Sandy Feet

Sandy Feet by Nikki Buick. (University of Queensland Press)
PB RRP $19.95
ISBN 978 0 7022 5315 7
Reviewed by Jo Antareau

For most teenagers, the thought of an extended Australian road trip with family and no access to electronic media would be sheer torture. Hunter is no exception. But as the story unfolds, we find that he is not just a self-absorbed adolescent and this story is so much more than the ‘live a simpler life to reconnect with family’ theme that is so overused it is now a cliché.

Hunter has had a lot to cope with. Grief, his mother’s mental health issues, a sister with special needs and a new step-father and baby half-brother suddenly entering his life, on top of having survived an accident in which others were killed.  The journey is presented to him as a chance for his new blended family to bond and recover from past wounds, but Hunter gradually suspects there is more to it than that.

As the story unfolds Hunter learns that the adults in his life have lied to him. He still resents his father for abandoning them when he was younger but also misses him deeply following the tragic accident. Buick has skilfully adopted the voice of a young adult male; the resentment tempered with humour, whilst keeping the self-pitying to a realistic minimum.

This is ultimately a story about parents learning to have faith that their children can make healthy decisions for themselves, and that running away never solves anything. Along the way, Hunter learns to deal with his longing and grief in tandem with his own growing self-awareness and eventual forgiveness for the adults in his life, who are as flawed as he is.

 

 

Sandy Feet

Sandy Feet by Nikki Buick. (University of Queensland Press)
PB RRP $19.95
ISBN 978 0 7022 5315 7
Reviewed by Jo Antareau

For most teenagers, the thought of an extended Australian road trip with family and no access to electronic media would be sheer torture. Hunter is no exception. But as the story unfolds, we find that he is not just a self-absorbed adolescent and this story is so much more than the ‘live a simpler life to reconnect with family’ theme that is so overused it is now a cliché.

Hunter has had a lot to cope with. Grief, his mother’s mental health issues, a sister with special needs and a new step-father and baby half-brother suddenly entering his life, on top of having survived an accident in which others were killed.  The journey is presented to him as a chance for his new blended family to bond and recover from past wounds, but Hunter gradually suspects there is more to it than that.

As the story unfolds Hunter learns that the adults in his life have lied to him. He still resents his father for abandoning them when he was younger but also misses him deeply following the tragic accident. Buick has skilfully adopted the voice of a young adult male; the resentment tempered with humour, whilst keeping the self-pitying to a realistic minimum.

This is ultimately a story about parents learning to have faith that their children can make healthy decisions for themselves, and that running away never solves anything. Along the way, Hunter learns to deal with his longing and grief in tandem with his own growing self-awareness and eventual forgiveness for the adults in his life, who are as flawed as he is.

 

 

Cry Blue Murder

Cry Blue Murder by Kim Kane and Marion Roberts, (University of Queensland Press)
PB RRP $19.95
ISBN 978 0 7022 39267
Reviewed by Jo Antareau

Three teenage schoolgirls have simply disappeared from the streets of Melbourne in broad daylight, two of whom turned up dead weeks later. No arrests have been made, and it’s a topic on everybody’s mind, particularly other girls who might have known, or known of, the victims. Nobody feels safe anymore.

In this highly original YA novel, the authors explore what might make a seemingly intelligent, sensible girl willingly enter the car of a killer. The answer: she trusted the person in the car. Or more precisely, the killer was very calculating and knew exactly how to gain her trust. Told mainly in the email conversation between two fifteen-year-old private schoolgirls, Celia and Alice – interspersed with snippets of newspaper articles and transcripts of police interviews – the story explores how a pernicious stalker might groom somebody into trusting him. The girls discuss their personal lives; both feel alienated, are vulnerable and need a confidante, all factors that make a child a higher risk of being preyed on.

Clues are scattered throughout the narrative; the killer is closer than our narrators might imagine. He lurks, weaving his web of lies, baiting a trap that might spring at any moment.

A chilling psychological thriller, a page-turner that had me hoping that the killer might slip up and have the tables turned on him. I generally find epistle narratives dry as they rely on ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’, however this one shines with the voices of both main characters. This is the authors’ first collaborative project, although both Kane and Roberts have already published a few novels. I hope they keep going.

