Library

It’s a matter of ...’Survival’

Have you ever thought what it would be like if you were woken up by severe earthquake tremors or, maybe, you were on an aircraft and just heard the warning to ‘brace yourself’, ready for a crash? What would you do? How would you cope?

One of the VMG English units, ‘Survival’, has students experiencing other people’s fight for survival, through reading a variety of novels, autobiographies, films and newspaper accounts.

Recent titles on the theme of ‘Survival’ for students to read include:

The trip of a lifetime - that’s what it was supposed to be, paid for with money Gran left thirteen-year old Sam in her will, but when the small plane taking Sam and his Dad back to the airport crashes in the jungle, Sam is left alone and terrified.

As time passes with no sign of rescue, Sam grows weaker and has to dig deep to find levels of resolve and resourcefulness he never knew he had in order to survive.

 What happens when the lights go off after what might truly be an end-of-the-world event?  How do you   stay alive? Who do you trust? How much do you have to sacrifice? 'After the Lights Go Out' is a terrifying yet hope-filled story of disaster, deceit, love, sacrifice and survival.'

Escaping from a troubled home and struggling to survive on the streets, the abandoned tunnels of the London Underground are a perfect sanctuary for Kai. Along with other teenagers running from their pasts, he finds somewhere to belong in this strange community of outcasts.

 As the Ash Wednesday bushfires raged around her in a small Victorian town in February 1983, a young mother stood between her two young daughters and the massive fireball heading straight for them. Ann tells her dramatic story with candour and disarming humour, beginning with her working-class childhood growing up in a village in Lancashire, England.

Teresa and her family survived the bombing of their home and went hungry during the long siege of their island during the war. Life in peace time is still hard. Her parents want a better life, and so apply to migrate to Australia to find it. But after the long voyage to Sydney, there are more testing times ahead for Teresa as she tries to learn Australian ways, avoid the bullies and do well at school.

Anna’s grandmother always told her that the truth was the safest lie–but in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, the truth about Anna’s identity is the most dangerous thing there is. A National Jewish Book Awards Finalist.