Graffiti Moon

Title: Graffiti Moon
Author: Cath Crowley

Lucy is in love with Shadow, a mysterious graffiti artist.

Ed thought he was in love with Lucy, until she broke his nose.

Dylan loves Daisy, but throwing eggs at her probably wasn't the best way to show it.

Jazz and Leo are slowly encircling each other.

An intense and exhilarating 24 hours in the lives of four teenagers on the verge: of adulthood, of HSC, of finding out just who they are, and who they want to be.
From the Pan Macmillan Australia Website


loved it, one of my favourite reads of the year.
i loved the characters, the original plot line, the dynamic writing. it dips into memories building to this night, while driving the adventure forward smoothly.
the use of detail was so good, i could almost feel the heat.
my favourite thing though were the poems. Amazing.
it's funny as well :)
i read this months ago while i was having tests/assessments etc and didn't get t review it, but i feel I've said all i need to.
so sweet, so true. not quite like anything I've read before.

Quotes
"Your idea of romance requires a corset and a time machine. Loosen up for once." - Jazz

"... but I guess love's kind of like a marshmallow in a microwave, on high. After it explodes it's still a marshmallow. But, you know, it's a complicated marshmallow." -Lucy-

"he can't remember when he lost them
But he lost the daytime things" -Leo-

The Diary of a Would-Be Princess

I've decided to do a series review of The Diary of a Would-Be Princess series, now published just as books 1 to 3. the first to were published as Diary of a would be princess and a Tyranny of Toads, but with the release of the third book this year they have been reprinted and just named books one to three.




This series is aimed at girls of about 9-12. i read the first two books when i was 10 and really loved them, so when i spotted the third in the library last week i grabbed it, and I'll admit i still love Jillian James as much as when i met her when we were both in year 5. these are about the average life of an Australian school girl pretty much, but they're hilarious and interesting. Jillian always struggles with making and keeping friends, and excepting her self in her current situation. the moment she gets things sorted the next year seems to rush in with new challenges. she says in the second book "last year i got in trouble for not compromising enough, now I'm in trouble for compromising too much!" that's an annotated quote because i donated my copy to the local library and can't check the exact quote. every year has adventures and surprises, like the dreaded sports carnival, new teachers, new students, homework, horrible brothers, unfair parents and always a happy ending at the end on the school year. it's hard to explain all 3 books, but that's the best can do. search the titles and you can get good blurbs.

these books start with Jillian in year 5 with the lovely Mrs Bright having to start a journal. the book is scattered with comments by Mrs bright, it's such a nice touch. in the 2nd book, sometimes called a Tyranny of Toads Jillian is in year 6 with the terrifying Mr Rose and her diary is kept carefully at home hidden in her undies draw, as all girls do with their precious things (i swear, i actually do). their are no teacher comments this year, instead her older brother Richard leaves her sticky notes, which get stuck in. in the most recent, third diary Jillian is starting high school, and it's an exciting year. this year Richard leaves her famous, inspiration quotes from a calender he received for Christmas, usually cleverly annotated to annoy his little sister.

Jillian is another of my favourite characters. she's so clever, funny and insightful. i challenge you not to love her. in my last review i talked about how i couldn't believe Cameron Wolfe from Fighting Ruben Wolfe wasn't real, i feel the same way about Jillian.she's so perfectly flawed, always solving her problems, and causing more. I wish she was my best friend, we'd get along so well. her insight makes this a great book for mothers to share with their daughters. Diary of a Would-Be is not yet another, shallow, sugar-coated book, it's a good read, with character development. i was a bit too old for the 3rd book, it really is not the under 12s, but i could understand exactly what Jillian was feeling, and apply parts of it to year 10.all three book are filled with quotes from famous people, books and plays, like hamlet and Buddha, and new words like scapegoat. this is the perfect book for girls about 9-12, funny, interesting, with a happy ending.
honestly, these series is one of my favourites in case you haven't guessed, though all you lovely readers are a tad too old :)

sorry this post is such a mess, i ramble a lot. I'm working on it.

Jarvis 24

title: Jarvis 24
author: David Metzenthen
published: penguin

i actually read this a few weeks ago, but somehow never got round to reviewing it. Jarvis 24 has been a big award winner in Australia this year taking gold in the children's book council, and i gotta agree that it deserves it. it really enjoyed it.

