The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by e.l. konigsburg

When Amedeo and his mother move to Florida, Amedeo finds himself working on a house sale with another boy, William Wilcox, but the two don’t get along. Mrs Zender’s mansion is crammed with memorabilia of her long life, and there is a story to go with every item. The boys find themselves caught up in one particular story, dating back to Nazi Germany and Hitler’s declaration that modern art was degenerate. Amedeo makes an exciting discovery -- an original sketch by Modigliani. Why was it hidden, and why would Mrs Zender be willing to sell something worth millions for only $5,000?
OK I chose this book because of the cover and the quirky title! This book made me remember how I felt when I was a kid reading exciting new authors like Paul Zindel and Judy Blume. American kids seemed so much more grown up and had a chance to deal with such grown up issues and the adults in the books all interacted with them like they were actually grown ups. This was a revelation to me because my life was nothing like that at all!! This was well written and one for the more the more thoughtful 12 year olds who live among us.
Rating - I give this 4/5 GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Sarah @ Hamilton library

Mudeye by Bary Dowling

An autobiography, telling of the author's childhood from his birth in 1933, in Ballarat, to his 16th year, when he ran away from Geelong Grammar School. Describes his early schooldays in Ballarat, his excursion(s) with his father, a country vet, and the often tense relationship between the author and his parents. Includes a final chapter describing a therapy session with a psychologist at the age of 59. (Review – Global books in print (Australia)

I really enjoyed this book! Mudeye was recommended to me by a friend who like me was born in Ballarat.
In Mudeye – an autobiography - Ballarat and district, and especially Lake Wendouree of the 1930’s and 40’s are brought to life through a very observant young boy - Bary as he tries to make sense of the depression, the drought, the second world war, his town, his school and his family. The characters, the family-life, the streets of Ballarat, and the natural environment of the area are very beautifully drawn.
4/5 from me. A great Read!
Reviewed by kim@ballarat branch

GREAT!!
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Chasing feathers by Jodi Blokkeerus

Deep within the layers of the city there are creatures operating things from below. Inside the traffic lights work traffic controllers, operating the lights to bring order to our roads.
Chasing feathers is the story of Yogi, a traffic controller who was searching for something more. But when he gets a chance to follow his dream, he finds it’s not as easy as he first thought (from the publisher).
This is a cute little book about chasing your dreams and the obstacles that you may face when you try to fulfill them. Jodi has done her own illustrations in this book, which are well done. Although the main character, Yogi, is a slightly odd looking little fella, children should still enjoy this story and the message it is telling.
Rating - I give this 4/5 Not bad!

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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

The Lady Grace Mysteries by Grace Cavendish

Assassin is the first book in this terrific series set in Elizabethan England. There is lots of historical detail, plenty of mysteries to be solved and a feisty heroine who manages to save the day with the help of her two close friends. My eleven year old daughter is now obsessed with herb lore and we will be spending the holidays creating a herb garden so she can brew her own tisanes and concoct her own remedies! Hopefully we will survive her ministrations!
Rating - I give this 4/5

GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Sarah @ Hamilton library

Valley of Grace by Marion Halligan

I couldn't find a blurb that did this book justice. It's one of those quiet books that appears to be very simple but is actually beautifully constructed and exquisitely detailed. The setting - Paris - was a lovingly described character in it's own right and the human characters were interesting and well drawn. I read a book by Marion Halligan years ago but I don't recall enjoying it quite as much as I did this one - I think I will have to revisit her earlier work.
Rating - I give this 4/5

GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Sarah @ Hamilton library

Lisey's Story by Stephen King

Possibly King's most ambitious and accomplished book ever, Lisey's Story is a profoundly moving and disturbing novel about a widow coping with the loss of her writer husband. It's a grand, ambitious and layered book, with unrelenting emotional power. It's a book for the ages -- exploring the dark secrets of the ones we love, and the very wellsprings of creativity (from the publisher).
It took me forever and a day to finish this book. I just wasn't taken in with the story, and for the most part, found it hard to keep my mind on what I was reading. I didn't even like the characters. While Stephen King did create some rather out-there places/dimensions in this book, it still fell below my expectations.
Rating - I give this 2.5/5 Nothing Special

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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Imagine meeting a vampire who actually cares about you instead of wanting to suck your blood, this is what 16-year old Isabella "Bella" Swan has to deal with when she moves from Phoenix in Arizona to live with her father Sergeant Swan in Forks in Washington. After moving to Forks, Bella finds herself falling in love with a suspicious boy called Edward Cullen.
Bella eventually learns that Edward is part of a vampire family that drinks animal blood instead of human blood, Edward and Bella fall in love. However, their time together may be cut short by James, a member of a rivalry clan who is attracted to Bella for her blood. Edward and the other Cullens (Jasper, Alice, Esme, Rosalie and Carlisle) rescue her. Bella then returns to Phoenix and discovers that she was tricked into confronting James; Bella ends up getting wounded while James is trying to killl her, Edward rescues her again and they end up back in Forks.
Twilight, written by Stephenie Meyer is a series of four books (Twilight, New Moon, Eclispe, and Breaking Dawn). I recommend it as a great read and a very addictive book.
Rating - I give this 5/5 FANTASTIC!!

