After January

title: After January
Author: Nick Earls
first published: 1996 University of Queensland Press

Meet Alex Delaney, awkward teenage boy of 17 waiting for the 20th of January, the day the university offers are printed in the appear. school is over, a far off memory, the future has to wait, and here is Alex stuck in the middle. he and his mum are at their beach house, expecting a normal summer, of early morning swims, reading, pool and poetry with Len next door and cricket. as long as Alex can remember this has been summer, slowly though people have stopped coming and development has changed the little town, this summer Alex meets a girl.

this is a fabulous summer romance told from the perspective of the guy, which I've never read before. it was charming, are very realistic, it was sweet in parts, but in a believable way. i think the thing that made it so true to life was the awkwardness. this was their first relationship, there were awkward moments, meeting parents, being given money for condoms because 'protection is important' or offering to fix a car when you have no clue about engines.

Alex is a quiet, deep thinking, poetry writer, and just gorgeous. he isn't characterture, or based on a stereotype of jerky jock or unbelievably sweet, but not cute guy, which are the typical boys in romance, he fits in the middle. he can't fix a car, but he makes a great loaf of bread. it's nice to get a story that's about average people, not broken souls, like in Sarah dessen (though i love her work) this is about talking to a girl because you have noting to lose, kissing on the beach and falling asleep holding hands. NO SEX! it's a sweet novel about a summer of growth. have i raved enough yet? all the characters are unique and hold their own. the relationships they all have with each other and Alex add to the story. Len and Alex are funny, talking cricket, poetry and pool each summer, and Fortuna's mother and father and so different, yet in love.

it's also has talk of parents lives, not as parents but as people, respecting the environment/anti-development talk and what you're offering the world, where you want to go. this makes it a deep novel and is well aimed for teenagers, though i found it a touch hard to read, but i think that was my mood. it isn't exactly a page turner or an all- time favourite, but it is probably my favourite teenage romance, it's what i want from my 1st boyfriend.

competition time!

the lovely and talented Romi from where the writer comes to write has two copies of Chasing Odysseus S. D Gentill up for grabs, one to an international reader and one for an Aussie. to win you have to email the answer to these 4 questions:
-why do you love books?
-what do they mean in your life?
-why do you want to read Chasing Odysseus?
-a brief description of what your life would look like without books.

for more information and some interesting posts about the book and author click here

1 girl, 3 brothers... 4 daring young heroes...

Treachery, transformations and a deadly quest.

A thrilling adventure of ancient myth, monsters, gods, sorcerers, sirens, magic and many evils...the fall of Troy and a desperate chase across the seas in a magical ship...

Hero and her three brothers - Mac, Cad and Lycon go on this exciting and dangerous quest to prove their murdered father's honour, the betrayal by King Odysseus and the loyalty of their own people to the conquered city of Troy.

blurb from the publisher Pantera Press. the 1st chapter is available on their website.

Pin-Up Post: Aussie books for ANZAC day

today is ANZAC day, so I'm posting fabulous war stories by Australian authors (of course). this is our first pin-up post. each Pin-Up post is a list of books fitting a theme, all as Australian as i can manage.


A rose for the ANZAC boys by Jackie French
The 'War to end all Wars', as seen through the eyes of three young women It is 1915. War is being fought on a horrific scale in the trenches of France, but it might as well be a world away from sixteen–year–old New Zealander Midge Macpherson, at school in England learning to be a young lady. But the war is coming closer: Midge's brothers are in the army, and her twin, Tim, is listed as 'missing' in the devastating defeat of the Anzac forces at Gallipoli . Desperate to do their bit – and avoid the boredom of school and the restrictions of Society – Midge and her friends Ethel and Anne start a canteen in France, caring for the endless flow of wounded soldiers returning from the front. Midge, recruited by the over–stretched ambulance service, is thrust into carnage and scenes of courage she could never have imagined. And when the war is over, all three girls – and their Anzac boys as well – discover that even going 'home' can be both strange and wonderful. <



Soldier Boy by Anthony Hill 28 June 1915, young James Martin sailed from Melbourne aboard the troopship Berrima – bound, ultimately, for Gallipoli. He was just fourteen years old.
Soldier Boy is Jim's extraordinary true story, the story of a young and enthusiastic school boy who became Australia's youngest known Anzac.
Four months after leaving his home country he would be numbered among the dead, just one of so many soldier boys who travelled halfway around the world for the chance of adventure.
This is, however, just as much the story of Jim's mother, Amelia Martin. It is the heartbreaking tale of the mother who had to let him go, of his family who lost a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend.
It is about Amelia's boy who, like so many others, just wanted to be in on the action.

