I’ll Be Waiting for You

I’ll Be Waiting for You by Mariko Turk (Allen & Unwin) PB RRP $19.99 ISBN: 9781760526603

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

“… Maybe that’s how it is after you die. You’re gone, but some part of you, some essence, keeps infusing everything.”

That’s what Imogen believed.

Natalie doesn’t though – even though they are best friends, and both equally obsessed with all things supernatural. Even though neither of them would miss holidays at the very haunted Harlow Hotel and have watched every horror film made.

No, Natalie doesn’t believe in ghosts, even though she is so determined to become a TV ghost hunter on Ghost Chasers that she decides the audition will be the focus of her major senior project – and what better place than Harlow Hotel to do the filming?

And even when Imogen passes away from an undiagnosed heart condition and, a year later, all these unexplained things keep happening that could only be messages from Imogen – Natalie still does not believe.

Or does she?

Questions about ghosts and the potential of there being an afterlife will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but in I’ll Be Waiting for You, author Mariko Turk has taken these big questions and dealt with them in a reflective, quietly amusing and very sensitive way. She has not sought to convince or provide answers, but merely to question and, even more importantly, to acknowledge different views and opinions.

There is a decent dose of scepticism too, at the hands of Leander, an ‘irritating’ truth teller – and Natalie’s archrival – whose main goal when he turns up at Harlow Hotel to do his senior project is to expose the resident psychic as a fraud.

In fact, the ghost angle only serves as an intriguing backdrop for what is essentially a deeper exploration of friendship and loss, and of dealing with grief and learning to trust again. Above all, I’ll Be Waiting for You is a story about what it means to believe in yourself, no matter what.

Mariko Turk has crafted an engaging, heartfelt and humorous story, with two main characters readers will really care about. There is something there for all readers of the YA genre, from ages 12 through to 18, and well beyond. As an adult reader, I absolutely loved it. 

The Devil’s Promise

The Devil’s Promise by Veronica Bennett (Walker Books)
PB RRP $16.95
ISBN 9781406343236
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Welcome to another outstanding novel by Veronica Bennett with a wild, strong-minded, independent female protagonist.

Catriona’s father has died and she is now heiress to a large company and estate. Doctor Hamish arrives from Scotland to pay his respects to the family. This unknown cousin carries with him a secret that he holds close about his relationship to the deceased. But his warm nature endears him to Catriona and her mother, and the girl accepts an invitation to spend the summer at his castle.

A complex and haunting tale plays out in Drumwithie Castle that is built on a rock overlooking the sea. Hamish’s son Jamie, a young female ghost of the tower that enlists Catriona’s help to free her, and dark secrets that have been buried in the caves for years, are woven into a beguiling and suspenseful scenario.

This is a story of love and finding one’s path in life; family secrets well-kept, and retribution. It has countless twists and turns, similar to all the entrances and exits to the tunnels of the castle where lost things are found, and freedom is never free.

The One and Only Jack Chant

The One and Only Jack Chant by Rosie Borella (Allen and Unwin)
PB RRP $15.99
ISBN 978-1-74331-138-7
Reviewed by Ann Harth

The One and Only Jack Chant grabbed me from the start. The prologue introduces Jack as he practices his routine on the back of a circus pony in the big top. He is enjoying the thrill of competence and connecting with his horse when the circus master challenges him to learn a spectacular but dangerous feat.

We leave Jack at the circus and land in Tranquil Banks Nursing Home where 16-year-old Amber is showering a difficult resident under the scrutiny of an assessor. She passes the test and lands a full-time job as an aide during her gap year. Amber is good at her job and treats the old people with warmth and respect. She forms friendships with her co-workers and they do their best to keep the residents happy, safe and fed with little help from the stingy owner.

Jack re-enters the scene, mysteriously appearing at the nursing home. He comes and goes without warning until Amber finds him camping beside the river on her family’s property. He seems to be everywhere and come from nowhere, recalling little of his haunted history. His strange clothing and odd accent do little to shed any light on his past.

Amber is captivated by Jack, wanting to believe he is simply a boy recovering from a traumatic event but knowing there is more to his story than it seems. To add to her confusion, when Amber touches Jack she is sucked into his thoughts and finds herself immersed in his memories – feeling, seeing and experiencing them as though she is inside his skin. As time passes, Amber learns that Jack is on an important mission but the details are vague, even to Jack.

The situation unfolds with as many twists and turns as a roller coaster and had me guessing until I reached the unpredictable climax.

