The Book of Whispers

The Book of Whispers by Kimberley Starr (Text Publishing)

PB RRP $19.99   ISBN 9 781925 3555 12

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald

Australian author, Kimberley Starr has an MA in medieval literature and teaches English in Melbourne. Her latest book, The Book of Whispers won the 2015 Text Prize for best manuscript written for young adults and children. It was published in October 2016.

The Book of Whispers is a captivating medieval adventure story set back in the 11^th century at the time of the first crusade. It starts in the Falconi estate in San Gimignano, Tuscany back in the Year 1096AD.  We follow young Luca on his quest from Italy, through Turkey and Syria to Jerusalem to help free Jerusalem from the Saracens.

Luca can see evil demons but he must hide this gift. On the way Luca meets Suzan and they form a special bond. It is Suzan who helps Luca unravel the mysteries of the ancient ‘Book of Whispers.’

With the rest of the army, Luca and Suzan face bloody battles, starvation, thirst and sickness. They must defeat the demons, Luca’s step brother and the evil priest, Ramberti in order to save Jerusalem. 

I quote- ‘I wanted to tell a story that made history as interesting as I’ve always found it by telling it in a way that had characters kids could relate to with a compelling narrative that made them keep asking what happens next.’ (Kimberley Starr)

I really like the combination of brilliantly researched history, fantasy (the demons and the magic book), action, suspense and romance. I connected strongly with the characters and I like the use of duel narrative where Starr moves cleverly from Luca to Suzan.

‘My story came from my interest in travel and fascination with how historical events connect to modern life,’ Starr said.

Kimberley has definitely achieved this by addressing contemporary issues such as faith, racism, war, displacement and colonisation. 

I loved this book and highly recommend The Book of Whispers to readers from 14 years old and older.

The Book of Whispers

The Book of Whispers by Kimberley Starr (Text Publishing) PB RRP $19.99   ISBN 9 781925 3555 12

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald

Australian author, Kimberley Starr has an MA in medieval literature and teaches English in Melbourne. Her latest book, The Book of Whispers won the 2015 Text Prize for best manuscript written for young adults and children. It was published in October 2016.

The Book of Whispers is a captivating medieval adventure story set back in the 11^th century at the time of the first crusade. It starts in the Falconi estate in San Gimignano, Tuscany back in the Year 1096AD.  We follow young Luca on his quest from Italy, through Turkey and Syria to Jerusalem to help free Jerusalem from the Saracens.

Luca can see evil demons but he must hide this gift. On the way Luca meets Suzan and they form a special bond. It is Suzan who helps Luca unravel the mysteries of the ancient ‘Book of Whispers.’

With the rest of the army, Luca and Suzan face bloody battles, starvation, thirst and sickness. They must defeat the demons, Luca’s step brother and the evil priest, Ramberti in order to save Jerusalem. 

I quote- ‘I wanted to tell a story that made history as interesting as I’ve always found it by telling it in a way that had characters kids could relate to with a compelling narrative that made them keep asking what happens next.’ (Kimberley Starr)

I really like the combination of brilliantly researched history, fantasy (the demons and the magic book), action, suspense and romance. I connected strongly with the characters and I like the use of duel narrative where Starr moves cleverly from Luca to Suzan.

‘My story came from my interest in travel and fascination with how historical events connect to modern life,’ Starr said.

Kimberley has definitely achieved this by addressing contemporary issues such as faith, racism, war, displacement and colonisation. 

I loved this book and highly recommend The Book of Whispers to readers from 14 years old and older.

When Friendship Followed Me Home

When Friendship Followed Me Home by Paul Griffin (Text Publishing)

RRP $16.99

ISBN 978-192535549-9

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald

Every now and then I read a book that I know I will not forget. When Friendship Followed Me Home is special.

Young Ben Coffin is a foster child. At age 10 he is adopted by a loving mum, Tess- a kind-hearted speech therapist. For the first time Ben feels loved and starts to hope that things will go well for him.

But at school he’s the target for a bully named Rayburn. Ben avoids Rayburn by taking refuge in the library with the kind librarian, Mrs Lorentz. It’s in the library that Ben befriends Mrs Lorentz’s daughter, Hayley (like the comet). And it’s in an alleyway beside the library where Ben finds a small abandoned dog he calls Flip.

