The Mad Capper's Tea Party

The Secrets We Keep

The Secrets We Keep by Nova Weetman, (UQP)

PB RRP $16.95

ISBN 978 0 7022 5421 5

Reviewed by Elizabeth Kasmer

It’s been six weeks since a fire burnt down Clem’s home and now her Mum and her old life are gone. The few things she has managed to salvage are tainted by the smell of the fire and painful memories of losing her mum. Clem and father can now no longer afford to stay in the neighbourhood and are forced to move into a tiny flat so they can be closer to her father’s work and Clem’s new school.

On her first day of school Clem meets Ellie and in an effort to fit in, Clem lets a secret slip about what happened to her mum which she immediately regrets. As Ellie’s mum is in hospital dying of cancer, Ellie immediately bonds with Clem over common ground of losing a mother. This connection places Clem in the awkward situation of coming between Ellie and her oldest friend Tam who becomes jealous of Clem. To Clem’s credit she is able to put herself in Tam’s shoes and wonders how she would feel in the same situation.

Clem is helped through her struggles by her ever optimistic father who works at the botanical gardens and wears a big jacket that Clem buries her face in so she can smell his earthiness. Maggie, the neighbour in the flat upstairs, provides a refuge for Clem, offering tea, freshly baked treats and also a sense of purpose by giving her the job of feeding and caring for the fish whilst Maggie is away for work.

Clem is a runner and the track is where she can be her true self, it is where all her problems float away. It is interesting to watch how Clem learns to recognise, and return to, the things in her life that bring her joy (such as running). But will Clem continue to run from her problems? Or will she find the strength to face the truth about what really happened with her mum and the fire?

Reading this book brought back strong memories of my own primary school experiences; the emotions, school yard dynamics, politics and rivalries. My eleven year old self was right there beside Clem on her first day of school peering into the school playground.

“And I’m out here. Looking through holes in the wire, wondering how I’m going to do this.”

Nova Weetman does a beautiful job of shining a light on what it’s like to feel lost and having to fit into new surroundings when everything familiar is gone. This is a wonderfully relatable book that has strong appeal for middle grade readers. When I closed the book there was a real sense of sadness not only that the story had come to an end but that it had been resolved so beautifully.

Elizabeth Kasmer is a Sunshine Coast based writer of children’s and young adult fiction. www.elizabethkasmer.com

The Secrets We Keep

The Secrets We Keep by Nova Weetman (UQP) PB RRP $16.99

ISBN 978-0-7022-5421-5

Reviewed by Joanne Pummer

 This novel by Nova Weetman, is highly recommended for all children (9 yrs+), but it's especially relevant for children feeling anger towards a parent who's struggling with depression, mental illness or addiction.

Written in the first person, by eleven year old Clem, the story starts on the first day at a new school, when Clem and her Dad are living in a flat because their house has burnt down. The fate of her mother is a mystery; 'Mum was asleep' is all Clem tells us. This is the hook that entices the reader.

Clem's new friend, Ellie, is inquisitive about the reasons she has shifted schools.  'My mum died,' Clem says. Three words she'll live to regret. Ellie, believing she's found someone who understands, tells Clem her mother is dying of cancer.

We feel for Clem when she has flashbacks of her mother before the fire, in bed, crying, unable to cope with housework, the signs of depression. Ellie's mother dies and Clem is unable to face the funeral.

A turning point comes when Clem receives a letter from her mother and refuses to read it. Clem is angry, believing it was her mother who started the fire, When Ellie finds out she flees in tears, because Clem has lied to her.

I had a lump in my throat when Clem, eventually, between sobs, reveals her shameful secret. She wished her mother had died in the fire because it's easier to talk about a dying mother than one who's unavailable. My tears came at the last page, when Clem sees her mother at the school athletics carnival, with her 'arms out and ready' and Clem says ''Mum''.

Warning: Copious amounts of sugar were eaten by the characters, during the writing of this book.

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.

Swashbuckler

Swashbuckler by James Moloney (A re-release from UQP)

PB RRP $19.95

ISBN 9780702228254

Review by Jo Burnell

Re-releases can be dated and irrelevant to today’s world. Filled with misgivings, I opened Swashbuckler, ready to be irritated . To my delight, I couldn’t put it down.

Being the newcomer, Peter is the latest target for school bullies, but his saviour arrives in an unexpected form. Swinging on a tree rope, the mini Scarlet Pimpernel drops his sword ad loses his mask, but manages to distract the tough guys. Why won’t Anton admit he is the hero in disguise and what is his obsession with historical heroes?

Both Peter and Anton are struggling with their dads. Peter’s is a compulsive gambler whose habit loses the family home and forces them to move. Peter’s dad has hardly been seen since the move, but he reappears when  Peter’s mum comes into a bit of money.

Anton’s anguish with his dad runs deep, but he’s not telling what it is. Can he finally trust Peter with his pain? Can Peter help Anton fight the fierce dragon before it’s too late?

Coping with terminal cancer is heartbreaking, especially the physical changes that occur as the body fades away. Coming to terms with problem gambling is challenging in different ways. It is trust that corrodes, rather than the body.

James Moloney is still opening the doors to coping for kids in this timeless tale and he does it with an essential ingredient: Humour.

Jo Burnell is passionate about hooking reluctant and struggling readers into the world of books. Her current project for Middle Primary students is about an Aussie hero. Her uncle Roy was a fighter pilot in World War 2.