Readers, aged 13-16, will devour this book as they will identify closely with Amber and enjoy the emotional ride that Rosie Borella has created. The One and Only Jack Chant is a book to revisit many times to find the subtle hints that point toward a stunning ending.

Rosie Borella has written and edited non-fiction for many years. Writing fiction is a more recent venture and her short story, Eternity, was included in the Tales from the Tower Collection. She writes at home in rural Victoria. The One and Only Jack Chant is her first novel.

Ann Harth is a published children's author, freelance editor, ghostwriter and writing teacher at Australian College of Journalism. She loves to read and is committed to creating children's literature that inspires, entertains and triggers a tiny twist in the mind. Her latest middle-grade novel, The Art of Magic, is now available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Deborah Abela Ghost Club Blog Tour

What's that noise? I'm sure I heard something? It could be a ghost. There it was again. Oh, phew ... it's Deborah Abela, author of the fun and fabulous Ghost Club stories. Today we welcome Deborah as part of her blog tour. Thank you for dropping by Buzz Words Books to chat about all things ghostly:

BWB: Were you ever part of a club as a kid and would you like to have been a member of the Ghost Club?

DA: I would have LOVED to have been part of the Ghost Club as a kid. All those spooky stories, all that history coming to life in a house, castle or graveyard…I love the fact that wherever we stand there is a history that belonged to that place long before we arrived there. I love thinking about who has been there, what they did, imaging the laughter or even tears. There is a school of philosophy that believes time doesn’t pass by and disappear but somehow still exists somewhere beyond us and I like that idea.


BWB: What was the best bit about imagining the Ghost Club mansion?

DA: I actually scoured the net for this one….I needed an image to work from that would resemble my higgledy crumbling mansion and finally I found it. I also stumbled across a story about a woman who believed her house was haunted by a ghost who told her he would not stop bothering her unless she didn’t keep adding to the house. She built extra rooms, stairs that went nowhere and doors that opened onto brick walls…. apparently he kept bothering her despite his promise and her tireless renovations. My fictionally haunted woman, Emmeline Crump, leaves the house, fittingly, to the Ghost Club after she has died.

BWB: In Ghost Club 2: The Haunted School, Angeline and Edgar and their classmates are having a sleep-over at their school. What’s the scariest place you’ve slept over at?

DA: I drove around Australia after I finished uni and one night while we were camping in the bush, we’d just settled into sleep when we heard a car and headlights stumbled over our tent as the car drove over rough ground, coming closer. It stopped outside, the door opened and boots tramped to our door, before asking us to put out our slightly smouldering campfire. Phew. We did as he asked, but then as we tried to go to sleep again, we heard footsteps around our tent. We were so spooked, we flew out the door, threw the tent in the back of the car and drove off.

BWB: One of the support characters in the book is a man called Gloom, who loves telling poems with bad endings. What would you do if you met someone like Gloom in real life?

DA: I’d ask him to read me some of his gloomy poetry and stories! No matter how cheerful it starts, they always seem to make their way to an unfortunate end. He claims that when a story is going well, you should always be ready for something bad to happen.

BWB: Is it true that although you like writing scary stories, you’re actually a bit of a coward?

DA: Oh a terrible coward…as big as they come. The downside of that is that I love adventure and travelling and when I was younger, I often ended up in scary situations like being thrown in jail twice by heavily armed men in Africa. I also can’t even think about watching scary films…

BWB: Is Grandma Rose at all like your nanna?

DA: Yes, in lots of ways. Feisty and funny but no-nonsense and very fun to be with. Neither of those woman are your cake-baking, cuddly, purple haired nanna, but are brilliant in their own special way.

BWB: Have you read Ghost Club 2 to the students at your school, Stanmore Public School and if so, what was their response?

DA: I began by asking them if they knew the tale of Bloody Mary…and of course they did. In fact it was a Stanmore student who first told me the story. It supposedly originates from Henry VIII’s daughter, Queen Mary, who, during her reign was quite bloodthirsty and tended to do away with people who weren’t of the Catholic faith. The folklore from that time is that if you stand in front of a bathroom mirror and repeat her name three times she’ll appear. Which of course she never does. I always tell the kids it's a story designed to frighten people, which it has done. I read them the chapter where, during the annual year six sleepover, the kids try it out….something, of course, does happen, but I can’t tell you what.

BWB: What are some things teachers can do with classes to help bring this series alive?

