. 

Take a look at other thrilling stories by Tristan Bancks:

Two wolves

Detention

The Raven's Children by Yulia Yakovleva translated by Ruth Ahmedzoi Kemp

Maybe this was all the work of ordinary people. They allowed these horrid things to happen because they didn't speak out to stop it. People didn't dare to help their neighbours, they rushed to turn away and ignore them when they were in need ... and that hung over the people like a poisonous cloud, a permanently dull grey sky. 

Publisher blurb: Russia in 1938 is a place of great terror. Joseph Stalin is in charge. His Secret Police are everywhere, searching for anyone who might be his enemy. People have no idea who they can trust. Seven-year-old Shura doesn't know about any of this. He's happy in his little home in Leningrad going to school in the mornings, playing with his best friend in the afternoon, fighting with his big sister, spending time with his Mama, Papa and baby brother Bobka. Until one day everything changes. Mama and Papa and Bobka disappear without a trace. The whispers of their neighbours are that Mama and Papa were spies, enemies of Stalin and so they have now been taken by something mysterious called The Raven. Desperate to reunite his family, Shura decides to hunt down The Raven, finding help in the most unexpected places but facing more danger than he has ever known . . .

Here are some text quotes to give you a flavour of this writing:

"Shura sighed bitterly. What a waste of seven years! There was so much he hadn't done; he'd never even owned a dog. And now this pointless end. All because he wanted to try the new Eskimo (icecream) before the rest of the kids in their year. How stupid."

"And where's Papa? ' 'He's gone away ... Not for long. He had to go on an urgent business trip. They sent a telegram and asked him to come. So he had to go away for a bit. But he'll be back soon. Definitely. They'll sort it all out and he'll be back soon."

"He knew it wasn't good to be petit bourgeois. Shura had heard Mama and Papa say so, although he wasn't really sure what it meant."

"The floor was scattered with photograph albums, the one's Mama had been tearing pictures out of and feeding to the fire yesterday. They lay open with empty pages sticking up in the air helplessly. Things were strewn about as if someone had picked the whole room up, turned it upside down, shaken everything out and then dropped it back down."

"Now, like the building where Tanya and Shura lived, it was inhabited by new tenants who had never experienced luxury, who lived with one family in each room. Because in the Soviet Union everyone was equal."

"Soon after the first frosts, the shop windows were decorated with portraits of Stalin. Mostly, the portraits showed a large beaky nose and a black moustache; some had something distinctly raven-like about them."

"How could Shura make him understand that everyone who arrived at the Grey House ended up broken? That everyone fell under their control. It made not difference whether you were brave, kind, cheeky, strong-willed, shy, smart or quick witted. Everyone was reduced to identical grey shadows. They walked in formation, They obeyed every command and worked their fingers to the bone."

This book is very different - perhaps because it comes from Russia. It is based around a period of history that is sure to be unfamiliar to Australian readers (aged 11+). This book will appeal to readers who are curious about history especially Russian history, readers who enjoy books with a political layer and readers who enjoy books with touches of magical realism (talking birds). 

Here are some reviews with more plot details:

Eurolit Network

ReadPlus

Here are some other books which explore history through the eyes of a young child:

When Hitler stole Pink Rabbit

What about me?

Vinnie's War

The Blackbird Girls (for mature readers)

Melt by Ele Fountain

Firstly if you visit or work in a school library where they use genre labels or genre as a way to shelve their fiction titles then I have no idea where you will find Melt. It is a survival story; it is a thriller; there are themes of global warming; it is also about forming new friendships; and I guess this book could also have a label of crime fiction.

Bea's father is a geologist. He works for various petroleum companies looking for, and reporting on, sites with oil reserves around the world. The problem is some of the places on our planet should not be exploited - they should be left as pristine environments but oil companies are driven by profit and not environmental concerns. So in part this book raises the issues surrounding exploitation of the Arctic circle which is home to the Inuit people. 

Bea and her family have moved to yet another new town because her father's work takes them around the world. This means Bea has to navigate yet another school and sadly in this one there are some vicious bullies. Luckily her father announces he needs to fly north in a small company plane to get an over view of the Arctic landscape and Bea will be allowed to go too. Her father has been teaching her how to fly but the pair are keeping this information a secret from Bea's mother. The first flight goes well but over the following weeks Bea senses something is wrong with her dad. He seems distracted and distant. Finally he announces they can fly north again but this time something goes horribly wrong. When they arrive at the remote and tiny Northern airport, Bea watches in horror as her father is beaten up by two men. She races back to the small plane and flies away.

