Ana and the Prophecy of the Bones

Ana and the Prophecy of the Bones by Pauline Hosking (Lilly Pilly Publishing) PB RRP $17.99 ISBN: 9780958038119

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

Any book title that contains the words ‘prophecy’ and ‘bones’ sets off the wonder and intrigue synapses in my reading brain.

Then there’s the actual prophecy, which comes to light on page 2:

‘… four young shortlifes will stand against us. One who is wise, one who is foolish, one who is kind and one with royal blood.’

I am not a wide reader of fantasy, usually preferring other genres, so this instantly gave me Harry Potter vibes. (Sorry, that’s a bit cliché but you’ll know where I’m coming from.) These are good vibes though because I was, through a combination of the above factors, instantly intrigued.

The first chapter of Ana and the Prophecy of the Bones is spent worldbuilding and filling the reader in on a few essential details. For me, however, the story begins when we meet protagonist and magical prodigy, Ana, in chapter 2 and are invited into her world – that of a spellbinder in the Academia, an education institution for ‘bloom children’ who possess one of the three powers of magical protection, healing and technological invention.

In creating Ana, Pauline Hosking has given us a slightly unlikeable protagonist – one who is a little full of herself, thanks to being hailed as a prodigy from the start. I found this refreshing. Not all protagonists have to be likeable, and it paved the way for greater contrast between Ana and her two offsiders, nerdy and awkward Penn (a tek) and kind Gilly (a pothecary), and later, Tamin, a Pantheran who Ana saves from the clutches of the tyrant, Lord Karapaz.

Pauline Hosking does not leave us waiting for the action to begin. Led by hagwitch, Drabani-of-the-bones, the Var are ready to assist Karapaz and his band of seawolves across the swamplands with a view to vanquishing Academia, reclaiming their homeland and allowing the tyrant Lord to continue his quest for domination and power.

The staff at Academia swing into action, corralling the fourth years and sending home the younger students. Unfortunately, this includes Ana, who – as a prodigy with powers that rival the more experienced apprentices – is affronted at being asked to leave. To add insult to her injury, when she approaches her mentor, demanding to be allowed to stay and fight, she is granted the right to stay – but only as a helper to the pothecaries. No fighting allowed.

There is no love lost between the three groups of students, but despite her intentions, Ana finds that she needs Penn and Gilly.

Ana and the Prophesy of the Bones is an action-packed middle grade fantasy that also explores self-perception and acceptance. I can see readers aligning with one of the three bloom guilds, or possibly even the Pantherans, as they go head-to-head with multiple villains in the fight to save their island.

An enjoyable read that lends itself to a series … so over to you, Pauline Hosking!  

Ana and the Prophecy of the Bones

Ana and the Prophecy of the Bones by Pauline Hosking (Lilly Pilly Publishing)

The bones predict that only four young shortlifes can save their island from invasion: one who is wise, one who is foolish, one who is kind and one with royal blood. Ana discovers she is one of the four.

This novel is set on the island of Miran where the young spellbinder, Ana, lives. Due to her exceptional magical ability, Ana is fast tracked through her apprenticeship at the Academia. This makes her feel superior to others—especially folk with no magic. But it’s lonely at the top.

The prophecy of the bones is that only four young shortlifes can save their island from invaders: one who is wise, one who is foolish, one who is kind and one with royal blood. Ana discovers she is one of the four.

After she loses her magic, she must dig deep and find what she is really made of. She forms unexpected friendships and comes to appreciate that everyone has their own strengths and abilities. Oh, and yes. She and her new friends do save the island from the insect-like Var, a hag-witch, and the tyrant Karapaz.

This is a dark and dangerous fantasy for readers 9 to 12 years.

The End of the World is Bigger Than Love

The End of the World is Bigger Than Love by Davina Bell, (Text), 2020, RRP $24.00 pb  ISBN: 9781922268822

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

This intriguing YA novel combines unreliable narrators with magic realism. Davina Bell creates a world in which reality and fantasy join hands and dance together. It’s a challenging, yet satisfying, read.

The world has become a place of terror, public executions and climate disaster. Identical twin sisters, Summer and Winter, live in isolation on a remote island. Years ago their father brought them there. He was a scientist, responsible, among other things, for The Greying, an illnesss that ultimately kills.

