Wednesday 12 February 2014

Hot Money by Bill Nagelkerke (general fiction)



If you have read and enjoyed Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce then you might also enjoy this NZ take on a theme which gets us all asking the question "what would you do?"Miles and August are mucking about after school when they witness a police chase. As the getaway car speeds past, a bag is thrown from the window, landing at the boys' feet. Miles looks inside and finds $20,000. He knows what he SHOULD do with the money, but his family are struggling for cash and so he is tormented. August tries to persuade him to do the right thing, but it is just so tempting...What would you do?

Sunday 9 February 2014

The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan





This was one of those books that has never really appealed to me, but was recommended and so I felt I should give it a go.

And yay for recommendations... what a fantastic read, and a brilliant start to a series. When Will is apprenticed to the mysterious (and slightly feared) ranger, Holt, he is not happy. All his friends have been apprenticed to the job of their choice, and so he can't understand why he has to go and live away from his home castle with Holt.

But when there is a threatened attack by the vengeful Morgorath, Will has to forget his misgivings and behave like a true apprentice.

With plenty of fighting action, this is a cracking read for young boys from about Year 4 and up. Highly recommended!!

Saturday 1 February 2014

The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas by David Almond


I read this book in one sitting - partly because I had no children to interrupt me, but mostly because it is a cracking great read.

The story can be read on two levels... it is essentially about a young lad (Stan) who runs away with the circus and ends up swimming with piranhas as a main attraction.  And that is quite entertaining enough in itself.  But older readers will see much of what happens as a metaphor for life: for example, when Stan stands above the piranha pool, plucking up the courage to dive in, we can ask ourselves if we have the courage to make a change in our own life?

As with any good story, there is a baddy (or 5) to contend with.  The baddies in this story are almost Shakespearian in the way they provide comic relief, as they are just so ridiculous.  (They remind me of Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing.) They are part of an organisation called DAFT (Department for the Abolishun of Fishy Things) and they have a very poor grasp of the English language, which is rather entertaining, although some of the puns may go over younger readers' heads.

I also love the way that David Almond uses his own voice in parts to narrate the story, creating a kind of movie-like effect of zooming in and out of scenes.  My favourite quote from one of these moments is "we could go anywhere with words and our imaginations."  Fabulous.

Stay Where You Are and Then Leave by John Boyne

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John Boyne is becoming one of my favourite writers.  Not only is he is the author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, but he also penned the fairy-tale like Noah Barleywater Runs Away and the fabulous The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket.

Stay Where You Are and Then Leave is a story set during World War 1 and deals with a young boy coping with his father signing up to go and fight in the trenches.  As with Noah Barleywater and Barnaby Brocket there is a hint of the fairy tale about the way the story is written, despite the fact that it is firmly set in a real place and time.

Alfie, the young lad in the story, is desperate to deliver the milk on the milk float with his father, but at 5 years of age he is considered to young.  On Alfie's 5th birthday, his dad signs up to go and fight in the war... much to his mother's horror and Alfie's confusion.  The story flits about a little at the start, moving between flash-backs to when Alfie was 5 and then back to when he is 9... and his dad still hasn't reappeared.  A chance encounter at King's Cross station leads Alfie on a secret mission to find his missing dad - and in doing so he comes across some horrific and disturbing sights of returned soldiers who are suffering from shell shock.

This is not always an easy read as it touches on some difficult issues, not least that of the effects of shell shock on the young soldiers who fought in the Great War.  However, John Boyne seems to be able to pen a tale with ease and his characters are well-developed and interesting.

This book would appeal to those who are interested in World War 1 and its effects on the lives of the people at the time.  It is NOT a war story, rather a human interest story.