Reviews \ Older Readers

Children's Books for Older Readers

Reviews of children's books suitable for older readers...

Linger

Maggie Stiefvater (author)

Scholastic Press, USA: Australian release November 2010; 360pp

ISBN: 9780545123280

Genres: adventure, fantasy, romance

Issues: friendship, family, identity

Sam isn't quite used to being fully human yet, still expecting every chilly day to trigger his change into a wolf and tear him away from his beloved Grace.

Shiver

Maggie Stiefvater (author)

Scholastic Press, USA: Australian release November 2009; 392pp

ISBN: 9780545123266

Genres: adventure, fantasy, romance

Issues: friendship, family, identity

Grace has always been fascinated by the wolves that haunt the woods near her home. Even after she was mauled by the pack as a child she's felt a special connection to them; especially to the wolf with the bright golden eyes.

Shadows on the Moon

Zoe Marriott (author)

Walker Books, UK: Australian release October 2011; 454pp

ISBN: 9781406318159

Genres: adventure, historical fiction, romance

Issues: family, friendship, identity, loyalty

Suzume's life falls apart when her father is charged with treason and brutally executed in front of her, her cousin shot down beside her as they flee; she miraculously escapes, they do not. She and her mother only survive due to the protection of a powerful Japanese Lord.

Saving Private Sarbi

Sandra Lee (author)

Allen&Unwin, Australia: 2011

ISBN: 9781742375571 13+

Genres: animals, biography, factual text, military, non-fiction

Issues: animal welfare, war

The Explosives Detection Dogs (EDDs) of the Australian Army are highly respected, much loved members of military bases to which they're assigned. The work done by an EDD and its handler saves lives. So when Sarbi, a Newfoundland-Labrador cross, goes missing in action in Afghanistan it is not only her handler who is devastated.

Cooking The Books

Kerry Greenwood (author)

Allen & Unwin, Australia: October 2011; 312pp

ISBN: 9781742370217

Genre: crime

Issues: ethics, trust

Corinna Chapman, baker and reluctant investigator, is supposed to be taking a holiday. Her apprentice Jason, he of the superlative muffins, is absent with leave, learning how to surf. Her bakery is closed.

Mammon

J.B. Thomas (author)

Random House, Australia: September 2011; 376pp

ISBN: 9781742750743

Genres: adventure, paranormal fiction

Issues: family, identity, teamwork

Just as they are beginning to discover that they have extraordinary abilities, Grace and Joe Callahan have to endure the death of their parents who died trying to protect them. It seems their parents, too, had unusual gifts and a previous life that their children knew nothing about: they fought demons.

Wintersmith

Terry Pratchett (author)

Corgi Books, UK: 2007; 399pp

ISBN: 9780552553698

Genres: adventure, fantasy, humour

The Big Wee Hag is in trouble again and the Nac Mac Feegles are determined to help her as best they can. But what can a clan of little blue men (albeit magical ones) do against the might of the spirit of Winter?

Vampyre

Margaret Wild (author)

Andrew Yeo (illustrator)

Walker Books, Australia: September 2011

ISBN: 9781921529221

Genres: picture book, paranormal fiction

Issues: change, identity

'I am Vampyre. Feared. Despised. I live in darkness. I long for light.' A young vampyre yearns for a normal life, the life he had as a child when he walked with his father amongst the verdant forest and fields, greeting the animals and watching the birds.

Life: an exploded diagram

Mal Peet (author)

Walker Books, UK: Australian release August 2011; 416pp

ISBN: 9781884281008

Genres: historical fiction, realistic fiction

Issues: change, family, identity, relationships, sexuality

Norwich, UK, 1962. Clem Ackroyd is working class; Frankie Mortimer is the daughter of a landowner: they must not be seen together or their families will explode.

Only Ever Always

Penni Russon (author)

Allen & Unwin, Australia: August 2011; 157pp

ISBN: 9781741750447

Genres: adventure, surreal

Issues: family, grief, identity, loss

'The dream took you by surprise, clear and resounding as a bell, as though it were waiting for you all along.' (p3) Claire's world is familiar to us: her parents, her uncle and his expectant wife, friendly neighbours. But her dreams are haunted by a broken landscape, one occupied by a brutal society that survives hand-to-mouth and where those without power survive on the scraps of those at the top.