Summer is the more hip, talkative sister with a well-developed sense of humour. Winter is quieter and kinder. The girls grow into teenagers, surviving in their own intense reality, eating through a stockpile of tinned food, reading and re-reading their mother’s favourite books. Fictional characters fulfil their need for friends. The words of characters in To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Outsiders and The Power of One are quoted and requoted.

Then a mysterious stranger, Edward, appears, disrupting the girls’ carefully constructed world. Summer only refers to him as ‘the bear’. Winter falls in love.

Alternating chapters written by Summer and Winter draw the reader into a fantastical world where nothing is as it seems. Their mother didn’t die when Winter was born. Edward hasn’t appeared by chance. The sisters are not living on an island.

Most unexpected of all is the hint that perhaps there is only one sister. Has Winter created a second self to help her cope with so many horrific life experiences? After the final page there’s a quote from Albert Camus: ‘In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer…’

The book is full of wonderfully-written dreamlike sequences: the talking whale is especially memorable. YA readers will delight in its complexity and intricate plotting.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, (Scholastic), 2020, RRP $20.99 pb ISBN: 9781743836811

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

         

This is a prequel to the original Hunger Games books. The Games were devised by the Capitol of Panem to punish the Districts for starting a war. A boy and girl tribute from each district is sent to fight in an arena until only one remains alive. Now it is time for the tenth Hunger Games and already the population’s interest is waning. It isn’t the full bells and whistles event it will eventually become.

The main character is teenager Coriolanus Snow, the notorious President Snow of later books. The Snow’s, once an influential family, have fallen on hard times and are living in barely concealed poverty. Coriolanus is chosen to mentor one of the tributes for the Games. If his tribute does well, Coriolanus will win prize money and be able to afford to go to university.

He is assigned Lucy Gray Baird from District 12, who has made her living from singing and composing songs. Initially he is bitterly disappointed, but Lucy has charisma and he begins to see her as a person and not a means to an end. In fact, he becomes infatuated and cheats to help her win the Games. The second part of the book concerns what happens next. 

The question is posed: how much of Coriolanus Snow’s character was he born with and how much is shaped by the events he lives through? Coriolanus is certainly changed by his experiences and it is possible to see the monster he will ultimately become.

The Hunger Games trilogy were compulsive reading when they first appeared in 2008, and many will know the story of Katniss and Peeta through the movies. This new addition does not disappoint. It is written in the third person (the first three books were in first person) which gives Suzanne Collins space to draw parallels between dystopian Panam and present-day society, especially the use of media and spin.

Are people ultimately evil and must be controlled?  Or is there natural goodness as Lucy hopes? She is an enigmatic character. Readers must decide for themselves whether she is as honest as she appears. Perhaps she is simply a very talented performer. 

Compelling, well crafted, full of powerful social commentary and great characters, this is a book YA and confident middle grade readers will love. Hopefully, it is the first in a new series about Panam.

Beyond Belief

Beyond Belief by Dee White, (Omnibus Books), 2020, RRP $17.99 pb

      ISBN: 9781760662516

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

Dee White’s book was inspired by the way Muslims in Paris saved the lives of many Jewish children during World War II. This unusual and generally unrecognised true story makes Beyond Belief a valuable addition to middle grade books dealing with this period. It’s also a rattling good adventure full of suspense, with easily likeable characters and a strong evocation of place.

When France is invaded, eleven-year-old Ruben’s parents take him to the Grand Mosque in Paris. They are going to find his sister who has disappeared somewhere in the south of France. Rubin must wait, pretending to be a Muslim, until the legendary Fox appears to take him to Spain where he will be united with his family.

Unfortunately, the Mosque is not safe. It is frequently visited and searched by Nazis.  Rubin escapes with two other Jewish children, Hana and her little brother Momo. Aided by the Resistance, they have several hair-raising adventures. Finally, the three reach a farmhouse in the French countryside, far away from Spain. There, by a set of surprising circumstances, he meets his sister and learns the Fox’s identity.

Rubin emerges as a gentle, kind-hearted boy who struggles to stay brave. Faced with danger, he remembers his mother’s advice: ‘You must be strong like the cedars’.

The details of life in the mosque are fascinating and informative. Jewish and Muslim faiths have many similarities (and differences) which could spark interesting classroom discussions. 

Dee White wanted ‘to write a story about kindness, humanity and hope amidst the horror of war.’ Beyond Belief is certainly that. As such it is a useful text for our time. Highly recommended.