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Reviewed by Michaella @ work

Lost in Austen (DVD)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen was a very fine chronicler indeed of the manners and society of her day. Her books remain popular almost 200 years after her death and producers and scriptwriters not only bring her stories to life on-screen in their original form but have used them as the basis of re-written scripts that the author would barely recognise.
I wonder what she would think of how her greatest work, Pride and Prejudice, has been treated in the DVD Lost in Austen, which has been given the time-slip treatment to link the world of P and P to the present.
Modern girl Amanda Price is a devoted Austen fan whose ordinary life is changed dramatically when she discovers Elizabeth Bennet in her bathroom and ends up replacing her in the story. It's all very entertaining and witty and done with the greatest respect to the writer. Elizabeth Bennet (Gemma Arterton) is largely absent from the story, although much referred to, while Jemima Rooper as Amanda is a delight, albeit far too outspoken and strangely dressed for her journey to the past, according to those who live there. Elliot Cowan is suitably upright and uptight as Mr Darcy - and yes, he does look good in a wet shirt.
It's enjoyable watching - and I think Jane Austen, with her acute observation and wry wit, would agree.
Rating - I give this 4/5

GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Jan @ Ballarat branch

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

At a suburban barbecue, a man slaps a child who is not his own. This event has a shocking ricochet effect on a group of people, mostly friends, who are directly or indirectly influenced by the event. In this remarkable novel, Christos Tsiolkas turns his unflinching and all-seeing eye onto that which connects us all: the modern family and domestic life in the twenty-first century.
After reading this all I can say is that I am very glad that my experience of the modern family and domestic life in the twenty-first century doesn't remotely resemble those of the characters in this novel. So much violence, aggression, misogyny and unhappiness - and that's just from the three year old who was slapped!! The story is relentless and exhausting and I didn't really like any of the characters but there is no doubting Tsiolas' skill as a writer.
Rating - I give this 3/5
Not bad!

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Reviewed by Sarah @ Hamilton library

Dreams from my father by Barack Obama

On January 20 2009, Barack Obama took the oath of office to become the 44th President of the United States, the first African-American to do so. Obama wrote Dreams from my father in 1995, well before he became a US senator and before his run for the White House was thought of. Instead of the agenda ridden political memoir publishers often commission, this book is a very personal account of Obama's struggle to find a place between two cultures. It is beautifully written, frank and hopeful. A real opportunity to learn about the man occupying the Oval Office. Highly recommended.

I give this 4/5 GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Julie @ Wendouree library

Mistaken Identity by Don and Susie Van Ryn, and Newell, Collen and Whitney Cerak

An unprecedented true story of how a fatal road accident united two families in a process of grief and healing. Out of one of the strangest cases of mistaken identity came a celebration of hope and faith and of life's unfathomable gifts and mysteries (from the publisher).
It is hard to believe that in this day and age, some people involved in accidents are not identified properly. It is also hard to comprehend that one family did not realise who was lying in front of them. In this story, one family buried their daughter, while another never left their daughter's side while she was in a coma and assisted with her rehabilitation for 5 weeks. It was that long before it was realised that a terrible case of mistaken identity had taken place. This is an interesting read as the families tell what they went through and how their faith never seemed to waive during such an unimaginable time.
Rating - I give this 3/5 Not bad!

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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament, to prove that he has the makings of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him — for he always helps Amir — but this is 1970s Afghanistan and Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir still feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father’s heart.
But neither of the boys could foresee what would happen to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament, which was to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return, to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

I have mixed feelings about this. In some ways I wanted a lot more detail and in some ways I was glad the book was mercifully short. There were the makings of about 4 different novels in this and I was puzzled as to why the story of the boys was chosen as the focus of the book. I felt as though I didn't learn enough about the Afghani culture and the two boys could have been from any country and the tale told would have been similar - redemption is a fairly common theme in fiction!
Rating - I give this 3/5
Not bad!

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Reviewed by Sarah @ Hamilton library

Hello! is that grandma? by Ian Whybrow

Imagine you dialled the wrong number - and got through to a sheep, then a duck, then a cow, then a very hungry crocodile! And all you wanted to do was wish your grandma "Happy Birthday!" [blurb]

A fun read for under 5s - and their bedtime story tellers too. The illustrations are bright and colourful, there's fold-out flaps, and at the end, a little lesson in mobile phone etiquette for children of the noughties.
Rating - I give this 4/5 GREAT!!
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Reviewed by Julie @ Wendouree library

Max by James Patterson

When millions of fish start dying off the coast of Hawaii and someone--or something--is destroying hundreds of ships, the government enlists the Flock to help them get to the bottom of the disaster before it is too late (from the publisher).
This is the fifth book in the Maximum Ride series about six genetically modified children - bird DNA has been mixed with their own to create lightweight flying combat soldiers. As you do. They face death on a daily basis as the baddies of the world try to get rid of them, while struggling with day to day life and dealing with the discovery of new talents - breathing under water, mind control, invisibility, and so on. The series is aimed at a young adult audience and the language in the text reflects that. There is also a strong environmental message throughout the books.
Rating - I give this 3.5/5 Not bad!