Meanwhile Yutu lives with his grandmother in a small isolated Arctic village. Yutu longs to test his own independence and head away hunting on his own. He convinces a friend to loan his snowmobile, he tells his grandmother he will stay the night with a friend and then he sets off. On his second day the weather turns nasty, the snowmobile crashes and Yutu's life is hanging in the balance.

The scene is set for Bea and Yutu to meet, to help each other, and to solve the mystery of the kidnapping of Bea's father and importantly to discover the way all of this is connected to oil exploration in the arctic. 

I enjoyed the use of alternating voices in the early chapters of this book. I also enjoyed learning more about customs and food of the Inuit people especially through Yutu's gentle grandmother. 

The environmental message never overwhelms but simply runs through the plot and ensures that the adventure itself has greater impact. It is an exciting read with some perilous moments that will keep young readers gripped. A Library Lady

Here is a review by a reader aged 11 and here is a review with more plot details. Thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my advance reader copy of Melt. Here is the web site for Ele Fountain.

Publisher blurb: A boy lives in a remote, snow-bound village with his elderly grandmother. Their traditional way of life is threatened by the changing snow and ice: it melts faster every year. When the sea-ice collapses while he is out hunting, he only just escapes with his life and is left stranded in the Arctic tundra. Meanwhile a girl is trying to adapt to another new school. Her father promises his new job at an oil company will mean they never have to move again, but not long after he starts, his behaviour becomes odd and secretive. When their fates take a drastic turn the girl’s world collides with the boy’s and they find themselves together in a desperate search for survival, and for the truth.

Companion reads:

The Last Bear

Swimming Against the Storm

Jefferson by Jean-Claude Mourlevat illustrated by Antoine Ronzon translated by Ros Schwartz

Jefferson Ponsonby-Smythe is a dapper, modern (he has a mobile phone) hedgehog. He is looking forward to his visit to Cut n' Dye - his hairdresser. It is time to have his quiff trimmed. 

On the way into town, however, a speeding car almost knocks him over. The car is driven by a pair of shifty looking humans. What are they doing in Animal Kingdom when they clearly come from The Land of the Humans? This is the first in a series of events, none of which Jefferson or indeed you, the reader, could possibly anticipate.

"That was life: one minute you feel light, joyful and carefree and then, in a split second, everything changes. Happiness is so fragile, he said to himself, and tried to think about other things."

On arriving at Cut n' Dye, Jefferson makes a gruesome discovery. His hairdresser Mr Edgar, a badger, is on the floor of the salon, with a pair of scissors in his chest. He has been murdered. Jefferson reaches down to help his friend and at that very moment the only other customer wakes up from her doze under the hairdryer. It looks as though Jefferson himself is the murderer. He tries to explain but the nanny goat, Mrs Kristiansen, has run out into the street screaming. Jefferson reacts by running - running away as fast as he can. 

With the help of his best friend Gilbert, a young pig, the race is on to find the real culprit, to clear Jefferson's name and solve the mystery of those human drivers who almost knocked him over earlier in the day. Sophie, niece of the deceased hairdresser, gives Jefferson and Gilbert a odd postcard sent by her uncle Mr Edgar. It has been sent from Granville. Gilbert's cousin is a driver with Globetrotters. He tells Jefferson that they should join a tour to Granville in The Land of Humans so they can continue their investigation.

"You want us to conduct our investigations on a package tour? 'That's right! You go around in a herd, and no one pays any attention to you, you take as many photos as you please. It's ideal."

The tour leaves in three days. Jefferson stays in hiding, Gilbert packs their bags and the pair of friends set off to uncover the truth about the murder of Mr Edgar and along the way this very special pair of friends will also discover so much more about some truly big issues.

There are parts of this story that are laugh out loud funny; there are madcap chase scenes; heroic deeds; and really wonderful characters but I also need to explain that Chapter 11 is very disturbing which is why I think this book is really for mature readers aged 10 or 11+. In Chapter 11 Gilbert visits an abattoir and his descriptions of the animal cruelty are quite graphic. I imagine this chapter will raise a lot of important questions for young readers and adults too.