Ben and Flip have a strong connection. They embark on a training program to make Flip into an assistance dog. Ben and Hayley start a fabulous reading program called ‘Read to Rufus’ where kids who struggle with reading can read to a trained companion dog- in this case Flip.

There is a beautiful scene on Page 131 where Ben is encouraging a young reluctant reader, Brian, to read to Flip. The interaction between Flip and Brian is precious. I think Flip is the real hero in this story.

I have not heard of a program like this in Australia. Maybe we should try it?

When Friendship Followed Me Home explores some tough issues- abandonment, domestic violence, homelessness, illness, grief, family, friendship, first love, acceptance, loss, pets, imagination and magic.

But all the way there is a wonderful innocence about Ben. In spite of all the terrible things that happen to him and Hayley- I was left with an overwhelming feeling of hope.

I also loved the idea that Ben and Hayley were writing a story together. It is called ‘The Magic Box’ - a time-slip story set in Luna Park in 1905. Often this story mirrors what’s happening in their lives and ties beautifully into the ending.

I like that there are many literary references throughout the book. In particular Griffin refers to ‘Feathers’ by Jacqueline Woodson. I want to read this ‘Feathers’ and I think kids would like to as well.

Paul Griffin is a talented writer. He is a teacher and a devoted helper of at risk and special needs teens. He works with organisations like ‘Behind the Book’ and ‘Literacy for Incarcerated teens’. 

Griffin is the author of several novels for YA – Ten Mile River, Stay with me, Burning Blue and Adrift. Paul lives in Manhattan.

When Friendship Follows Me Home - published in 2016 is Griffin’s first middle-grade novel. His next middle-grade novel, Marty comes out in 2017.

I strongly recommend When Friendship Follows Me Home to kids 11 and older. It will spark terrific discussion with parents and teachers. I loved it.

Iris and the Tiger

Iris and the Tiger by Leanne Hall (Text Publishing) PB  RRP $16.99

ISBN   9781925240795

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald

How would you feel if your parents sent you all the way from Melbourne to Spain to secretly spy on your great-aunt because they were plotting to inherit her estate?

This happens to twelve-year-old Iris. She finds herself spending ten days in the mysterious, sprawling Spanish property of ‘Bosque de Nubes’ with her eccentric Aunt Ursula, Seňor Garcia (her driver, Marcel), her gardener, and a maid called Elna.

From the outside, the house looks magnificent- a white two-story mansion with lots of windows, six columns at the front, arches everywhere and ‘waves of plaster along the roof that looked like cake icing.’  But Iris quickly discovers it’s cursed by a strange magic. The walls are dotted with weird ‘Surreal’ paintings. Aunt Ursula’s late brother, James, had been a famous artist.

There is one painting in particular which fascinates Iris. It is called, ‘Iris and the Tiger.’ Iris viewed it in the gallery in Barcelona, but where was this mysterious tiger? Iris befriends Jordi - the gardener’s son- and they embark on a wacky adventure to find the truth behind her uncle’s mysterious paintings and to discover who would ultimately inherit Aunt Ursula’s estate.

On the way they discover magical beasts, ghosts, a five legged shadow hound, a car with feet and some unscrupulous property developers who want to build a theme park on Ursula’s land.

Leanne Hall is a Melbourne author of two YA novels. She won the 2009 Text Prize with her novel, This is Shyness. In 2012 she followed that with a sequel Queen of the Night. Iris and the Tiger is her third novel and her first story for younger readers in the 9 to 12 years age group.

What I particularly liked about this book was that although there are lots of mysterious and impossible things going on, Leanne Hall has managed to ground the story in the real world. She cleverly weaves in information about surrealist art and leads the reader on a quest to discover the truth through the use of her vivid imagination.

The text is complimented beautifully by Sandra Eterovic’s cover art and black and white chapter illustrations.

I recommend Iris and the Tiger to kids who like to escape into mystery stories laced with magical realism.

Teacher notes are available at the Text Publishing website.    

Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars

Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars by Martine Murray (Text Publishing) PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9781925240085

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald

‘Imagine if you were never scared of falling, how much higher you might climb …. Or if you weren’t afraid of being clumsy and awkward, how much more gracefully you might dance’

I really enjoyed reading this book. Martine Murray has a gentle style that is sprinkled with her own delightful and surprising use of language.