Marc Jarvis has to do work experience, it's either that or spend a week in the school library doing assignments. as he walks past the local second hand car yard he decides to see if they'd let him work there for the week. only partly inspired by the beautiful girl walking out of the gate. from here the story unfolds. new and old friends and relationships.

this book kept me up all night, just because i couldn't bring myself to put it down. I'd also like to say that thanks to David metzenthen everyone who was near me while i was reading this book thinks I'm crazy because i couldn't help but laugh out loud.
i also loved reading from what seemed a typical guy, because it's rare in a non-adventure, sport, action book to have a main protagonist, especially one as realistic at Marc Jarvis.

over all i thought this book had a great, gentle ending, but there was one thing i was left wondering and i actually looked for a way to contact the author so i could ask him, unfortunately i couldn't. apart from that i loved the whole book.

I Lost my Mobile at the Mall

Title:I Lost my Mobile at the Mall
Author: Wendy Harmer
First Published: 2009 by random house Australia
Pages: 319

this book is awesome!
at first i thought i wasn't going to love it. you know, OK but not great. but quickly i got to know our main character elly, how she loves words and worries . i kept reading and not only had she lost her mobile, she had a broken heart, no computer, lots of confusing thoughts about society. and a few other problems to tackle. her lack of technology for 2 weeks really changed the way she saw everything.

i love how realistic this book was and how interesting the characters were, her boyfriend defiantly wasn't what i expected. my favourite thing was its take on just how connected we are now compaired to any other time, even though maybe we're less in-touch than we think. also the minor view on cyber bullying that came with it.
when Elly searched cyber bullying this came up " like drinking and driving, emotions and the internet don't mix. Don't react or you could end up being a cyberbully yourself" which reminds me what goes on online is not the same as is in real, saying something is going to come across differently than if you read it.

i also love all the quotes scattered through the book from jane eyre and websites. a very nice touch.

unreal!

title:unreal!
Author: Paul Jennings
first published:1985 by penguin
pages:107

this is a book of crazy stories which happen to be hilarious. they'd be good for almost any age, it would be a great birthday present for a younger sibling because you could steal it after or a good one to read when baby-sitting because not only the 9 years will be in stitches. the first story is about a poor boy who when ever he speaks must add 'with out a shirt' on to the end. admittedly not all the stories are laugh-out-loud funny, but they are good.

some of these stories are a bit weird, but they are written well and some are excellent. another cool thing is the covers. they are two layers, the top one has a hole in it showing part but not all of the under layer and they look really cool. there are lots of other short story books all the same idea but with different stories. in one story the protagonist always says the opposite word. eg yes instead of no, left instead of right. I'm not sure if you guys out of Australia watched Round the Twist, Paul Jennings also wrote that.

warning some of these tales are a bit strange and involve people dying, but not in a gruesome way.

Feeling Sorry For Celia

Title: Feeling Sorry For Celia

Author: Jaclyn Moriarty

First Published: 2000 by Pac Macmillan Australia Pty Limited

When Elizabeth Clarry's English teacher announces that their school and another high school that stands two blocks away will start a letter writing project everyone, including Elizabeth, is extremely annoyed.

Until a girl named Christina starts writing back to Celia. Soon enough the girls form a strong friendship and learn that letter writing is the only thing keeping them sane - what with Elizabeth's best friend Celia running away again, her dad deciding to come back to Sydney for a year (keeping his Canadian wife and son behind in Canada) and the Trail Run coming up.

Christina's life isn't that easy either - she has to juggle her boyfriend Derek with her four brothers and sisters and her boy-crazy best friend/cousin.

This story was truly amazing. It was written in the form of letters between Christina and Libby, notes between Libby and her Mum, and imaginary letters to Libby from societies such as The Association of Teenagers (who advise her to climb in the fridge and never come out again), the COLD HARD TRUTH ASSOCIATION and The Best Friends club, and later on some Anonymous letters from a boy who is on her bus...

The book was really hilarious even in the most shocking and sad bits. Here's a tip: don't read this book before bed because not only will you stay up half the night reading to find out what happens next, but you'll also be laughing so hard you won't be able to close your eyes. Trust me.

I give it a 5/5.