On a lighter note I especially loved all the tourists on the Globetrotters tour - animals of all shapes and sizes and with truly quirky personalities. There are also terrific black and white illustrations scattered throughout this book:

In this video the translator, Ros Schwartz, reads from the first chapter of Jefferson which was originally published in French with the same title - Jefferson.

In summary this is a book I loved, I raced through it desperate to solve the crime BUT this is not a book for every child. Many young readers will love this book but I do suggest you (the adult reader) should check it out first just to check it is a good fit for your child or class. 

Here are some reviews so you can read more plot details:

• Legenbooksdary
• Thenatashareads

Jean-Claude Mourlevat is the author of nearly thirty books and he has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award several times. 

Across the risen sea by Bren MacDibble

Bren MacDibble takes us once again into the dystopian world of the future. This time the land is covered in water and small groups of people cling to life on tiny islands. Each island has it's own laws and rituals but there is room for some sharing between the communities and debris washed up from all the destroyed cities is now scavenged and adapted for use as shelters. Life feels difficult at times but the people have manged to make comfortable dwellings and they have access to plenty of fish. There is danger though - violent unpredictable storms, dangerous crocodiles, sickness and perhaps the threat of invasion or war.

As this story opens some strangers arrive at Cottage Hill - three tall people who speak a strange language. They are wearing shiny headbands and their boat has a sun image on the prow. It is clear they are powerful, wealthy and have come from a distant place known as Valley of the Sun. The three people, two sisters and a brother, climb the hill above the little island settlement and begin to cut down trees. Over the coming days they erect a tall pole and place two circles of logs around it. They hoist a metal box onto the top of the middle pole and attach wires which stretch down to the ground where they are buried under the inner circle of logs. After their task is completed the three strangers sail away. They refuse to answer any questions.

Old Marta, the leader of their island, knows all of this has something to do with 'teknology' but exactly why this strange contraption has been placed on their island is a mystery.  Neoma and her friend Jag are told to go and sketch the box so Marta can take a drawing to show the inhabitants of other near-by islands in the hope they may know what all this means. Neoma is a curious and fearless girl. She digs into the dirt below the box, even though they have been told by the strangers not to touch any part of this installation. She receives a powerful electric shock and has to run quickly into the sea to put out the flames burning her skin and hair.

Jag and Neoma have managed to complete a drawing of the tower and box so Marta takes Neoma to visit the nearby islands. There is something odd about the island of Jacob's Reach. It is clear their leaders are not telling the truth and there must be some reason why there are no children around.

I think my favourite scene comes next when Neoma, her Ma and Jag head off to Silver Water in their makeshift catamaran Licorice Stix. Silver Water is a high rise building which is now flooded. The kids climb up the stairs until they reach a former restaurant - well Neoma doesn't know it is a restaurant because she has never seen a place like this. No one has found this so it has not been looted and the kitchen is filled with food. It has been eleven years since the flood but the canned food is still okay so Neoma fills her sack. She and Jag then have to rush away because a very dangerous storm is approaching. I held my breath as Neoma's is forced to leap into the sea after tossing her salvage over the balcony rails.

On their way back, as the wild weather and water rages around them, they see a boat. It is the one that visited their island earlier - the one with the strangers from Valley of the Sun. The two women are in the boat. One is dead and one is badly hurt. What has happened? Are Neoma and her community now in danger? The people from Valley of the Sun will be back and they will want answers but no one has anticipated they will also want a payment and this payment comes in the form of a person. Jag is captured and taken prisoner and Neoma thinks this is all her fault and so it is up to her to rescue her friend and hopefully solve all the mysteries - the dead woman, the island of secrets, and most importantly to discover the purpose of device beaming a red light from the top of their island.

Bren MacDibble is a master storyteller. She gives her reader fragments of information that signpost past events and give a sense of place and of climate change:

"Marta was a young woman in the before-times. Before the risen sea drove everyone to the hills. ... She says when she was older she visited the great walled city of Sydney after most of it moved to New Armidale. She remembers when clouds were just white, she says the green is bacteria and it's the way the earth tries to make things right and clean ... "

"The surf coast was where the rich people lived, pretending it was safe from the flooding that was washing out the poorer coastal towns and making salty swamps of farmland. But Cyclone Summer sent six cyclones nose to tail and destroyed it. Survivors moved inland to a mountain range same as the poor people. But the sea rose so quick they din't get to take everything they owned."