For example-

‘Life was a jagged dance of joys and sorrows, up and then down and sometimes in knots or jolts or dizzying rushes over or around again.’ (P153)

Molly’s mum has a wonderfully free spirit. She likes to gather wild herbs deep in the woods and mix mysterious magic potions. Their house is coloured with Persian carpets, billowy curtains, candles, pot plants and brightly patterned cushions.

Molly’s dad and her two older twin brothers are ‘off having adventures’ in exotic countries with names like Morocco, Madagascar and Cuba.

Molly’s best friend Ellen Palmer lives in a tidy red brick house with a ‘normal’ mother, father and brother. They have a neat yard, a dishwasher, a trampoline and they eat delicious food that comes in packets.

How Molly wishes she had a ‘normal family’ like Ellen.

Next door to Molly and her mum live some terrible neighbours - Prudence and Ernest Grimshaw. When the Grimshaws threaten to kill Molly’s rooster, something has to be done.

Molly’s mum decides to grow a fast-growing tree for privacy. She concocts a potion to make the tree grow faster. But the magic goes seriously wrong. Molly must work out a way to save her mum from a most unusual situation.  Luckily Molly develops a special friendship with a young boy named Pim- and together with Ellen they work together find a solution.

Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars is about friendship, family, resilience and the power of appreciating life in a world that glitters with curiosity and wonder. I recommend this book to kids who like to read stories that sparkle.

The Monster Within

The Monster Within by Darrell Pitt (Text Publishing)

PB RRP $16.99

ISBN 9781922182876

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald

The Monster Within is the fourth book in Melbourne author Darrell Pitt’s popular Jack Mason detective series.

Once again, we are immersed in a magical world of heroes, villains, steam driven transport, mysteries, rescues and adventures. The sharp-eyed detective Ignatius Doyle is on another mission to solve crimes with the help of his two daring young apprentices, Jack Mason and Scarlet Bell.

Readers of the series will remember that the main character, 14 year old Jack Mason grew up in a circus family. After a tragic accident Jack is orphaned and sent to live in Sunnyside Orphanage in London. The orphanage is anything but ‘sunny’ and Jack is relieved when he is offered an apprenticeship with the very eccentric detective called Ignatius Doyle.

Enter feisty, red headed, strong-willed 15 year old Scarlett Bell- who originally comes to ask Ignatius Doyle to find her missing father. She ends up becoming a second apprentice detective. Together Jack and Scarlett make a formidable team. 

In The Monster Within a lawless organisation is carrying out terrorist attacks on the streets of London. Their chief suspect is The Valkyrie Circle- a world wide suffragette society who is apparently headed by someone called Lady Death.

At the same time there are sightings of a dangerous monster living in the sewers, terrifying people and eating cats.

Are these sinister events connected?

Pitt is very good at creating intriguing plots with excellent endings. I enjoy the way he pulls everything together in clever and surprising ways.

I recommend this series kids 9 years and over who like to read stories packed with action, mystery and adventure.

I think fans of Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Foul, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series and Lemony Snickett’s Series of Unfortunate Events will also enjoy Pitt’s breathtaking stories. 

The Firebird Mystery, The Secret Abyss and the Broken Sun are Pitt’s first three books in this series. Stay tuned for book five, The Lost Sword, which will be published later in 2015.

  

The House of Puzzles

The House of Puzzles by Richard Newsome (Text Publishing)
PB RRP   $16.99
ISBN   9781922147301
Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald www.wendyfitzgerald.com.au

What would you do if your great aunt suddenly died in London and left her 30 billion dollars to you? Just imagine – it all was to go to you. Surely that much money would shield you from any world problems: right? Wrong.  

But this is exactly what happened to Newsome’s main character, twelve year old Gerald Wilkins in The Billionaire’s Curse. Gerald should not have had any worries for the rest of his life.  However there is a catch- Gerald’s Aunt Gertrude also left a secret letter that instructed Gerald to find her killer and see to it they were punished. One other problem- whoever killed Aunt Gertrude is now chasing Gerald.

The Billionaire’s Curse is the first book in Newsome’s Billionaire Series. It won the inaugural Text Prize for YA and children’s writing in 2008. I very much enjoyed the quirky characters and the action-packed plot.  

