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New books, different reading tastes and a world of adventures await!  Ms Cartwright  shares her pleasant surprise when she read “The Pearl Thief.”

1. What did you read? 

The Pearl Thief by Fiona McIntosh

2. Did you enjoy reading it? 

 I wasn’t sure if I would like this one, but it is set in Scotland and the sound of the accent really came through with this story.  It’s about a woman who is trying to clear the name of a family member, and in doing so discovers that someone they never suspected has been trying to frame them for a serious crime. 

3. Do you recommend it?   Highly recommend this one.  10/10.

The Children’s Book Council of Australia announced “Between Us” by Clare Atkins as 2019 winner of their Annual Award. This book is recommended to older readers.  The story reveals how two very different teenagers connect, despite high barbed-wire fences and cultural differences.  Ana is an Iranian asylum seeker who is only allowed out of detention to attend school. 

There she meets Jono, who is dealing with his own problems: his Mum has walked out, his sister has gone away to uni and Jono is home alone with his Vietnamese father, Kenny.  Kenny is trying to work out the rules in his new job as a guard at the Wickham Point Detention Centre; he tells Ana she should look out for Jono at school.  He soon regrets this decision and becomes very suspicious of his son’s friendship with Ana.

Impossible Music by Sean Williams.  What do you do for kicks when you’re not watching girls in skates beat each other up?  Play guitar. But you can’t hear it. So?  I still like to play.  Not being able to hear didn’t stop Beethoven playing the piano.  You think you’re as good as Beethoven?  Maybe just as pig-headed.  If he didn’t give up, why should I?  Simon lives for music, but after a mini-stroke, he loses his hearing. 

All attempts to help him adjust to his new state are ignored – he has trouble accepting his deafness, until he meets G, a tough girl dealing with her own newly experienced hearing loss.  This is a compelling story of Simon’s quest to understand himself better, of his relationship to the hearing world and of the girl he meets along the way.

For Science Fiction lovers – and there are quite a few of you … we have started to collect the Defy Series.  Here are the first two books.

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray  (Book 1)  We meet Noemi, a 17 year old soldier from the planet Genesis.  She can fire weapons, and fly a single-pilot fighter.  Abel is a young mech from Genesis’s enemy, planet Earth, and the most sophisticated robot warrior ever made.  They are stranded together on an abandoned ship in space and must embark on a heart-stopping voyage through the galaxy to save Noemi’s home.

Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray (Book 2)  Noemi is defending her home planet.  Abel, the most sophisticated robot ever made, understands Noemi like no one else, but they find themselves parted by circumstance and Noemi is flying right into a trap.  Abel knows he must save her, even if it means risking his own life.  Together they will discover a secret that could save Genesis and Earth … or destroy them all.