The Book of Chance

The Book of Chance by Sue Whiting, (Walker Books), 2020, RRP $17.99 pb

ISBN: 9781760651367

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

Here’s a really suspenseful page-turner. Each tiny nugget of information builds to a shocking reveal. 

Chance is a happy Year Seven student, living with her caring Mama, Nadia. Next door is the Deng family, former refugees from South Sudan, who have become Chance and Nadia’s extended family and best friends. Chance believes her father Steve died in a fire the day she was born. Her mother has written journals chronicling their lives entitled The Book of Steve, The Book of Nadia and The Book of Chance.

The novel begins in the present. Something catastrophic has happened and Chance is being interviewed by the police. No further information is given. The sense of mystery and secrets will immediately intrigue young readers. 

The story then jumps back 37 days to the Beginning of the End, the day Chance’s life began to unravel. Almost by accident she is given compelling evidence that contradicts what she believes is the story of her birth. When she confronts Nadia demanding the truth, Nadia admits that Chance is adopted. This is a huge shock, but worse follows. Although Nadia swears she doesn’t know Chance’s real parents, Chance finds a photo of two young people who died in a car crash. The woman looks so much like her, Chance wonders if this is her real mother.

A four-week-old baby was also believed to have died in the crash, although no remains of the baby were found. Chance struggles to make sense of the information. Is she the baby? What would that mean? Confused and sick in her stomach, Chance enlists the help of a journalist to find out more.

She’s a very black and white girl who believes something is either right or wrong. The truth or a lie. She is horrified when she discovers that her life has been built on lies. Although it is also true that Nadia really loves and cares for her. They have been happy. Plus, Nadia has led an exemplary life helping refugees adapt to the Australian way of life. To what degree does the truth of Chance’s present, balance the lie of her past?

The decision about what to do next is taken out of Chance’s hands. An associate of the journalist reports the situation to the police.

Sue Whiting based the book on a real crime that was committed in 1998 and not solved until 2017.  It is some comfort that this story, and I hope the real event, has a hopeful ending.

The Book of Chance is a compelling read, perfectly pitched for a middle-grade to younger YA readership. It poses many questions about the levels of right and wrong, and what it means to take responsibility for your actions. There’s an interesting sub-plot concerning trolling on social media which cleverly links the themes. Highly recommended. 

Reviews by Pauline Hosking

Pearl No. 6 The Helpful Unicorn by Sally Odgers, illustrated by Adele K Thomas, 2020.RRP $12.99 pb ISBN 9781760669287 

Ninja Kid No. 5 Ninja Clones! By Anh Do, illustrated by Anton Emdin, 2020. RRP$14.99 pb ISBN 9781743835128

Ella Diaries No. 18, Wildlife Rescue by Meredith Costain, illustrated by Danielle McDonald, 2020. RRP$14.99 pb ISBN 9781743832301

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

These are new books in a highly successful series published by Scholastic Australia. They are for mid-primary readers (7+ years).

The Helpful Unicorn. Pearl and her friends Olive the ogre and Tweet the firebird quickly respond to a call for help. A dragon named Trudy is stuck in the Bothering Bog. Pearl uses her amazing pink magic to free the dragon and foil three horrible gobble-uns. This easy-to-read story has a positive message about being a good friend and helping others. Newly independent readers will enjoy the gobble-uns and their nasty songs. Each page is edged with pink and there’s lots pinker in the delightful illustrations.

Ninja Clones. Nelson Kane has a secret identity. He is the Ninja Kid, tasked with stopping evil Dr Kane from gaining control of the town of Duck Creek. Nelson lives in Duck Creek’s junkyard with his Mum, grandma and cousin Kenny. Kenny has a secret identity too − as Ninja Kid’s sidekick H-Dude.  

Nelson’s grandma is a clever inventor. She creates robot clones of the boys to protect their identities. The clones will take the place of Nelson and Kenny when the pair are off having adventures and are only to be used in emergencies. Predictably, there are lots of emergencies and the clones cause massive havoc. 

Ninja Clones is an action-packed read with some laugh out loud moments. The black and white illustrations have a cartoon-like quality which adds to the humour.

The book is a turning point in the series. Nelson finally discovers why Dr Kane is so intent on controlling Duck Creek. He also learns what has happened to his father.