 In August 2014 The House of Puzzles was launched. This is the fifth book in Newsome’s very popular Billionaire series. Once again I was swept up in the twists and turns of this fast mystery thriller.  

In The House of Puzzles we are led from the Louvre in Paris to a school camp in the frosty Scottish Highlands and finally on to the Billionaire’s Club ‘House of Puzzles’ in New York. At the school camp in Scotland we reunite with Gerald and his friends Ruby Valentine, Sam Valentine and Felicity Upham.  Straight away they are thrown into an intriguing string of dangerous situations and mysterious puzzles. 

Will these four friends be able to complete the challenges of the Triple Crown? Can Alex Baranov charm Ruby? Will Sam crack the bizarre code of the Voynich manuscript? Who can save Professor McElderry from the evil Sir Mason Green? Will Gerald and Alex survive a night together inside the Billionaire’s Club House of Puzzles in New York? Will anyone find the infamous perpetual motion machine? Why do so many people want it? And exactly what does the stolen painting- Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People have to do with any of this? These are some of the questions that kept me reading this book to the end.

I recommend The House of Puzzles to kids 10+ who like thrilling fast-paced plot-driven stories packed with adventure, intrigue and mystery. The other books in this series are The Billionaire’s Curse, The Emerald Casket, The Mask of Destiny and the Crystal Code.   

The Impossible Knife of Memory

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson (Text Publishing)

PB RRP $19.99

ISBN 9781922182227

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald 

Laurie Halse Anderson lives in New York. She has written several novels for Young Adults. In 2008 she was awarded the prestigious ALAN award which honours authors who have made outstanding contributions to adolescent literature.

The Impossible Knife of Memory was inspired by Anderson’s own father who was a World War 2 veteran. This novel is based on a very real problem. What happens to war veterans when they return to civilian life and how does their behaviour affect their families and the people who love them?

Anderson’s main character, 17 year old Hayley Kincain has been on the road with her truck driver father, Andy for the past five years. In this book they settle in her grandmother’s house in a quiet town so Hayley can finish school.

Hayley’s father is a veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. He’s plagued by addiction and haunted by dark memories of his time at war. Hayley has to fit into a new school while at home she has to juggle her father’s fits of rage, depression, drug and alcohol abuse and his inability to keep a job.

All the while Hayley wants to protect her father. She tries to fake a ‘normal’ home life. To the outside world Hayley puts up a tough and somewhat angry exterior. But as often happens, this tough exterior hides deep hurt, fragility and fear.

I think it’s good for kids to read stories that show how different people make sense of the world and how they cope with the circumstances of their lives. For example I liked the way Hayley divides people into Zombies or Freaks. I liked her friendships with Gracie and Finn. I admired her resilience, her bravado, her vulnerability and her strong love for her father.

The story is mainly told through Hayley’s point of view, but there are also small snippets and flash backs from her father’s perspective. I liked the theme of memory that is woven through the story. Hayley’s childhood memories blended with her father’s memories of war. The pacing was good and it held my interest.

I would recommend The Impossible Knife of Memory to mature readers 15 years and up. It does contain language and strong adult themes.

Laurie Halse Anderson tackles very hard subjects in her novels. Her book, Speak was a New York Times best selling novel about a young girl who was raped at a party while her very popular Wintergirls deals with anorexia and depression.                                                                                                                                                      

The Accident

The Accident by Kate Hendrick (Text Publishing)

PB RRP $19.99

ISBN 9781921922855

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald 

The Accident is the debut young adult novel by Sydney high school teacher and author, Kate Hendrick. I found it to be a captivating story and think it is best suited to keen readers aged from 15 years.

I do like Hendrick’s use of multiple narrators and I like the way her chapters alternate between Before, Later and After the accident. Sarah, Will and Eliat each speak to us from separate first person points of view, giving us the effect of 3 separate story strands each with their own timeline.

There is a theory that kids should relate easily to this form of story telling as it mirrors the internet. When kids search the internet they are getting snatches of information from here and there and they have to put it all together. In every day life this is also the case. We are constantly processing random snippets. Our brain filters this information and links it together so it makes sense to us.

However surveys show that it’s not always easy for kids to read stories using multiple narrators. The readers need to be keen readers to persevere. For some readers this style can be confusing. That said, I think Kate Hendrick moves cleverly between the three different points of view. I like the way they all link up at the end. I also like the way the ending was not what I was expecting.

