Run by Sarah Armstrong

Cas (short for Casper) has experienced some dreadful things in his short life. He is only twelve. His mum left him and his dad when Casper was just four years old. He has no real memory of her, but he has so many unanswered questions. Did she leave because he did something wrong? Does she miss him? Where does she live now? Cas is left with his dad but that's when life becomes even harder because dad cannot cope. He does not buy food, he has no job and he shows no affection towards his young son. Cas is forced to scavenge for food in dumpsters. If anyone offers him the tiniest touch of affection it almost overwhelms him. Eventually Cas is sent to live with Mel - his father's sister and his aunt. She tries hard and is able to give Cas a stable home but then, unbeknown to Cas, his father wants to resume contact. Mel organises for Cas to spend a day with his father but he absolutely does not want to go. At the last minute Mel is unwell and so she sends Cas with her former partner Kimberley. 

Cas is seething, so when Kimberley's car veers off the road, Cas takes his chance and dives out of the car and runs away. Note the title of this book - run! Cas is now running. He thinks of the way people survive on television series like Alone. Of course, he lacks skills and equipment, and he knows he has put himself into a dangerous situation and then he meets three people - a father and his two daughters. They have been living in the bush for two years but why? And who are these people? Can he trust them? How will he find his way home without them? But then there is a major landslide and it seems he is stuck. 

Waking up in the middle of the night and wanting to keep reading is a sign of a great book. I started Run at about 9pm one night and by the middle of the next day I finished off the whole book. I think this action thriller will greatly appeal to readers aged 10+. It is a survival story but is it also a story about forgiveness and about 'growing up'.

Publisher blurb: Cas thought running away from home would solve all his problems. But he didn’t count on getting hopelessly lost in the tangled Australian bush. Alone and afraid, Cas has given up all hope of rescue when he stumbles upon a strange family hiding out in the wilderness. He won’t survive without their help. But when he discovers they’re also on the run – from something so big, they won’t even talk about it – he realises his problems are just beginning …

This is a fast-paced survival story that also manages to thoughtfully address themes of family and forgiveness. Set in the bush, it’s an exciting read filled with strong, memorable characters. The plot is gripping, yet written with sensitivity and an inclusive approach. Readings Melbourne

Without giving away too much that would spoil the suspense or the story itself, it really has many layers and moral dilemmas entwined throughout and will have you questioning what you would do if you were not only in Cas’ situation, but also that of Mack, Pearl and Viv. And then there are the feelings and emotions that his family and friends are going through, not knowing where Cas is, or if he is even safe. A suspenseful and fast-paced story of survival, with many twists and turns, but also a story of family, friendship, trust and belonging, and is suited to those in lower secondary and also to those in upper primary as well. Lamont

Companion reads:

The Honest Truth

Cop and Robber

Being Jimmy Baxter

The Lovely and the Lost

Sunshine

Pax

A Different Dog

Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker illustrated by Matthew Cordell

What are people for?

Okay, before I tell you about Leeva at Last, I want you to locate your own book wish list or library shopping list and add this book NOW! Readers aged 9+ will LOVE meeting Leeva and her friends and teachers are also sure to thoroughly enjoy reading this book as a class serial story - not with work sheets - just for the joy of a terrific story with that all important very happy ending. There are 54 short chapters in this book which has 300 pages set in a good size font with a sprinkling of illustrations by Matthew Cordell. Fans of Matilda will love meeting brave Leeva as will readers who enjoyed Flora and Ulysses -The illuminated adventures by Kate DiCamillo.

Leeva Thornblossom has the most despicable parents you will ever meet in a story unless you have met Matilda's parents from the famous book by Roald Dahl and also the parents from The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry but to me these parents seem even worse than all of those. Mayor Thornblossom and her husband Dolton only care about fame (that's the Mayor) and money (that's her dad). Now that Leeva is old enough she has become their slave. She cooks, cleans, mows the lawn and completes money problems for her father who is the town treasurer. These parents are so completely dreadful I can hardly begin to describe them. Here is an example showing how Leeva got her name:

Nurse Blackberry needs Mayor Thornblossom to fill in the birth certificate forms for her new baby. The Mayor has been so demanding.