DA: Ohhh….I love asking kids to tell a story about the time they were woken at night by a strange noise or by something they saw. Lots of great stories start from something real and something, at least initially, mysterious. I often use this as a story starter exercise. I also look at famous spooky stories like A Christmas Carol by Dickens. I also have teachers notes on my website (http://www.randomhouse.com.au/content/teachers/tr_ghost_club.pdf) which has activities around designing your own ghost catching gadget, acting out a portion of the book and writing spooky stories using all the five sense to really make it come to life.



BWB: What can we look forward to in the next Ghost Club book?

DA: Each year there is the annual Ghost Club convention and I just had to take our catchers to Transylvania, the inspirational home for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It was fun reading Stoker’s story again and researching the history of Transylvania and Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler, the Romanian Prince said also to have inspired the story.




BWB: What type of readers would you recommend the Ghost Club series to?

DA: The series is a comedy adventure with some slightly spooky elements to it, but it is largely about facing our fears and that sometimes what we’re afraid of sometimes isn’t that scary after all. Readers who love mystery, action and a good whodunit, may enjoy hanging out with Angeline and Edgar at Ghost Club.

Thanks, Deborah. I can't wait for the next Ghost Club. 

You can read the Buzz Words Books' review of Ghost Club 2: The Haunted School here and Ghost Club 1: The New Kid here.








Check out the book trailer, too: http://deborahabela.com/site/Video_Clips.html

For all the stops on Deborah’s Blog tour, see http://www.deborahabela.com/. For the next stop on the tour visit Fairfieldbooks On Station on 8 October. For the previous stop see Pass It On.

Mystery Horse

 Mystery Horse by Jane Smiley (Allen&Unwin)
PB RRP $16.99
ISBN 978-0-571-27936-4
Reviewed by Ann Harth (www.annharth.com )

When Abby hands over a five dollar note and a handful of change and becomes the owner of a pretty, dappled grey horse, she gets more than she bargained for. True Blue is smart, sensitive and well-behaved. He’s also haunted.

Abby is convinced that True Blue’s former owner, who was killed in a car accident, is refusing to give up her beloved horse. She feels an eerie presence surrounding True Blue who strengthens her fears with his odd behaviour. Abby struggles with her dread, avoiding the truth until the end of the book when she no longer has a choice.

Mystery Horse is a novel that will appeal to horse lovers aged 9+. The gentle pace and thorough characterisation offers the reader a chance to relax, settle in and become involved in Abby’s life, following her through her troubles with a family at church, a broken wrist and her new employment teaching riding to kids.

Detailed facts and information are scattered liberally throughout this book, increasing the reader’s knowledge of riding, training and caring for horses. The author’s love for these animals is evident in her descriptions and understanding of the workings of a horse’s mind.

Jane Smiley is the author of eleven novels. Among other awards, she received the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for A Thousand Acres. Her interests are many and varied and she has written for numerous magazines. Mystery Horse is her third book for young readers and continues Abby’s adventures from Nobody's Horse and Secret Horse.

Horse lovers will adore True Blue and mystery lovers will relish the thrill of suspense that is woven through the pages.

Ann Harth is a published children's author and writing tutor at Australian College of Journalism. She loves to read and is committed to creating children's literature that inspires, entertains and triggers a tiny twist in the mind. Her latest middle-grade novel, The Art of Magic, is now available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

Love Notes from Vinegar House

 Love Notes from Vinegar House by Karen Tayleur (black dog books)
PB RRP $18.95
ISBN 978142032191
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis


This well-crafted and compelling mystery incorporates family secrets, misunderstandings, teenage dilemmas and a ghostly presence. It is told in first person narrative by Freya, who speaks directly to the reader; a device that works extremely well with this style of writing. 


Freya’s parents have gone to visit her ailing Nanna and Freya must go and stay at Grandma Kramer’s house close to the sea where all the family gatherings have taken place throughout her lifetime. Unfortunately her bossy and manipulative cousin Rumer is also staying there. Since childhood, no love has been lost between the two girls for Freya uncovered Rumer’s failings early. Since then they have merely tolerated one another for the sake of common courtesy within the family circle.


Freya’s long, close friendship with Luke is on the rocks because of a Facebook prank.  His interest seems to have turned to the attractive and flirty Rumer. He has also turned up to work in the garden at Grandma Kramer’s house and Freya’s agony at seeing him interested in her awful cousin, churns inside her like the rough sea that surrounds them. Quite out of character, Freya finds herself taking notes left under Rumer’s door supposedly from Luke. These lead to an even more disturbing discovery which is linked to the mystery the house holds tightly to within its walls.