I did engage with the three main characters. I felt for Sarah and her family who suffered terribly in the accident. My heart went out to sensitive Will who was juggling a depressed mother and 2 confused sisters. I admired Eliat’s foster parents who minded her baby while she partied on.

Hendrick’s has written some challenging scenes that involve sex, alcohol, drugs, depression and neglect.

This is a book about families. It’s about coping with whatever situation you find yourself in. It’s about how a pivotal moment can transform your life in lots of different ways. Specifically it explores how a split second accident can change the lives of many different people.

I can see that Hendrick understands teenagers and the pressures they can experience. In my opinion The Accident is an excellent first novel and I look forward to reading more from Kate Hendrick. 

Zac and Mia

Zac and Mia by A.J. Betts (Text Publishing)
PB RRP $19.99
ISBN  9781922147257
Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald

Zac and Mia is the third Young Adult novel by Perth author, A.J. Betts and also the 2012 winner of the Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s writing. It is suitable for readers 15 years and older.

Zac Meier, a 17 year old boy, is trapped in a hospital room recovering from a bone marrow transplant- a very invasive procedure used to treat leukaemia. The patient’s bone marrow is sucked out and a donor’s marrow is pumped back in. You might think this does not sound like a very exciting plot... but I urge you to keep reading.

After the bone marrow transplant Zac has to stay in isolation to give the cells the best chance to settle into his body. Hence he is trapped in this small hospital room for a total of 47 days- 33 of those days he has the annoying company of his anxious mother. In the room next door to Zac another patient is being admitted. We hear her before we see her. This young girl is angry. She shouts at her mother and insists on playing jarring loud music that beats rudely through the wall. However, an intriguing friendship develops between kind, gentle Zac and wild, enraged Mia. A timid knock on the wall leads to a note, messages on Facebook and a sharing of feelings much deeper than usually experienced.

Zac and Mia don’t meet properly until they leave hospital. Both kids have difficulty finding where they fit back in the ‘normal’ world. Not only do they have to deal with their own medical problems but it’s also hard to juggle the concerns, fears and reactions of their friends and families. Zac and Mia’s unique bond helps them to put many of these things into perspective.

Betts cleverly uses first person duel narratives to tell this story. She quietly moves from Zac’s perspective to Mia’s allowing us to get inside the mind of each character. A.J. Betts has painted Zac and Mia with strong colours. I was drawn into their lives. I felt their anger, injustice and pain. I empathised with both families. I admired the courage, the honesty and the sense of hope. But I also laughed at the humour and cheered for the successes. These two characters will stay in my heart.

A.J. Betts has written two other YA novels- Shutterspeed and Wavelength.

Julius & the Watchmaker

Julius & the Watchmaker by Tim Hehir (Text Publishing)

HB RRP $19.99

ISBN 978-192207973-2

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald 

Julius & the Watchmaker is the first novel by Melbourne author Tim Hehir. It is a Young Adult Sci-Fi adventure set in Victorian London in 1837. It is suitable for kids aged 12-18 who enjoy science fiction stories with imaginative history thrown in. This is the first story I have read that can be classed as steampunk. According to www.urbandictionary.com, steampunk refers to a subgenre of speculative fiction usually set in an anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian alternate history setting.

Hehir’s style is fast paced and action packed. He plays with some fascinating ideas of time, time slips, travel, vortexes, time jumps into possible time lines, alternate futures and dimensions. His love for classics can be seen in his references to Dickens, Austen, Byron and Shelley. Three themes that come through are the effects of greed, control and the fight for survival.

Hehir’s main character, Julius is a reluctant hero who is initially the target for Crimper McCready and his gang of school bullies. Julius is not the sort of character who is actively looking for a wild adventure. He helps his grandfather by delivering books from his second-hand book shop, Higgins’ Booksellers in Ironmonger Lane. His main objective is to keep out of trouble.

But Julius’s life changes when the villain, Springheel appears at the book shop enquiring about a mysterious diary written by John Harrison. Springheel stands up to Crimper McCready with an obvious sense of power. Julius is impressed and wants to learn the secret to this power.