Wildlife Rescue. Ella is a likeable Grade 5 student with a great imagination and kind heart. When the baby possum she finds is taken to the Wildlife Rescue Centre, she worries that it will be lonely. Ella visits the Centre and becomes so involved in its work that she ignores the concerns and interests of her best friends Ammy and Zoe. By the end of the book the three are reconciled and Ella has learnt a great deal about caring for orphaned animals.

As well as a sweet story, this book has good information about what NOT to do when you find a traumatised animal. Readers also learn how to sew a simple pouch for baby animals to sleep in. Wildlife Rescue is written in a diary format and includes lots of Ella’s trade-mark spelling (gooder, betterer, importerant, giganterous). The deceptively simple, quirky, illustrations clearly show what each character is feeling.

The dedication thanks Michele Phillips, a Pride of Australia nominee who runs a real wildlife rescue centre in Melbourne.

One minor quibble on page 90 there is an illustration of a circus performer standing in the middle of a horse’s back. This would hurt the horse. She should be balancing on the horse’s rump. This is a tiny mistake in a book focused on caring for animals.

A New Kind of Everything

A New Kind of Everything by Richard Yaxley, (Omnibus Books), 2020, PB RRP $18.99 ISBN: 9781743834077

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

Hey, son, you worked out yet what love is? This is a question Dinny’s father used to ask him. Now his father has died in an unlikely car accident.

14-year-old Dinny is a quiet, contained boy with a sensitive nature, struggling to keep “acting like a man”. His mother is battling her way through grief at her loss. His older brother reacts by leaving school and joining Return, a far-right gang that aims at bringing back the real Australia. In an attempt to find himself, Dinny forms a friendship with Krush who believes that taking risks is the only way to stop being boring.

The text is divided into three parts: The Requiem, which looks at the immediate aftermath of the death; If We Jumped, which deals with Dinny and  Krush; A New Kind of Everything which explains his father’s past. This section also involves redemption and yet another death for Dinny and his mother to cope with. The book ends with a rather strange time shift into the future when Dinny is an adult. 

Richard Yaxley is a brilliant, original, author. In 2018 he won the Prime Minister’s award for young adult literature. His writing is full of interesting uses of language. There are moments of intense action and quite a lot of violence, although some of the darker moments are hinted at rather than described in detail. The characters are three-dimensional and totally believable. Especially interesting are Dinny’s neighbours, Mr and Mrs Wen, who offer a poignant retelling of their migrant experience.

Yaxley has a wonderful ear and his dialogue throughout is authentic. Dinny’s first meeting with the criminal Jaxon Cannane, told almost entirely in dialogue, fills the reader with a horrible sense of fear for the future.

A New Kind of Everything is a gutsy, no-holds-barred YA novel, recommended for readers 14+. It will particularly resonate with boys.

Wink

      Wink by Rob Harrell, (Angus & Robertson), 2020, RRP $19.99 pb

      ISBN: 9781460758878 (paperback)

      ISBN: 97814607`2610 (ebook)

      Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

      Based on Rob Harrell’s real-life experience, this is the story of Ross Maloy, a seventh grader diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer. In most respects Ross is an ordinary teenager living in the U.S., with a crush on a cute girl and an understandable fear of the class bully. He’d like to blend in, but his cancer makes him visible. Ross can’t help remembering how his mother died from cancer when he was four.

After receiving a horrific first diagnosis, Ross’s dad finds an amazing doctor with a more hopeful approach. The doctor believes Ross can eventually be cancer free, though he will have impaired vision. The treatment, painstakingly recorded, causes Ross to lose his hair. The skin around his eye dries up and he has to use a particularly icky ointment.         

One of Ross’s best friends drops him, unable to handle the difficult situation. Luckily there’s still his other best friend, Abby - until she announces that her family is leaving town.

Ross’s life is made even more difficult when someone starts sending hurtful memes to his class-mates’ phones. Memes are pictures or photos that have been altered in some way and text added. The nastiest shows the Grim Reaper holding up a sign with the word ‘Ross’.

In the midst of this darkness, the radiation technician from the hospital agrees to teach Ross to play the guitar. Music becomes a real positive. It gives Ross fun, hope, and an unlikely friend.

Rob Harrell is the author-illustrator of several graphic novels. Alongside the harrowing descriptions of Ross’s life are really funny cartoons paralleling what he’s going through. There are also lots of amusing extra illustrations throughout the text.