But the old house holds more secrets than anyone is prepared to talk about and is said to be haunted. But by whom and why?  During her stay there, Freya starts to notice that the bath tub fills with water by itself. There are sounds which have no logical explanation. The lights in the house stay on during a power blackout and the attic is always kept locked and out of bounds.

Freya is also troubled by the fact that nobody ever talks about Rumer’s mother, especially Rumer herself. Even crabby Grandma Kramer keeps quiet about her daughter. She is determined to find answers at any cost. This search brings about astonishing results and closure for more than one person.


This is a moving story that weaves through many sub-stories and plaits themes together beautifully. It is a book will be read in one sitting for there’s no putting it down once you start.

Taken Away

Taken Away by Celine Kiernan (Allen & Unwin)

PB RRP $16.99

ISBN 978-1-74237-772-0

Reviewed by Thalia Kalkipsakis

  

Not since childhood have I felt the need to hide a book under my bed, face down and beneath a pillow, in case the terrors lurking within somehow made their way out as I slept...

That is, until I read Celine Kiernan’s gripping ghost tale, Taken Away.

A small, pale hand grabbed the edge of Dom’s bunk. Little fingers curled around the mattress. I could see the indents of the fabric where they gripped tight. There was a pause, as thought it was frightened to look, and then a small, pale, dark-eyed face cleared the edge.

Taken Away tells the story of twin Irish boys, Dom and Pat, whose family has been displaced after their home burnt down. The effect of the fire is not only displacement; somehow, it also means that the ghost is able to see the twins. And when he does, he thinks he’s ‘found a home’.

Through Pat’s eyes we feel his horror and sense of helplessness as his twin, his partner in life, is possessed. Dom disappears, becomes a ‘whistling void’, and in his place is something that no longer belongs in this world. The situation is made all the more compelling because Pat is the only one who realises that something is wrong.

As with other truly terrifying ghosts, this one is not all that he seems. To save his brother, Pat realises that he must also help the ghost. And so, the twin’s plight becomes entwined with a tragic World War I mystery.

Recommended for readers from 13 to 16 years, Taken Away is much more than just a haunting. The mystery and suspense keep the pages turning, but it is the relationships that take this story to a higher level, not the least of which is the connection between twins and the resulting anguish when events cause their separation.

Thalia’s latest book is called Head Spinners: six stories to twist your brain (www.thaliakalkipsakis.com). 

Sounds Spooky

Sounds Spooky by Christopher Cheng and illustrated by Sarah Davis (Random House)

HB RRP $19.95

ISBN 978-1-8647-1879-9

Reviewed by Oliver Phommavanh

Sounds Spooky is a creepy picture book that will delight and scare kids at the same time. It revolves around a haunted house with a chirpy girly ghost who gets some unexpected visitors. It’s hard to say who’s scared more, her or the intruding kids!

Cheng delivers a wonderful prose that’s perfect for reading aloud, acting and performing. There’s a neat rhythm with the rhyme, action words and alliteration. It builds the tension as the ghost girl and kids edge closer to meeting each other.  

Davis is simply brilliant with her illustrations. She has created her pictures from the ground up. She’s made miniature models of the characters and settings. Its Claymation meets Paper Mache. The unique illustrations set the perfect tone for the book. There’s an awesome ‘behind the scenes’ video on the book’s website, (www.sounds-spooky.com).

Kids and adults alike will love this picture book. It’s perfect for Halloween and scary nights when you want a little fright. Highly recommended for ages 5 and up.

The Boy Who Wasn't There

The Boy Who Wasn't There by Michael Panckridge (black dog books)
PB RRP $16.99
ISBN 9781742031835
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

The Boy Who Wasn't There is the first book in a new series, The Book of Gabrielle. Gabrielle, or Gaby, has woken in a hospital and has no memory of her previous life and no connection to anyone or anything from her past. A voice speaks to her and says she will receive redemption by helping others. She arrives at her foster home and strange and terrifying occurrences happen. Swarms of moths, spiders and birds attack, frightening visions appear and she feels as though she is being suffocated in the night.

A mysterious boy also lives in the house and Gaby is unsure of her foster parents. Gaby's story is also interspersed with notes from another inhabitant of the house. The story moves along quickly and Panckridge writes simply but in a compelling fashion. The Boy Who Wasn't There is a real page-turner. Twists are around every corner and I loved how during the bird attack Gaby makes a connection with the birds and eventually has some control over them.

The Book of Gabrielle series is bound to be a winner and will attract both girl and boy readers keen to discover Gaby's story as well as solve the mystery within each title.