My advance reader copy (thanks to Beachside Bookshop) of Across the risen sea has 270 pages but so much is contained within this thrilling story. I would summarise the plot into three 'acts'.

ACT 1. Installation of the 'teknology' on the island and the subsequent mystery of Jacob's Reach which is somehow linked to the death of the woman from Valley of the Sun. Jag is kidnapped.
ACT 2. The rescue of Jag which involves a dangerous pirate woman, a visit to the famed Valley of the Sun (this place is utterly amazing) and the making of a new friend.
ACT 3. The full truth is revealed.

I am going to make a prediction that Across the risen sea will be short listed by the CBCA for their 2021 awards. AND even though it is only June (this book is due for publication in August) I am going to predict Across the risen sea will be among the winners next year.  YES it is that good! This is a thrilling story, a mystery, a story of heroism, pirates, survival and so much more. I read it all in nearly one sitting and I was on the edge of my seat through the whole amazing 'voyage'.

In her letter to the reader Bren MacDibble says:

"I've let adventure lead me on a wild ride with this one. There's sinkholes, crocodiles, sharks, pirates, floating cities, and floating farms. I hope you and those you share books with will also enjoy the ride."

If you haven't discovered the powerful story telling of Bren MacDibble I suggest you RUSH out now and grab her earlier books:

How to Bee

The Dog Runner

Detention by Tristan Bancks

I hardly know where to begin with this utterly splendid book. The story line still haunts me hours after I finished it. Reading this book yesterday consumed me. I started on my morning train, spent my day working as a library volunteer and finished the book on the train coming home. I was desperate to see how things turned out but, as with all the best books, I felt bereft once it ended. Not because the ending was sad (although there are still things to be resolved) but because the glorious experience of reading such a beautifully told and finely nuanced story was over.

Dan has a very difficult life. His home is in a run down caravan in a park filled with lost, lonely, poor and displaced people. Some are former criminals. Dan's mum is rarely home and Dad is struggling at school. He has been placed in a special class for reading. I found his description of the class so poignant and powerful:

"Miss Aston calls the class 'Reading Superstars' to try and make them feel like they're the Avengers ... Dan's embarrassed to be in a 'special class'. She can call him a superstar all she likes but he doesn't see illiteracy or dyslexia or whatever as a superpower."

Being in this class feels like detention every Thursday morning for the small group of students but for the second voice in this story detention truly is a reality. Sima and her family have been living in an Australian immigration detention facility on the mainland for over six months and this has come after their frightening escape from Afghanistan, long months in a camp in Indonesia, a frightening boat trip across the open ocean to Australia and over a year of being detained on Christmas Island. Today is the day Sima and others will attempt an escape. The detention centre is near Dan's school. The escape goes badly wrong, Sima is separated from her family and she finds herself on the run. The police are looking for Sima and Dan's school is put into lock down. Sima takes refuge in the boy's toilet. Tristan Bancks made me feel I was really there with Sima. I could smell the awful stench and feel her utter terror as she tries to prevent boys entering her cubicle.

Earlier in the day, Dan has found a dog that has been abused. He is desperate to help the dog but he has to spend the morning in class. He plans to run back to the dog as soon as this class is over but then the school alarm rings for the lock down. Dan becomes quite desperate to get away because he needs to get water to this dog. He convinces the teacher to let him go to the toilets. He hears a noise and finds Sima. Police are patrolling the school. Here is a true moral dilemma. Will Dan expose or hide Sima? Should he tell his teacher? Who is telling the truth about asylum seekers? Is it the authorities? Is it the media? Or should he believe Sima herself who explains the dangers if her family are sent back to Afghanistan.

The tension in this book is so palpable. The plot just races along and the individual voices of both characters demand to be heard. For me this is certainly a five star book. I should also mention the chapters are oragnised as alternate voices. This is a form I really enjoy and Tristan is able to give Ben and Sima distinct voices which resonate with honesty. The device of time as chapter headings also drives the story which begins at 5.28am as Sima prepares to escape through the detention centre fence. The next chapter is just 3 minutes later. Dan joins the story at 7.32am and his next chapter it 7.37am. By page 203 the time is just 12.01pm on the same day.