The characters, and their reactions, are sympathetically drawn. I particularly liked Linda, Ross’s stepmom, who doesn’t really know how to make things better but tries hard.

Wink is poignant, heartbreaking and hilarious by turns. It’s an uplifting story of survival and finding the comfort of music and laughter. Recommended for middle grade readers.

Ghost Bird

Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller, (UQP), 2019, pb, RRP $19.95 ISBN 978072260230 (pbk)

ISBN 978072261633 (pdf)

ISBN 9780702261640 (epub)

ISBN 9780702261657 (kindle) 

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

Stacey and Laney are mirror twins – the mirror images of each other physically. In every other way they are different. Laney takes risks. Stacey works hard at school and covers for her twin when Laney skips school and sneaks out at night to meet her boyfriend. Then Laney disappears.

It’s 1999. The difficulties of an indigenous family in a small country town in Queensland are presented honestly and undramatically. Laney was last seen near the property of the Potter family who’ve been known to shoot at anyone with ‘skin darker than tan.’ On the western side of the Potter property sits a mountain that Stacey, and all the younger children, have been warned to stay away from. When Stacey asks why, her mother goes quiet. Here’s her partial explanation: ‘Remember daughter, this world is a lot bigger than anyone knows. There are things that science may never explain… Maybe I was so focused on (you girls receiving) whitefulla education I forgot to educate you proper way.’  

When the white police show little interest in searching for Laney, her uncles, aunties and cousins rally around. At first Stacey believes the Potters know what has happened. But gradually, after Stacey has a series of strange dreams, she realises it’s not the Potters she needs to fear but whatever it is that lives in the mountain.

Something was taken from the mountain and ‘the creatures’ there want it back. After much tense, dramatic action, Stacey returns the stolen object and releases her twin. By doing this, she goes some way to healing a generations-long grudge between her family and the nearby Millers.

This powerful story is Lisa Fuller’s debut novel. It deserves a wide YA (and adult) readership. In 2017 Fuller won the David Unaipon award for an unpublished indigenous writer, and has previously published poetry and short fiction. Stacey is a great creation, gutsy, tough and loyal. Her burgeoning love affair with Sam Miller (echoes of Romeo and Juliet) is sensitively handled.

Fuller’s characters accept the society they live in with muted resentment, some humour and a reliance on close family connections, which reminded me of the characters in the American novel The Hate U Give.

The supernatural element is cleverly presented. Whatever ‘the creatures’ are, they are not named or fully described which makes them all the more frightening.

UQP have done a great job offering the story in so many different formats. It’s

a page turner, clearly and atmospherically written. Highly recommended for school and public libraries.

You Can Change the World

You Can Change the World by Lucy Bell, (Pantera Press), 2019, Hb, RRP  $29.99 ISBN: 9781925700527 (hardcover) ISBN 9781925700725 (ebook)

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

In a world where many kids are becoming overwhelmed by fear of the future, here’s a practical guide to help them feel they can make a difference. You Can Change the World is attractively produced and comprehensively researched. It is crammed with ways to aid the planet, offering alternatives to our throw-away society. Chapters cover: Plastic, Ethical and Environmentally Friendly Clothing, Waste, Food, Energy, Electricity and Water, Animal Activism. A section on Gardening and the Outdoors features practical advice on how to make compost and attract butterflies and bees.

Each chapter includes a real-life story about a Changemaker, someone who has seen a problem and taken steps to fix it. They are all children, many Australians, aged from seven years up, whose stories rightly deserve to be celebrated. Twelve year old Molly Steer has campaigned to stop her Queensland government using single-use plastic straws. Ten year old Fin Vicars from New South Wales is passionate about renewable energy and science. Greta Thunberg is not mentioned. Perhaps she came to prominence while this book was in production.

The last section, titled 'An Act of Kindness', is a call for young readers to take positive action to help someone and the planet. Lucy Bell writes ‘The ideas in this book are just the beginning of your journey to help the world and save our planet. It’s now up to you.’

What a pity more world leaders hadn’t read something like this when they were growing up.

The final pages include social media contacts for the Changemakers and helpful organisations, stores and charities.

Highly recommended for school, library and home bookshelves.