Bea

Bea by Christine Sharp (University of Queensland Press)
HB RRP $24.95
ISBN 978 0 7022 4961
Reviewed by Jo Antareau

This is a picture book about a yellow and pink bird, Bea, whose tastes are out of synch with the rest of her flock. She dances to disco beats, flies with the bats and eschews worms and ants in favour of baking her own treats (we never find out if she shares these with her companions). Illustrated with vibrant colours, the story is about embracing individuality and respecting choices.

Sharp has portrayed Bea’s ‘unusual tastes’ and the flock’s choices as being equal; the author does not presume that Bea’s actions make her in any way superior. Bea and her peers are all illustrated with zany pictures that makes every option look like fun. Indeed, it is easy to imagine children opting to play in puddles with the rest of the flock in preference to Bea’s taste for a bubble bath.

Whilst Bea is never bullied as a result of her actions, she always plays by herself. It is not referred to in the text, but the illustrations make it clear that the price of doing one’s own thing is doing it alone – although she does not seem to mind. That is, until a new character, her friend Bernie is introduced mid-way through the text.

She drives a bus across the country to meet up with him and together they sing to the moon and fly kites. They continue to joyfully embrace their own shared pleasures, ignoring what the others do for fun.

This heart-warming tale is author/ illustrator Christine Sharp’s first book.

When my name was Keoko

When my name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park (University of Queensland Press)
PB RRP $16.95
ISBN 9 780702 249 747
Reviewed by Jo Antareau

Imagine living in a country that has been invaded by, then taken over by another. All of a sudden, you are no longer allowed to speak your language, tell stories passed down through generations, or even use the name you were born with.  Years before Gangnam Style and K-pop, this was Korea’s reality. A country occupied by the Japanese and its people forced to do whatever Japanese invaders told them to.

Written for children over 9 years, this story is based on events that the author’s parents lived through.  Both sad and funny, Linda Sue Park tells the story of Kim Sun-hee, a girl who never forgot her name even when forced to take on a Japanese name, Keoko. Park details the everyday outrages that were perpetrated on ordinary people, such as when Sun-hee’s brother Tae-yul had to give up the bicycle he painstakingly rebuilt because a Japanese soldier took a fancy to it.

The tone of the novel changes half way, as World War two commences. Koreans were expected to support Japan’s war effort by giving up their valuable possessions. Then Sun-hee’s beloved uncle disappears and although the family suspect he has joined the resistance movement, they have no way of knowing whether he is still alive.

With food and goods scarce, the families of Koreans who enlist with the Japanese army are rewarded with larger rations, older brother Tae-yul (who dreamed of being a pilot) joins up, to the outrage of the family. However Sun-hee never loses faith in him, believing he had a plan to sabotage any mission he took part in. Written in alternating viewpoints, tension mounts as Park drops hints about what Tae-yul feels he must do, and the final twist caught me by surprise.

I found this story well written and engrossing to read. American author, Linda Sue Park won the Newbery prize with her previous novel, A Single Shard.

Brave Squish Rabbit

 Brave Squish Rabbit written and illustrated by Katherine Battersby (University of Queensland Press)

HB RRP $19.95

ISBN 978-0-7022-4943-3

Reviewed by Jo Antareau

A follow up to Squish Rabbit, this beautiful picture book is immediately appealing.  Its padded cover engages the tactile sense, and children will also enjoy exploring the glow-in-the-dark feature. All this before the book has even been opened!

The story tells the adventure of Squish Rabbit, a small creature, who is able to put his biggest fears aside to search for his missing friend. His fears are those shared by many children – the dark, storms, and animals (in his case, chickens).

Although Battersby, a paediatric Occupational Therapist, stated that she used the approach outlined when helping children with fears, the dialectical component of the piece is never allowed to overshadow the storyline. Told simply and economically, the story flows at its own pace.

Some passages are narrated entirely in pictures, and children can follow Squish Rabbit’s progress as he approaches a scary silhouette, loses his nerve and runs for cover, but has to return to retrieve his own dropped toy, and inadvertently comes close enough to face one of his biggest fears.