I suggest age 11+ for this book which means it can be an addition to a Primary School library and in fact I would like to say it should be an added to every Primary and High School library. I will make a bold prediction that Detention will be short listed for several awards in future months including the CBCA 2020 awards. Detention was published on 2nd July this year. Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my Advanced Reader Copy.

You can listen to an interview with Tristan here. This is a brilliant way to gain insights into his writing process. Also take a look at Tristan's web site.

Megan Daley said this book is OUTSTANDING and I thoroughly agree. Click here to read her review: Tristan’s writing is gripping, insightful and compassionate.

Lizard's Tale by Weng Wai Chan

Singapore in the 1940s and a Japanese attack is close. Lizard has become a city kid who survives through small crimes and cunning. A local gangster called Boss Man Beng asks Lizard to steal a teak box belonging to the business man Sebastian Whitford Jones from the famous Raffles Hotel. He offers more money that Lizard has ever seen in his life.

Lizard finds the room and the box but:

"Something nagged at him, telling him things weren't quite right. Best to get out quick, then, he thought. He shoved the box into his satchel and closed the secret drawer. As he slipped out from under the desk and moved towards the open window, he realised what was wrong. The ceiling fans in the bedroom. Why would they be on if no one was in?"

Georgina Amelia Whitford Jones confronts Lizard. Her parents arrive home and Lizard escapes but not before Georgina tells Lizard he must return tomorrow night.

Lizard is living in a cubicle above a tailor shop. Lily lives in the tailor shop with her father. But there is much more to Lily - she is not just an ordinary school girl living in Singapore. She is training to work in espionage with Maximum Operations Enterprise.

These three - Lizard, Lily and Georgina, need to discover the truth about the code book they find in the teak box. Boss Man Beng is dead and our three heroes are in danger as is the whole city if a Japanese invasion is successful. The tension in this story is brilliant and is sure to keep you reading from the beginning to the end in one sitting.

You can hear Weng Wai Chan, who lives in Auckland, talking about her book here in an interview with Radio New Zealand. Here is Q&A where she talks about her inspiration and childhood.

I would follow Lizard's tale with a very old book - Duck for Danger by Ann Grocott.

The Boy who Flew by Fleur Hitchcock

Written with great gusto but also much subtlety, The Boy Who Flew is a thunderingly good period adventure. And it has a lot to say about the virtues of friendship, family, and courage. The BookBag

Athan is living in very impoverished circumstances. We don't know the date but it feels like the late 19th Century. Suspicion and superstition abound. Athan has a disabled sister. His grandmother thinks the real Beatty has been kidnapped and that the child in their house is a changeling. This is nonsense but it is dangerous nonsense.

Athan is a boy of science. He has been working for a scientist called Mr Chen but everyone around Athan is suspicious of this foreigner. What they don't know is that Mr Chen has been designing a flying machine. Mr Chen is close to completion when a murderer strikes. Mr Chen is dead but Athan has seen the plans and he knows he can build a machine that will fly and better yet a machine that can win the huge reward on offer. But the murderer is still on the loose and worse he has befriended Athan's mother.

This is an action packed story. I loved the way Fleur Hitchcock only gives us fragments of information and as a reader we are expected to 'join the dots'. This is also a highly atmospheric story. Here is a perfect example when Athan looks for the flying machine plans which are hidden in an outside latrine:

"The smell almost makes me vomit, but I gulp it back and breathe thinly through my mouth ... With my chest bare, I stretch my arm down the privy pit and my head gets closer and closer to the seat, and the stench. My fingers brush the cold slimy sides of the pit before I can feel something different."

Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my advanced reader copy of The Boy who Flew which was published in March this year.

I would pair this with the Barnaby Grimes series by Paul Stewart. Athan does most of his thinking on the rooftops of the city just like those wonderful tick tock lads in the Barnaby Crimes series. Steam Punk fans will love this book.  I don't often talk about age appropriateness of a text but there are some quite violent scenes in this book and (spoiler) a character does die in awful circumstances. The publisher lists this as suitable for 9-12 but I think 11+ would be a better guide. Some of my labels might give you further ideas about this book.

Here are some review extracts.  You can click the links for more plot details:

a thrilling, murderous tale set among the steep rooftops and slippery characters of Athan's intricately imagined world. Love Reading 4 Kids

This story is set on the gritty, grimy streets  and rickety snow-covered rooftops of the big city where life is cheap and danger lurks around every corner. Library Girl and Book Boy

Fast-paced and thrilling, this truly is a edge-of-your-seat adventure, full of twists and turns that will keep you holding your breath to the very last page. Book Lover Jo

The story flies across the rooftops with an exhilarating plot of danger and intrigue. Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Loot by Jude Watson

Taut, engrossing and unstoppable

The words at the top of this post come from the starred Kirkus review as do the ones below.  