White Bird

White Bird by R.J. Palacio, (Penguin Random House), 2019. Hard cover. 220pp. RRP $39.99

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

Here is another venture into the world of R.J. Palacio’s Wonder. This time it’s a young adult graphic novel for which she’s created both text and illustrations. The sparse, unfussy drawings are an excellent medium to tell a powerful tale.  

White Bird continues the story of Julian, the classroom bully from Wonder, whose backstory was fleshed out in Auggie and Me. It begins when Julien makes a FaceTime call to his grandmother Sara and asks her to tell him more about her experience as a Jewish child in France during the Second World War.

Through her eyes we see how the Nazis gradually changed life for the French, many of whom chose to look the other way and ignore what was happening. Young Sara herself is guilty of this to some extent because she stands by while the crippled boy in her class – the original Julien – is bullied. When the Jews in the village are rounded up, Julien’s family bravely hide Sara in their barn. Sara and Julien fall in love but sadly Julien becomes a casualty of the war.  

‘Evil will only be stopped when good people decide to put an end to it,’ says Vivienne, Julien’s mother. Sara realises she can and should act differently in future. And so does present-day Julien. By the end of her story, Sara has transformed her grandson from a bully into an ally. The final pages are a call to readers to resist contemporary prejudice and xenophobia.

White Bird is highly recommended as an easily accessible, deeply moving, retelling of a shocking historical time. There is an afterword, author's note, in-depth glossary with photos, a suggested reading list and a list of organizations and resources – all of which will be valuable resources for students and readers of any age. 

The white bird itself, which appears as a motif throughout the book, variously signifies hope, kindness and freedom. 

Final Storm

Final Storm by Deborah Abela, (Puffin Books), 2019, Pb, RRP  $16.99

ISBN: 9780143794462

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

This is the third and final of Deborah Abela’s Grimsdon series. Isabella, Griffin and their friends exist in a reimagined civilisation after climate change has wrecked the planet. Since managing to survive in a flooded world (described in the second book) they have settled into the relative safety of  New City.

Before long their home is threatened by ever more erratic weather patterns. An organisation named Future World Solutions promises it can control the weather. But Isabella discovers that the man behind the organisation is their old enemy Byron Sneddon. Even worse, the person she believes to be a new ally is, in fact,  Sneddon’s son. After a series of escalating adventures, the son turns on his father, and the good guys triumph.

The story is fast-paced with many unexpected twists. The friends are action heroes who manage to overcome each potentially deadly challenge in the nick of time. There is no clear main character, which is unusual in a middle grade novel. Both Griffin and Isabella take centre stage at different times, concerned for each other and the future of New City. Especially poignant is Isabella’s desire to find her mother.

Some of the best writing describes the terrifying extreme weather events. Abela wrote the series because she was angry that governments around the world weren’t doing enough to combat climate change, and as a rallying cry for young environmental activists. I found it surprising, though, that her vision of climate change encompasses storms, winter weather and floods - not high temperatures and drought, which is something Australia is already experiencing. 

There maybe one or two moments of confusion for those who have not read the previous novels (e.g. the introduction of Matilda without any explanation as to what she is). Overall this is an exciting read for Grades 4,5 and 6.

The Last Balfour

The Last Balfour by Cait Duggan, (HarperCollins Australia), 2019, Pb  

RRP 19.99  ISBN: 9781460757017 Ebook 9781460710791

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

Here’s a tale of witchcraft set in Scotland in 1597. The story begins when Iona Balfour’s aunt Grizel is about to be executed for being a witch. Before she dies, Grizel tells Iona she must flee from their village and deliver the mysterious family heirloom, a bloodstone, to someone called Ancroft in Edinburgh.

Like many Balfours, Iona knows some magic and this helps her complete the quest. Along the way, though, there are plenty of tears and much blood. The trials of Iona are described in detail:  her hounding by the witchfinder Finster, the betrayal by her childhood sweetheart Dalziel, and her brave attempt to help a village racked by plague. Luckily Iona meets Cal, one of the shape shifters from the forest, who becomes a stalwart friend. When they are captured by the witchfinder, Cal escapes by turning into a raven. Iona is convicted of witchcraft but saved from the flames by the Edinburgh witches led by Ancroft, who turns out to be her long-lost father. The ‘mystery’ of the bloodstone is revealed and the book ends with the possibility of more adventures for Iona and Cal.