"She was fed up, ready to snap. And now here she was, holding the birth certificate, asking what the new baby' name was and hearing in reply, 'Don't you know who I am? You do it, nurse!'. Well, Nurse Blackberry snapped. 'Look! The last name is filled in already: Thornblossom! All that's left is ... "first name. Middle name ... leave a space."

"Each time her parents related the story, they cackled in glee. But Leeva knew it wasn't funny. In fact, it was a pitiful thing to have been named so carelessly."

And here is how Leeva makes her own shoes from the packets which contain her father's daily food called Cheezaroni:

"Cheezaroni bore a glancing resemblance to macaroni and cheese, except that the macaroni and the cheese were indistinguishable from each other and they were both indistinguishable from the box, so even when you followed the instructions perfectly, what you ended up with was a flavourless cardboardy mash that smelt powerfully of feet."

"They were her sandals - a fairly new pair. She was proud of these shoes, which she fashioned by molding tinfoil Cheezaroini trays around her feet, then strapping them on with masking tape. In winter, she molded a second Cheezaroni tray over the top of each foot to keep the heat in. The shoes were never comfortable, and the tape left itchy bands around her ankles, but the silvery flash they made when they caught the light was lovely."

More about those parents:

"Now, Reader, Leeva had known her mother and father were liars, of course. According to the stories they told each other at night, lying was pretty much all they did in their jobs ... But it had never occurred to her that they would lie to her, their own daughter."

Her father is greedy and obsessed with making and saving money and her mother is vain, greedy and obsessed with becoming famous.

Luckily, yes there is always a luckily, next door to her house Leeva discovers a library. Harry, nephew of the librarian Mrs Pauline Flowers (yes she is just like Miss Honey) gives Leeva a precious library card and the courage to step away from her parents and all their tortuous rules. Mrs Flowers also gives Leeva perfect books, delicious cookies every day, yummy lunches and later a flask of extra cold milk. Leeva also discovers toast for the first time thanks to the kind librarian.

Things that brighten Leeva's day:

• The daily newspaper - the Nutsmore Weekly and their word of the day. 
• The television soap opera - The Winds of our Tides - this is where Leeva has learnt about 'real life'.
• The program Vim and Vigor at any Age - a television exercise program
• Cookies made by Mrs Flower - chocolate chunk with toasted hazelnuts; Champurradas from Guatemala; and many more from every country in the world
• Wonderful library books such as Charlotte's Web; New Kid; Where the mountain meets the Moon; Bud, not Buddy; Other words for Home; One Crazy Summer; and Because of Winn Dixie.  By the end of her first week she has read 70 books!
• Her new "pet" Bob the badger
• Special friends - Osmund, Fern, Harry and his aunt.

There is a lot of slap-stick humour in this book BUT there are also some precious and tender moments. Leeva has never had a hug. She has never eaten hot toast with butter. She has no idea about gingersnaps. And she can only braid her her into two plaits. No mother or father have ever touched her or her hair, but she longs for a braid like her new friend Fern - a single perfect braid, with every hair in place. 

When her parents finally ban her from leaving the house ever again, Osmund arrives to find out what has happened. One lovely day some weeks ago he gave Leeva a comb - one of the first presents she had ever received.

"He pointed at the comb in Leeva's hand. 'Give it to me.' Leeva hesitated. It would hurt her to return the first thing she'd every owned all to herself. But as last she held it out. Osmund took the comb. He stood up. 'Turn around.' Although Leeva suspected Osmund would run away now, she turned around. She held her breath, waiting to hear his boots clomp out of the park. ... And then she felt him tug the rubber bands from her braids. She felt him unweave her braids and comb out her hair. She felt him divide it into three sections and lay the sections, right-over-centre, left-over-center, .... into a single braid down the middle of her back."

Read these reviews:

Splendid fun. Kirkus

Nobody’s parents are perfect, but Leeva’s are the worst. Even worse than those you might have met in Roald Dahl’s story of that long-suffering girl, Matilda.  Books for Keeps

I marvel at the variety of books written by Sara Pennypacker from the serious survival book Pax, the fun of Clementine and the powerful environmental message of Sparrow Girl.

Pax and Pax: Journey Home

Clementine

Waylon

Sparrow Girl