I am shocked to realize I first mentioned Loot back in April, 2015.  It has taken me nearly nine months to read this book - why did I wait - it is such a gripping crime thriller.  I started this book yesterday, read late into the night and left chores undone this morning in my race to reach the end.

When you begin reading this book (and yes I am going to say this again - please read this book NOW!) you must pay careful attention to all the details.  The story opens with three thieves pulling off a most daring jewelry crime.  They take "a priceless emerald brooch owned by Catherine the Great. The Crack in the Sky, the world's most famous turquoise. The sixty-carat Makepeace Diamond, said to be the most brilliant gem in the history of the world."    This could be the perfect crime but one thief is greedy.  He takes one more piece.  A pretty necklace for his girlfriend made with seven moonstones. In an act of defiance he twirls it in the air and the clasp breaks.  As the moonstones fall they form a circle in the moonlight and each thief has a vision.

The third thief will be captured and made to pay.
The second thief will die before the moon is set.
But...
It is the curse for the first thief that is the worst of all.  In thirteen years time the twins will die.

The twins are March and Jules.  Their father Alfie, the first thief, has kept them apart for almost thirteen years but now he has died, the twins are reunited and race is on.  Working with two other kids that they meet when they are placed into a corrupt and abusive care facility our young gang members must find and steal the 7 moonstones in order to lift the curse.  Luckily for March and Jules, Izzy is a computer whiz and Darius has brilliant criminal connections.   Alfie has left clues and instructions. Some moments in this book will leave you on the edge of your seat.

Here is a web site for the author and review with more plot details.  This audio sample will give you a good sense of the tension created by this twisting tale.  Here is a review by Rick Riordan.

Driven by thrilling, nonstop action and featuring very brief chapters that readily sustain interest, this twisting and turning but ever-so-clever thriller is akin to the best of roller-coaster rides.

Two wolves by Tristan Bancks

"Ben ran at his dad and tackled him to the sandy ground near the smoldering fire pit.  He wanted to stop but he couldn't.  He grabbed at the notebook like a wild animal, screaming as Dad tried to get away but Ben wouldn't let him. That notebook was the one place Ben could be himself."

In his notebook Ben has written :
police
holiday
Grey nylon bag, Black handles
The new old car
Haircuts

Ben and his sister are on the run with their parents April and Ray Silver.  Ben is full of questions most of which are unanswered and even unspoken as his father's short fuse and nasty bad temper leave him feeling deep fear, sadness and confusion.   Tristan Bancks, through his main character Ben, slowly reveals the full story of why the family have abandoned their home and fled to a remote bush cabin.

Two Wolves has been short listed for the 2015 CBCA Younger Readers Award.  This story is an action packed thriller and with an interesting moral dilemma but I feel it is best suited to Grade Six students because at times the violence by Ben's father is quite distressing.

Review with the Trailer here.  It is amazing - so realistic!  I also recommend you dip into the Reading Time Review.   Here is the Author web site and a comprehensive set of Teacher notes.

You might also enjoy Chance of Safety, Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce or Toby Alone.  I also hope to re-read Toby's Millions by Morris Lurie first published in 1982 and by coincidence a CBCA honor book in 1983 and My side of the Mountain which was an inspiration for Two Wolves.

I especially loved little seven year old Olive.  "She was small, white blonde, seven years old, one of the smartest kids Ben knew.  She had already read The Hobbit by herself.  For three weeks afterwards she refused to speak unless people called her Gandalf."

At the end of Two Wolves I am left with some unanswered questions especially about Ben's mum and I do wish the wisdom of the quote from the first page had actually informed Ben and his actions but overall this is a fast paced book which will be popular with my senior students.

An old man tells his grandson

One evening that there is a

battle raging inside him, inside

all of us.  A terrible battle

between two wolves.

One wolf is bad - pride, envy, jealousy,

greed, guild, self-pity, the other wolf is

good - kindness, hope, love, service

truth, humility.

The child asks 'Who will win?'

The Grandfather answers simply,

'The one you feed.'