The story is action-packed and moves quickly from one dramatic incident to the next. This is Cait Duggan’s first novel. She has done a monumental amount of research, even adapting traditional Scottish spells and incantations to fit her tale. The places and characters described have a completely believable historical reality. Some of the minor characters are particularly interesting and well written, especially Dalziel and Ishbel. Dalziel is deeply conflicted. He works for Finster but cares about Iona and is horrified by what happens. Iona’s sister, Ishbel, is a sympathetic creation who has a miserably sad ending.  

The Last Balfour is best suited to a YA readership as some of the events described are quite harrowing.  

My Name is NOT Peaseblossom

My Name is NOT Peaseblossom by Jackie French, (Angus & Robertson), 2019, Pb RRP  $14.50 ISBN: 9781460754788 Ebook 9781460709177

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

This is the last in Jackie French’s Shakespeare series which comprises I am Juliet, Ophelia: Queen of Denmark and Third Witch.

Peaseblossom is an enterprising male fairy attendant of Titania, Queen of the Fairies. His wedding has been arranged to one of the tooth fairies, Floss. On midsummer’s eve Peaseblossom and Floss will drink the magic love potion and live happily ever after. 

That’s what’s supposed to happen. Peaseblossom (‘I prefer to be called Pete’) is a bit of a rebel. He’s adept at using TAP (time and place manipulation) and frequently jumps thousands of years into the future. He’s developed a taste for pizzas rather than dandelion salad and candied violets, especially the pizzas from the Leaning Tower of Pizza made by the mysteriously attractive Gaela.

The introduction of vampires adds a dramatic twist to Pete’s dilemma.

Pete is a likeable, subversive, hero who has the courage to deny the love potion and choose instead real love with all its ups and downs and uncertainties.

The theme of the book is free will, or the lack of it. Scattered among Pete’s adventures is a retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the play, the only characters who can do what they want are the royals: Theseus, the Amazon Queen, Oberon and Titania. 

Everyone else has to do what they are told and love who is chosen for them. Poor Hermia must marry the man her father prefers rather than the one she loves.

Students from Grade 6 upwards will enjoy such a light, rollicking tale. There are lots of giggle moments. The ageing fairy Puck is the source of much amusement.

It isn’t necessary to know the play well, although this will add to a reader’s enjoyment. Direct quotes are cunningly placed throughout in the text.

Recommended.

Maddie in the Middle

Maddie in the Middle by Julia Lawrinson, (Fremantle Press), 2019. Pb. 226pp.  RRP $16.99 Also available as an eMobi, ePdf, ePub.

Reviewed by Pauline Hosking

Maddie Lee is beginning her last year at primary school. Her oldest and best friend Katy has been voted school captain (called a head counsellor in Queensland) and Maddie is feeling left behind. When the new girl Samara appears, Maddie works hard to become her friend. She discovers that Samara’s family have secrets and very little money. Although she knows stealing is wrong, Maddie joins Samara in shoplifting. 

The girls steal luxury items which are sold to raise cash. If the girls are caught, Maddie agrees to say she was acting alone. Samara fears that if she gets into trouble, and her family situation is discovered, she and her siblings will end up in care.

The girls are caught. Bravely (or foolishly) Maddie stays true to her friend and does not mention Samara’s name. Maddie is charged with theft and appears in the Children’s Court. Samara and Katy arrive during Maddie’s second court appearance. Samara explains her role in the thefts and says Maddie was ‘doing a bad thing for a good reason.’ The magistrate is sympathetic. Maddie in the Middle ends with the three girls becoming best friends.

I found this a difficult book to review. The publicity mentions the genre is middle readers ages 10-14. I think this where my problem lies. 10-14 is top of middle grade overlapping the bottom of YA. It’s a pity the novel wasn’t more firmly positioned in one camp. At present it’s an uncomfortable mix of serious subjects and happily-ever-after fantasy - like the frankly unbelievable way Samara and Katy are allowed to behave in court. The title, too, is very junior fiction.

Young readers may find the main characters difficult to relate to. Their behaviour and motivation are often confusing. At first Samara is presented as a Machiavellian type who manipulates Maddie. In the blink of an eye she becomes nice and responsible.

Many of the minor characters are more successful, especially Maddie’s father and Samara’s younger brother and sister. The short pieces Maddie writes for school are imaginative and deeply emotional. I think they would work even better in a grittier YA version of this story.