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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

Never order chicken on a Monday by Matthew Evans

In a previous life as a young journalist reporting at local council meetings in suburban Sydney, I knew which local restaurants to avoid, thanks to the weekly health inspectors' reports.
Matthew Evans' book - subtitled Kitchen Chronicles of an undercover food critic - gives readers and would-be diners a similar heads-up, albeit not of any named restaurant.
It's horrifying to read about the expensive restaurants in which he trained as a chef serving up food concocted with the cheapest - or even borderline "off" ingredients, and the appalling treatment meted out to staff (think Gordon Ramsay at his yelling worst).
The main surprise, however, is that despite restaurant training ruining his illusions - and his health - Evans is a committed foodie (and a good one, too; I love his recipes in a weekend magazine, and the little stories he tells to go with them).
Do yourself a favour - give yourself a good laugh by reading about Evans' adventures in the kitchen and as a food critic who now prefers to eat at home. And the title? For an explanation, you'll have to read the epilogue: Things they don't tell you when you book.
Rating - I give this 4/5 Not bad!
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Reviewed byJan @ Ballarat branch

Home and away by John Marsden & Matt Ottley

"Everyone wants a place of safety, a place to share with the people they love. A place to relax. A home.
"Right now, more than a billion people don't have a home - that's one in seven of the world's population.
"There are only two places you can be in life: home or away."
The blurb and the front cover - depicting a small boy trapped behind a tall wire fence topped with barbed wire - are good indicators that despite this being a picture book, it's not a warm and fuzzy read for small children.
And the fact that it's written by John Marsden is a good indicator that Home and away has something important to say. And that something seems to me to be that 'they' - the refugees who flee their countries for an undertain future elsewhere - could so easily be 'us'; that safety and security can't be taken for granted.
The story begins innocently enough, with details and a photo of the happy family - Mum, Dad, the 15-year-old narrator, his 11-year-old sister Claire, five-year-old Toby and their grandmother. A child's drawing illustrates the next pages, with the text detailing their preparations for school and work.
Then suddenly, the mood of the text and illustrations changes. War is declared. And after months of near-starvation, Dad pays almost everything the family has to secure places on a boat. They are now refugees.
With John Marsden's gripping, heart-wrenching text and Matt Ottley's illustrations that combine child-like drawings with realism, this book - nominated in the Australian Children's Book of the Year awards - is a must-read for adults and older children alike and is sure to spark lively discussions.
Rating - I give this 5/5 GREAT!!
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Reviewed by Jan @ Ballarat

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Alice is a professor at Harvard University, a celebrated, respected academic with a full life.
But when she begins losing things, then words, and can't find her way home in her own neighbourhood she realises something is terribly wrong.
At the age of 50, she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease and must fight to retain her self and to convince the family that loves her but will move on without her that she is still Alice, no matter how much she changes or what she loses.

Written from Alice's perspective, this is one of the most absorbing, heartbreaking novels I have ever read.
Rating - I give this 5/5 GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Jan @ Ballarat branch

The land I came through last by Robert Gray

The title of Robert Gray’s memoir is from a poem by Christopher Brennan, ‘The land I came thro’ last was dumb with night/ a limbo of defeated glory, a ghost.’
There is more of glory than defeat, however, in this work of memory by a writer who is himself one of Australia’s best-known poets.
The unrivalled ability with imagery and the expression of emotion characteristic of Gray’s poetry, also distinguish his prose, in his account of his parents’ painful marriage, and his own childhood, growing up on the north coast of New South Wales. The family’s resilience, and the beauty of the coastal landscape, are evoked with striking economy and awareness. Beyond, the book offers the portrait of a period, told through the characters of the ‘extreme people’ that have influenced Gray - including his grandparents, aunts and lovers, and artists and writers such as Patrick White, Bruce Chatwin and Les Murray.
This is autobiography in a lyrical style of a kind not seen in Australian writing before.
OK I haven't actually finished this one yet! But I have started. I am feeling a bit dull and extremely uneducated, unworldly and underdone in the face of Gray's dazzling prose but I am going to persist. When I read books written with such apparent ease by a natural and gifted story teller I always feel a bit inadequate as a reader but I am really looking forward to spending my weekend engrossed in this book.
Rating - I give this 4/5 (so far)
GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Sarah @ Hamilton library