From there Julius is drawn into an unexpected and sometimes scary world of time travel, alternative realities, vortexes, doppelgangers, flying machines, Grackacks, ruffians and mayhem- all centred around the workings of a magical spinning pocket watch.

Julius finds himself caught between Springheel and his offsider Clements and Professor Fox and champion boxer, Mr Flynn. Springheel and Clements are out to manipulate time and to control London and the world. Professor Fox is part of the Guild of Watchmakers who are the guardians and their aim is to protect the timeline from manipulation by criminals and rogues like Springheel.

Julius & the Watchmaker captured my imagination and I found it to be an engrossing read.                                                                              

The Apprentices

The Apprentices by Maile Meloy, illustrations by Ian Schoenherr (Text Publishing)

PB RRP $19.95 

ISBN 978-192214714-1

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald www.wendyfitzgerald.com.au

Maile Meloy writes adventure stories that are a lovely blend of real life and fantasy. Her characters are strong and her words are sprinkled with magic. She is an American writer and The Apprentices is her second book for kids. It is a sequel to her first book, The Apothecary.

  

It’s Benjamin Burrow’s dad who is the Apothecary. An apothecary is what people used to call a pharmacist. But Benjamin’s dad is no ordinary pharmacist. He has special powers. He is able to mix unusual concoctions and spells by using formulas from the Pharmacopoeia- a 700 year old leather bound book stuffed with medical and magical secrets that their ancestors had passed down.

Benjamin is one of his father’s apprentices and he is learning fast.

The Apprentices is set in 1954. Benjamin Burrows and his dad are in war torn jungles of Vietnam using their elixirs to heal the sick and wounded. But we learn their real mission is to use their alchemical wizardry to save the world from atomic annihilation.

In the beginning Jane Scott, age 16, is in a posh boarding school in New Hampshire called Grayson Academy. She hasn’t seen Benjamin for 2 years, but when she receives some cryptic letters from him she tries to work out where in the world he is.

Meanwhile, Janie is working on her own important experiment- a method for extracting salt from sea water. When she is wrongly accused of cheating in a test Janie is expelled from school and her experiment mysteriously disappears.

Who stole her experiment? Janie thinks she knows.

This sparks a string of events that lead us on an enchanted chase across the Pacific Ocean. Just imagine what it would be like if you could turn yourself into a bird, breathe underwater or see inside someone’s mind. How would you feel if you were in a small boat being tossed about in a wild storm? What would you do if you were locked inside a cage in an underground uranium mine?

I suggest you read the book to find out.

It is unusual to have illustrations scattered through a book like this. Ian Schoenherr’s delightful black and white illustrations add to the atmosphere of this exciting, well-paced story.                                            

Indigo Solves the Puzzle

Indigo Solves the Puzzle by Wendy Fitzgerald, illustrated by Sophie Norsa (Little Steps Publishing)
HB RRP $24.95
ISBN 9781921928987
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

What an important book this is. Dyslexia is a condition that can alter a child's course in life, socially, educationally and career-wise. Indigo Solves the Puzzle centres on the true-life story of Indigo who struggles academically at school, not because she is unintelligent but because she is dyslexic. She is bullied and doubts her own self-worth until her mother takes her for tests which reveals the true source of Indigo's difficulties. Fortunately for Indigo her dyslexia is discovered early and she is enrolled in reading programs. This has a positive flow on effect through to all aspects of her life.

The book is written from Indigo's point of view. Young children encountering similar difficulties will easily relate to Indigo's story written in simple and direct language that is never didactic. Sophie Norsa's beautiful watercolour illustrations have a delightful playfulness about them. Yet, in the period of the story where Indigo is suffering most, Norsa's use of darker tones shows how devastated Indigo becomes. I particularly like how the bullies are shown as dark, faceless figures in the background. 

Real-life Indigo is remarkable, not only for dealing with the difficulties of dyslexia, but for her desire to help others. With her mother she launched the Indigo Express Foundation which assists with a literacy program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Parents and teachers will be particularly interested in the forward from Professor Kevin Wheldall of the MultiLit Research Unit at Macquarie University regarding the importance of early intervention in dyslexia. He also debunks the myth that dyslexia is almost exclusively a problem encountered by boys. Rather than being four to five times more common in boys than girls as previously thought, it less than twice as common. At the back of the book there is an information resource page with numerous website addresses.