Book Reviews

Book Review by Kaira Te

‘Crush’ by Richard Siken

The blond boy in the red trunks is holding your head underwater

because he is trying to kill you,

and you deserve it, you do, and you know this,

and you are ready to die in this swimming pool

because you wanted to touch his hands and lips and this means

your life is over anyway.

‘Crush’ by Richard Siken, is a short collection of poems that contemplate love, loss, intimacy, and grief. The excerpt above is from my personal favourite poem, “A Primer for the Small Weird Loves”.

Although there is no clear storyline or narrative arc, you feel the raw emotions behind these instances in his life where the shadows of love and pain are left following him and the lines between the two are blurred. Siken’s main inspiration for these poems is the passing of one of his boyfriends in the ‘90s. He explores this grief deeply and his writing style is incredibly immersive, bordering on violence and infatuation. Even in the poems where I could not completely relate or understand the meaning, I still felt touched.

History repeats itself. Somebody says this.

History throws its shadow over the beginning, over the desktop,over the sock drawer with its socks, its hidden letters.

History is a little man in a brown suit

trying to define a room he is outside of

I know history. There are many names in history

but none of them are ours.

(From the poem “Little Beast”)

Siken also sometimes uses the spacing between the lines to emphasise the rhythm of the poems, especially as they are not rhyming poems, and this is one of my favourite features of his writing.

However, I would say some poems are quite long, and the descriptions can at times outweigh the actual story or meaning behind the poems, making you lose track a little bit, yet I feel it is overall a lovely book.

A man takes his sadness down to the river and throws it in the river

but then he’s still left

with the river. A man takes his sadness and throws it away

but then he’s still left with his hands.

(From the poem “Boot Theory”)

I suggest that this book is read bit by bit, even though it is only 60 pages, just because the length of the poems can be overwhelming and they can end up mixing together in a heap of confusion, although I do think I just have a long way to go until I can fully comprehend what he is writing about.

All in all, I do recommend this book for those who want to try to read something different, and perhaps get into poetry a bit more :)

Book Review by Akasha Vitale

‘Blue Exorcist’ by Kazue Kato 

Volume 1 of ‘Blue Exorcist’ starts you off by following a story about a young eighteen-year-old boy named Rin, he seems to live a carefree life with his twin brother Yukio and adoptive father Fujimoto. Rin is quite the troublemaker; he has a short fuse and frequently gets in trouble in fights. Currently, he is trying to look for a job since he isn’t very smart. On the other hand, his brother is the complete opposite and was even accepted to go to pretentious high school to continue his medical studies.

However, one day his whole world was shattered when he goes out and is attacked by a demon which is a creature he didn’t even know existed. Before he is seriously injured, blue flames set off on his head, but it doesn’t burn him, in fact, they helped the demons get off him. The demon person tells Rin that he’s truly the son of Satan, but before he could continue, Fujimoto comes and exorcises the demon, making the creature perish in front of him.  After that traumatizing event happened Fujimoto explained that Rin and Yukio are the sons of Satan, however, Rin was the only one to inherit the blue flames and demon powers, and Yukio is fully human. Now knowing this Rin wants to be an exorcist that also kills demons but he is also part demon so what should he do?

This premise might seem insane and crazy, but I must admit the story is so interesting and engaging. There are some major choices Rin needs to make but it's also quite funny when more characters come in from later chapters. I loved this series so much and there are also a lot of plot twists that happen in the book. The art style in this manga is very pretty and nice to look at. For me, this book was a 10 out of 10 and I recommend it to those who enjoy reading Shonen manga, and fantasy stories. If you liked reading any Percy Jackson books and haven’t read much manga this is probably a good start for you since Rin is also a half-blood. You should go and check it out at the library!!

Book Review by Lizl Tregidga

‘a thousand boy kisses’ by Tillie Cole

There was a stone on the ground. I kicked it with my foot, watching it roll down the street. I turned to follow my mamma, but then I heard a noise. It was coming from the house next to ours. I looked at their front door, but nobody came out. I was climbing the steps to my porch when I saw some movement from the side of the house – from next door’s bedroom window, the one opposite my own.

My hand froze on the rail and I watched as a girl, dressed in a bright blue dress, climbed through the window. She jumped down onto the grass and dusted off her hands on her thighs. I frowned, my eyebrows pulling down, as I waited for her to lift her head. She had brown hair, which was piled up on her head like a bird’s nest. She wore a big white bow on the side of it.

Some moments define who you are as a person. For me, reading “a thousand boy kisses” by Tillie Cole, cemented that I am a hopeless romantic. This isn’t your typical boy meets girl and they live happily ever after story. This book has a twist almost from the beginning. You don’t even know that it’s coming until it hits you so hard that you can’t imagine continuing to read on… because why would you, what’s the point now? Wrong. Keep going. 

When she looked up, she looked right at me. Then she smiled. She smiled at me so big. She waved, fast, then ran forward and stopped in front of me.

She pushed out her hand. “Hi, my name is Poppy Litchfield, I’m five years old and I live right next door.”

I stared at the girl… She looked weird.

I’m glad I did keep reading because by halfway through, I was trying to fight back the tears that were starting to form as a new adventure beckoned. By three quarters through, I was sobbing uncontrollably, as this book summed up the kind of love that has no bounds, no barriers, and can overcome anything. 

It is a book that any hopeless romantic must read to appreciate just how epic true love is. The kind of love I’m referring to is the love you share with a soul mate. The kind of love that can sustain you for all the moments of life that define you, like when your face is so red from crying and your soul mate just smiles and brings you a tissue. That is the love story that Tillie Cole so beautifully and precisely describes within this book. Boy meets girl. They fall in love. Their love makes them and carries them, but what happens when it is suddenly ripped away and both are left with shattered souls and broken halves of one whole? Hopeless romantics – this one is for you! Grab your copy from the CRC and have a box of tissues on hand!

Book Review by Damion Pelecanos

‘A Crown Imperiled’ by Raymond E Feist

This book is part of a long series based around a created fictional world called Midkemia. This is the second book in the Chaos War Saga, which is the last trilogy of books that covers the adventures and intrigue of a world that has been developed over the last 40 years. Since the first book, “Magician”, this author with his fast-paced style has had me turning pages, always leaving me wanting and waiting on the next book to be published.

What I liked about this book that I have recently finished reading, was the mystery behind military assaults on a peaceful kingdom from a neighbouring kingdom as well as from demons from a lower plain of existence appearing through rifts in reality. In a desperate effort to survive, spies, magicians, warlocks, and leaders of armies, fight against deception and unexpected events which cannot easily be deciphered.

The story involves a conclave of magicians secretly fighting against rampaging demons that are trying to escape a greater evil in their realm whose identity is unknown. With clues indicating that a previous race of mythical creatures long extinct from the world, that once travelled across stars, between worlds riding magnificent dragons and creating, commanding, and enthralling lower races were somehow tied to seemingly unrelated recent events.

Meanwhile, commanders of armies and regions of the kingdom hold out against waves of attacks from soldiers, whose sole purpose seems to be to conquer, depose and rule. Spies and leaders spin their plots amidst political games trying to avert massacres and protect the innocent from all sides whilst also seeking personal wealth and advantage. Military strategies come to the front as ingenious plans are made in the back and forth of the battle for a foothold or last-ditched effort to preserve walls or positions of tactical advantage.

In conclusion, A Crown Imperiled is an awesome addition to the series of books that I can only describe as Stargate crossed with Game of Thrones. I would recommend that you read the first book by this author called “Magician” and decide whether you wish to continue to read the whole series of 31 books or just the first trilogy. Either way, you will not be disappointed.