Once by Morris Gleitzman
Once I escaped from an orphanage to find Mum and Dad.
Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house.
Once I made a Nazi with toothache laugh.
My name is Felix.
This is my story.
Everybody deserves to have something good in their life.
At least once.
this is my favourite war story, the perfect balance between emotion, action and facts. the sense of understanding gained is incredible, and it's beautifully written.

Hitler's Daughter by Jackie French
Four kids tell a story at a bus stop in country Australia on a rainy Monday. But the story seems to have a life of it's own. It's the story of a girl in another time and another country. her name was Heide, and she was Hitler's daughter.
Could- just possibly- the story be true?
this was the 1st story i really read about war, i read it in year 6 for our reading groups, and though the protagonist doesn't have a clue what's going on it was an enlightening read, i loved it.

the blurbs to these are from the author's website or penguin, for more details check those websites or our reviews.
I'm planning to do more of these posts, they're quite fun :)
what do you guys think of the name Pin-up posts? like a list of books you plan to read. I'm still working on it.

Soldier Boy

Happy Easter everyone. in australia tomorrow is ANZAC day,a very important day in australia, so i'm doing an ANZAC series on both my blogs. this is a mini-review i posted in 2009 of a book that i found incredibly interesting, that i thought i'd repost. enjoy!


Title: Soldier Boy: The True Story of Jim Martin, the Youngest Anzac
Author: Anthony Hill
first published: Penguin 2001

i thought Soldier Boy was a fabulous book, but most of my year hated it. It is the true story of Jim Martin the youngest ANZAC, written by Anthony Hill. This story is so thought-provoking in understanding peace and war that I was asking so many question to my parents. Jim Martin was 14 when he went to fight; this I think was the scariest part because I can't imagine people in year nine at my school going off to fight in Iraq.the realistic quality gained from being a true story makes Hill's book really effective at showing bravery and idiocy of war, which is quite an achievement. this is more of a book for a keen reader because it isn't an action book, it isn't like your average YA or kids novel. while most people found it boring i thought the ideas and the questions it made me ask were well worth the more factual writing style. i'd be REALLY interested in your opinions on this book.

Everyone should read this book. You understand so much more of what World War One was really like, why people lied about their age to go and get shot at, why they thought it would be fun and exciting. I have gained a new respect for all soldiers, ones from past wars, ones from the present, dead and alive. it gave me a new understanding of their stories and their importance.

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.

Fighting Ruben Wolfe

Title:Fighting Ruben Wolfe
Author: Markus Zusak
First Published: 2000

The family is broke, ever since their dad's accident at while on the construction sight no one has wanted to hire him and things are getting desperate. Ruben and Cameron join a boxing competition to try and make some money, though they know their father will never accept charity this is the reason to go into the ring. as they season continues though they both have to realise that it is not their real reason. Fighting Ruben Wolfe is a story about fighting as opposed to winning, a story about family, but most of all it's a story about having heart.

Fighting Ruben Wolfe is the book before Getting the Girl. i never knew they were in an series until i picked up this book in the library last week. i knew that there was another book about the Wolfe Family, but i always thought that with Ruben's name in the title that it would be from his perspective, not Cameron's. this is another boo told by good old, awkward Cameron. i assure you, you will love him. he is so perfectly flawed, and has such a heart you'll want to be his friend, to protect him from everyone. i swear every time i read a Markus Zusak book his characters never leave him, but Cam, i just want to know him more and more. i recommend you read Fighting Ruben Wolfe first and then getting the Girl, their order they were intended to be read in, because you see the characters change in the right order, which is the joy of reading Markus Zusak.

I Am Number 4 Giveaway

Isme from The Book Slooth is hosting yet another competition. isn't she amazing? i found it effort to organise 1!

John Smith is not what meets the eye.
He looks like your average teenager, but what you don't know is that he is actually an alien from another planet called Lorien.
Invaded by Mogadorians, the people of the planet Lorien are forced to flee to Earth.
There Were Nine. The Mogadorians have killed three.
John Smith is Number Four.
Can he save his life and those of Paradise, Ohio, before it's too late?

Isme has a copy of I am Number Four up for grabs. just go to her blog and comment on the post. just click right here. this competition is open internationally.

you can read her review here

Enjoy!