Although the story is about feeling frightened, the illustrations are not scary. Beautiful, with bold colours and layers of textures, the pictures are simple and reassuring to a young reader.  Brave Squish Rabbit is a wonderful addition to any child’s bookshelf. 

Word Hunters: The Curious Dictionary

Word Hunters: The Curious Dictionary by Nick Earls, illustrated by Terry Whidborne (University of Queensland Press)
PB RRP $14.95
ISBN978-0-7022-4945-7
Reviewed by Jo Antareau

Hold onto your hats – it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Twelve-year-old Al is a quiet history buff; his twin Lexi is anything but. When Al and Lexi Hunter stumble on an old dictionary, they are catapulted back through time and space, with only some mysterious pegs as clues.

This is a time-travel adventure with a lexical twist. The twins lurch between eras and countries – they witness the Battle of Hastings, visit Thomas Edison’s laboratory and crew a whaling ship – and soon discover the link between each point in history is the turning point for a word. They witness the situation which forced a word to gain a new meaning. After hearing the new use for an old word, are able to open a portal and travel further back to the previous time the word’s meaning changed, until its debut in English.

The first in a new series, this well researched novel is for readers aged 9 and up, and designed to appeal to the word-nerd in all of us. Beautifully presented with an embossed cover, Terry Whidbourne’s detailed line illustrations bring the story to life.

Word Hunters introduces readers to the concept that language evolves over the generations. Earls was inspired to use etymology as the background for an adventure.

My reservation, however, is that some children in the targeted age group may lose interest in the earlier part of the story, as Lexi and Al merely witness events, and do not actively participate in the action around them, other than to escape. For example, upon hearing the word “hello” used as a sound-beacon in a dark and choppy sea, they are promptly whisked away from impending danger. Some readers may feel cheated that it is never revealed whether two whaling boats collide (although presumably, some crew survived, in order for the word to continue). However, Al and Lexi do actively solve problems in later escapades, so I suggest that parents encourage kids to continue.

The crux of the story, that words are disappearing from history, and that the twins’ own long-missing grandfather may be trapped in an earlier epoch, is revealed in the latter half, and paves the way for a sequel.

A full set of teacher’s notes is available from UQP for $14.95.

City

City by James Roy (UQP)
PB RRP $19.95
ISBN 978-0-7022-4926-6
Reviewed by Jo Antareau

In this companion piece to his previous short story collection, Town, award-winning Australian author James Roy brings us a cross-section of city life told in twenty-two short pieces. Although aimed at a Young Adult audience, I (an adult) found it enjoyable. There are some drug references in the novel, but substance use is not portrayed.

Set in an unnamed modern Western city, Roy offers us tantalizing glimpses into the lives of some young adults. Roy is a skilled tease. With economical use of words, he gives us a lot – and leaves the reader wanting to know more.

The characters span the social spectrum – the unemployed, junkies, poets, artists, private school boys, students, speed-daters, workers, visitors from the country – mostly strangers, are linked by invisible threads. The connections that bind a city's inhabitants similarly unite the protagonists... the music, the streets, nightlife, the buses, the poem scrawled on a wall, the sporting teams. Roy elegantly demonstrates that we are all only separated by a few degrees.

Each piece in this anthology skilfully portrays the hopes and disappointments, wisdom and stupidity, prejudices and tolerances, pain and resilience of these people. They are all unique, yet easily recognisable. My favourite was Lauren the nurse, and her budding romance with an African musician, but admit to a soft spot for the slow-witted Chunks, who takes umbrage at a thug and ends up naked and hog-tied, dragging his equally impulsive mates into a head-on confrontation with a group of armed men.

City can be read as a series of discrete short stories. But this would be denying the fun of referring back to a previous story, to confirm where you might have read about this particular person earlier as they make a cameo in another's story.

Beautifully written with an economy of words, City had the effect of making me want to go back and read Roy's previous work Town. I can offer no higher praise to a writer than that.

A set of teaching notes is also available from the publisher, RRP $19.95.